Slash (musician)

Slash
Slash playing guitar onstage
Slash in 2023
Born
Saul Hudson

(1965-07-23) July 23, 1965 (age 59)
London, England
Citizenship
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
OccupationMusician
Years active1981–present
Spouses
Renée Suran
​
​
(m. 1992; div. 1997)​
Perla Ferrar
​
​
(m. 2001; div. 2013)​
Children2
MotherOla Hudson
Musical career
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
InstrumentGuitar
Labels
Member ofGuns N' Roses, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators
Formerly of
Websiteslashonline.com
Signature

Saul Hudson (born July 23, 1965), known professionally as Slash, is a British and American musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Slash has received critical acclaim and is considered one of the greatest guitarists in history.[1][2][3][4]

Born in Hampstead, London,[5] Slash moved to Los Angeles with his father when he was six years old. His parents were both active in the entertainment industry, and he was given the nickname Slash as a child by actor Seymour Cassel. In 1983 he joined the glam metal band Hollywood Rose, then in 1985 he joined Guns N' Roses (which was composed of former members of Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns), replacing founding member Tracii Guns.

In 1994, amid growing tensions within Guns N' Roses, Slash formed the supergroup Slash's Snakepit, and in 1996, after growing tensions with Axl Rose, he left Guns N' Roses. In 2002, he co-founded the supergroup Velvet Revolver with vocalist Scott Weiland, which re-established Slash as a mainstream performer in the mid- to late 2000s. Slash has released two solo albums: Slash (2010) and Orgy of the Damned (2024) featuring a variety of guest singers, and Apocalyptic Love (2012), World on Fire (2014), Living the Dream (2018) and 4 (2022) with "Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators". He returned to Guns N' Roses in 2016.

Time magazine named him runner-up (to Jimi Hendrix) on their list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009,[4] while Rolling Stone placed him at number 65 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2011.[6] Guitar World ranked his guitar solo in "November Rain" number 6 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos" in 2008,[7] and Total Guitar placed his riff in "Sweet Child o' Mine" at number 1 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Riffs" in 2004.[8] Gibson Guitar Corporation ranked Slash as number 34 on their "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time", while their readers landed him number 9 on Gibson's "Top 25 Guitarists of All Time".[9] In 2012, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N' Roses' classic lineup.

  1. ^ "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Guitar World. July 6, 2020. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  2. ^ "The 50 Best Guitarists of All Time". Louder Sound. September 29, 2018. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  3. ^ "The Greatest Guitarists of All Time, In Pictures". The Telegraph. April 7, 2015. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Tyrangiel, Josh (August 14, 2009). "The 10 Greatest Electric Guitar Players". Time. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  5. ^ "Slash information page". www.slashparadise.com. November 10, 2012. Archived from the original on July 2, 2012.
  6. ^ "100 Greatest Guitarists". Rolling Stone. November 23, 2011. Archived from the original on November 2, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  7. ^ "The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos: 6) "November Rain" (Slash)". Guitar World. October 14, 2008. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  8. ^ "The 100 Greatest Riffs". Total Guitar. June 2004. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  9. ^ "Gibson.com Reveals Top 50 Guitarists, Plus Readers Poll Results". Gibson.com. May 28, 2010. Archived from the original on July 25, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.