Tour of the Week - Slash - Tickets Onsale Friday 9am
Thursday, 05 May 2011
Written by Rob Sleigh
After two years out of the limelight, guitarist Saul Hudson – known to most as Slash – returned with a bang in 2010 with his own long-awaited solo career. Many would argue that, this time around, the legendary axeman was bigger and better than ever. While former bandmate Mr Rose continued with his lifelong tradition of turning up late and generally frustrating fans wherever he showed his face, Slash’s year proved far less disappointing.
After spending 25 years waist-deep in sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, Slash finally came up with his very first solo effort. And it was anything but a let-down. Never one to do things by halves, the guitarist brought a few friends onboard to help him out with the album. These friends included Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Dave Grohl and Lemmy to name a few. If you can think of any greater rock legends, they’re probably dead. Released in March last year, Slash’s self-titled solo album was an all-round rock record featuring some of the best singers in the business and, more importantly, one of the best guitar players in the world.
Following the album’s release, Slash headed out on tour with Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy to take the album on the road. They even managed to throw a few old favourites into the mix. Anyone who witnessed Slash at one of last year’s tour dates or his numerous festival appearances, which included Download and Glastonbury, were lucky enough to hear the likes of ‘Paradise City’ and ‘Sweet Child O Mine’ as they were meant to be heard. Well, almost.
However, anyone that wasn’t fortunate enough to catch any of those live performances is now in for a treat, as Slash is back in the UK for more dates in July. He has also announced a homecoming show as part of the tour. Due to his history as an LA rocker, many people still don’t realise that Slash is actually English. Before moving over to the States as a child, he spent his earliest years growing up with his father in Stoke-on-Trent, of all places. Speaking about the dates on his Twitter page, he confirmed that the homecoming gig is going to be a special show: “Actually it’s more of a UK tour with some Euro dates thrown in. We're playing Stoke! It’s my first visit since I was five years old.”
There isn’t much to say about Slash that hasn’t already been said a million times. But anyway, here we go… Slash was born in Hampstead, London in 1965, but later moved to Los Angeles with his parents. He started playing guitar from a young age after listening to music by bands such as Led Zeppelin, Cream and Aerosmith. In the early ‘80s, Slash formed one of his first bands, Road Crew, with drummer Steven Adler and bassist Duff McKagan. However, all three members would later join a new band called Guns N’ Roses when asked by founding members Izzy Stradlin and Axl Rose…
Following his success and subsequent departure from Guns N’ Roses, Slash has since formed a couple of supergroups with other members of that band. The first was Slash’s Snakepit, who released their debut ‘It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere’ in 1995 and, after a line-up change, a second and final album ‘Ain’t Life Grand’ in 2000. Then came Velvet Revolver – Slash’s most recent band with Duff McKagan, GN’R drummer Matt Sorum and Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland. Although Weiland has since left the group after two Velvet Revolver albums, the band are still said to be together and are currently auditioning new singers. Watch this space.
Slash live dates
Sat 9th July 2011 – T in the Park Festival
Wed 20th July 2011 - O2 Academy, Birmingham
Thu 21st July 2011 - O2 Apollo, Manchester
Sat 23rd July 2011 - High Voltage Festival
Sun 24th July 2011 - Victoria Hall, Stoke
Mon 25th July 2011 - O2 Academy, Leeds
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
Following the album’s release, Slash headed out on tour with Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy to take the album on the road. They even managed to throw a few old favourites into the mix. Anyone who witnessed Slash at one of last year’s tour dates or his numerous festival appearances, which included Download and Glastonbury, were lucky enough to hear the likes of ‘Paradise City’ and ‘Sweet Child O Mine’ as they were meant to be heard. Well, almost. 
