Slash admits that his legendary rock group Guns N' Roses would have been 'canceled' if they came up now: 'I’m just glad that we didn’t have the internet back then!'

By Brian Gallagher For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

Iconic rock guitarist Slash has been promoting his new book The Collection: Slash, and he admitted that his group Guns N' Roses would have been 'canceled' if they came up during the age of the Internet.

The 57-year-old guitarist (born Saul Hudson) rose to fame as the guitarist for Guns N' Roses in the late 1980s, with his new book documenting the stories behind many of the 400 guitars in his massive collection.

While opening up about the book, the guitarist - whose work in the classic song Sweet Child o' Mine was named the great guitar riff ever by a 2022 poll - he admitted the group's songs and antics would not have fared well in this day and age.

'We would not have fared well in this environment, for sure… on so many different levels,' Slash began.

'But I mean, a lot of things from back then would not be what you consider acceptable at this moment in time,' he added.

Canceled: Iconic rock guitarist Slash has been promoting his new book The Collection: Slash, and he admitted that his group Guns N' Roses would have been 'canceled' if they came up during the age of the Internet

Canceled: Iconic rock guitarist Slash has been promoting his new book The Collection: Slash, and he admitted that his group Guns N' Roses would have been 'canceled' if they came up during the age of the Internet

Not fared well: 'We would not have fared well in this environment, for sure… on so many different levels,' Slash began

Not fared well: 'We would not have fared well in this environment, for sure… on so many different levels,' Slash began

'I’m just glad that we didn’t have the internet back then! It would’ve been a different world altogether…. most of everything that [Guns N’ Roses] did would’ve gotten us canceled in this day and age,' Slash said.

While he didn't go into specifics, Slash did discuss many of the group's more scandalous moments in his 2007 self-titled memoir.

When asked if he had to think about what to include in this massive coffee table book, Slash admitted he hadn't thought of the scandalous days in some time.

'I haven’t actually . . . thought about it in that context. I mean, I really, to be honest, I haven’t really thought about all that [scandalous stuff] that much recently,' he said.

Controversy seemed to follow the group everywhere, even from the very start of their career, with the cover art for their debut album Appetite for Destruction.

They also made headlines for their 1988 song Used to Love Her... which was rumored to be about one of Axl Rose's ex-girlfriends but was actually written as a joke, to fights with fans and security guards, and so much more, earning them the nickname, 'the most dangerous band in the world.'

This year marks the 35th anniversary of their second album, G N' R Lies, which included their smash acoustic hit Patience.

The acoustic nature of the album surprised many fans, coming off the heavy metal tracks from Appetite for Destruction, but Slash revealed they weren't exactly setting out to make an acoustic record.

No internet: 'I’m just glad that we didn’t have the internet back then! It would’ve been a different world altogether…. most of everything that [Guns N’ Roses] did would’ve gotten us canceled in this day and age,' Slash said

No internet: 'I’m just glad that we didn’t have the internet back then! It would’ve been a different world altogether…. most of everything that [Guns N’ Roses] did would’ve gotten us canceled in this day and age,' Slash said

Hadn't thought: 'I haven’t actually . . . thought about it in that context. I mean, I really, to be honest, I haven’t really thought about all that [scandalous stuff] that much recently,' he said

Hadn't thought: 'I haven’t actually . . . thought about it in that context. I mean, I really, to be honest, I haven’t really thought about all that [scandalous stuff] that much recently,' he said

Second album: This year marks the 35th anniversary of their second album, G N' R Lies, which included their smash acoustic hit Patience

Second album: This year marks the 35th anniversary of their second album, G N' R Lies, which included their smash acoustic hit Patience

Metal: The acoustic nature of the album surprised many fans, coming off the heavy metal tracks from Appetite for Destruction, but Slash revealed they weren't exactly setting out to make an acoustic record

Metal: The acoustic nature of the album surprised many fans, coming off the heavy metal tracks from Appetite for Destruction, but Slash revealed they weren't exactly setting out to make an acoustic record

'We had released Appetite and we were touring on it and we had some songs and we always played acoustic. A lot of the Appetite songs were written just hanging out, jamming on acoustic,' Slash admitted.

'We had some songs that were written on acoustic and we actually just recorded them as-is on acoustic. They were really acoustic, songs, to be honest. We just went into a studio and just banged them out really quickly. They were very spontaneous and one-take kind of things, so it was very loose. There were no big plans for that,' Slash admitted. 

G N' R Lies also included one of the group's more controversial tracks, One in a Million, which lead to accusations of racism, homophobia and xenophobia against the group. 

When asked if there were specific things Slash was glad happened back then instead of now, Slash said he couldn't, 'put my finger on a specific thing, because it's pretty much all of it.

The Collection: Slash debuted with a Deluxe Edition hand-signed by Slash that was limited to just 1,000 copies and cost $249.

It included a cover poster, four guitar art prints, and a certificate of authenticity, with the book selling out quickly.

That lead to Gibson releasing a standard edition that is currently available for $149, with a pricey Custom Edition also available for $999, also hand-signed by Slash and limited to just 500 copies.

The Custom Edition includes, 'deluxe clamshell box with premium case candy which includes an Axe Heaven® Appetite Les Paul miniature, an exclusive Slash bandana, a pick tin with Dunlop® guitar picks, a cover poster, four guitar art prints, and a certificate of authenticity.'

Spontaneous: 'We had released Appetite and we were touring on it and we had some songs and we always played acoustic. A lot of the Appetite songs were written just hanging out, jamming on acoustic,' Slash admitted

Spontaneous: 'We had released Appetite and we were touring on it and we had some songs and we always played acoustic. A lot of the Appetite songs were written just hanging out, jamming on acoustic,' Slash admitted

Controversy: G N' R Lies also included one of the group's more controversial tracks, One in a Million, which lead to accusations of racism, homophobia and xenophobia against the group

Controversy: G N' R Lies also included one of the group's more controversial tracks, One in a Million, which lead to accusations of racism, homophobia and xenophobia against the group

All of it: When asked if there were specific things Slash was glad happened back then instead of now, Slash said he couldn't, 'put my finger on a specific thing, because it's pretty much all of it

All of it: When asked if there were specific things Slash was glad happened back then instead of now, Slash said he couldn't, 'put my finger on a specific thing, because it's pretty much all of it

Book: The Collection: Slash debuted with a Deluxe Edition hand-signed by Slash that was limited to just 1,000 copies and cost $249

Book: The Collection: Slash debuted with a Deluxe Edition hand-signed by Slash that was limited to just 1,000 copies and cost $249

Most watched News videos