In a new interview with Kerrang, GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist Slash remembered the first time he met late MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister.
He said:
“My first real Lemmy experience actually happened at The Rainbow [in Los Angeles]. This was probably pre-Guns N’ Roses and I was there with a girlfriend. We’re sitting in this booth, and I’m not anybody, right?
“So I get up to take a piss and when I come back, Lemmy’s there. He’s on the outside seat, she’s on the inside, and I get on her other side. I’m so enamored that Lemmy is there that I’m completely oblivious to the fact that he’s chatting up my girlfriend.
“And she’s in this weird state, thinking, ‘Who the f*ck is this guy? And why aren’t you doing something about it?’ Lemmy finally realizes that he’s become the third wheel in this situation and it’s not going anywhere for him, so he gets up.
“She was like, ‘Hey, I didn’t do anything…’ And I said, ‘Do you know who that was?'”
When asked how he felt when he first heard Axl Rose sing, Slash responded:
“The first time was on a cassette that Izzy [Stradlin] brought over to my house. There was all this noise and then there’s this really intense high voice over the top of it.
“My first impression was that it was very soulful. It had a bluesy, melodic thing to it, which was rare for that type of voice. You didn’t often hear somebody hold that melody together so naturally. Then I went to see him and Izzy play one time.
“I didn’t actually realize I was going to see the same person that was on that cassette. They were f*cking hardcore on stage. Izzy was doing knee slides and Axl was bashing down. It was cool, like, ‘F*ck…’.”
