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Sual Hudson, a.k.a SLASH
"There ain't many people that can chain smoke whilst playing a 7 minute solo"
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Slash (right) with Gilby Clarke (left), one of Guns n Roses' later rhythm guitarists.
Slash was born in Hampstead (London), England on July 23, 1965, and was brought up in Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England. His mother, a black American, and father, a white Englishman, named him Saul Hudson. |
Slash, smoking as expected!
Both Slash's parents were very artistic and worked in the entertainment field. His mother was a clothing designer for celebrities. She even designed some of David Bowie's costumes. His father's job was to provide direction for record albums and worked with a number of well known people including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. |
Slash with his 100+ collection of guitars, including a '59 Les Paul copy, a '56 Les Paul gold top, a '69 Les Paul custom, and several new Les Pauls that he plays on stage. There is also a '59 Gibson Flying V, a '58 Gibson Explorer, two Ernie Ball/Music Man Silhouettes, a '52 Fendor Telecastor, a '65 Fender Stratocaster, both a '63 and a '65 Gibson Melody Maker, a 60's Gibson SG, and a Fender 6 string bass all of which are used for recording!
When Slash was 11 he moved to Los Angeles with his mother whilst his father stayed in England. Because Slash was born in the UK, he was actually an immigrant in the United States and was to remain one for many years! Eventually the family all lived together again in Los Angeles, where Slash stood out like a sore thumb. His long hair, jeans and t-shirts that he wore even then didn't exactly fit with the other kids. An outsider at school, he lived what was described as 'a bohemian life'. At home he was surrounded by artistic friends of his parents. Frequent visitors included Joni Mitchell, David Geffen, David Bowie, Ron Wood and Iggy Pop. |
Slash looking thoughtful!
At the age of 15 Slash's parents separated and he moved in with his Grandmother. It was this woman (thank god!) who gave him his first guitar. It had just one string, and despite this Slash was able to learn to play. His early musical influences were said to be Led Zep, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Neil Young. Slash said that "standing on stage in Paris with Jeff Beck and Joe Perry was overwhelming" He has also played along side such people as guitarist "god" Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz, Paul Rogers, Iggy Pop, Michael Jackson and Brian May. |
Slash standing on the piano, during the November Rain solo.
Soon slash devoted at least 12 hours a day to playing guitar. His school work suffered and he started skipping classes in order to sit in the bleachers all day playing guitar. His grandmother reportedly said "His school may have suffered, but his social life got better!" The other kids now thought Slash was cool, and he was no longer a social outcast. Slash joined band after band, jamming with other young musicians. Eventually he dropped out of school in eleventh grade and after meeting Steven Adler, formed his first serious band, 'Road Crew'. Soon afterwards he met Izzy Stradlin, who played Slash a tape of his own band which included vocals by Axl Rose. Slash was impressed and went to see Axl perform and immediately wanted to steal him from Izzy. Slash later found bass player, Duff McKagan, who answered an ad Slash had placed in the paper. All the players changed combinations, and eventually the result was Guns n' Roses! |
Slash and Perla in Maui, shortly after getting married.
Slash started becoming restless and eventually started another band which he reserved most of his time for. Slash started touring with Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke, Mike Inez, Eric Dover, who formed Slash's new band, 'Snakepit'. In the summer of 1996, Slash was invited to play at a blues concert in Budapest, Hungary. He got together some musicians and headed for Europe. From this concert came the band Slash's Blues Ball, although they never realeased an album. While this was going on, Slash was waiting for Axl Rose to get Guns N'Roses together. There were talks about the musical direction of the band and Slash saw GNR as a rock band whilst Axl Rose wanted to go in a more techno/industrial direction. After many, many meetings and heated discussions, Slash resigned from GNR in October 1996 with Rose retaining the rights to the band name. Slash didn't sit at home with his head in his hands. He got busy with Blues Ball, who began playing blues covers, so that they could start playing gigs right away. Throughout the end of 1996 till the fall of 1997, Slash's Blues Ball played at clubs throughout California. Blues Ball is over for the time being but you never know, they may play some one-offs. You just never know with Slash!
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Slash and Perla
Slash's life was once a symbol of rock and roll, but things have calmed down with him in some ways. Slash has been off drugs for several years although his astounding drinking habits are sometimes in evidence, and he still smokes his Marlboros and Galitanos. A major change occurred when Slash fell in love with Renee Suran. They were married October 10, 1992 in Marina Del Ray, California. Renee stayed out of the rock spotlight but was described as beautiful, sweet, and very much in love with Slash. She pursued her own career as model and actress. Renee and Slash both appeared in Howard Stern's movie "Private Parts". The two separated and divorced in the fall of 1997. They remain friends. After his divorce, Slash was in Las Vegas when he ran into a young woman he had known for many years. Her name was Perla Ferrer, and the couple soon began dating seriously. Perla and Slash eventually started living together and in 2000, the two became engaged to be married. Perla's beautiful, sparkling diamond ring was designed by Slash himself. On October 15, Saul Hudson married Perla Ferrar in Maui in a solemn relgious service there. Perla wore a strapless, pleated white wedding gown and carried a beautiful floral bouquet that matched those in her long brown hair. Slash wore new black leather pants, a white shirt, his faithful black leather jacket and a floral lei matching Perla's flowers.
In February 2002, Slash and Perla announced that they were expecting their first child in September! On August 28, 2002 little London Hudson made his appearance! Despite some problems Perla had with the pregnancy, London was in excellent condition. As London approaches his second birthday in the summer of 2004, the Hudson's are looking forward to the birth of their second child at the end of June. The baby will also be a boy! (aww, mini slash's!!!)
Family memebers have said that Slash's lifestyle has changed over the years. From being a wild rocker, Slash has settled into a role of husband and father. Some things about Slash don't change - his love for his music, his wife, his fans and his friends as well as the California climate and the Los Angeles setting. If you are in the Sunset Boulevard area, you might just run into Slash hanging out with Perla and his friends or jamming with a band on the Strip. (OMG I HAVE TO GO THERE!!) He looks healthy and happy and a little more settled, but you can still see a little of that devilish rocker in his eyes!
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