Allstarnews.com 1/8/02

Another reason has emerged for the continuing bad blood between Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose and former guitarist Slash.

Rose reportedly told a fan at one of the band's recent Las Vegas concerts, where Slash was turned away at the door (allstar, Jan. 2), that he was angry at the guitarist for not "signing off" on a deal that would see a remake of the song "Welcome To the Jungle" used in the new Ridley Scott movie, Black Hawk Down.

The film's music supervisor, Kathy Nelson, confirmed to allstar that her company had been dealing unsuccessfully with Guns N' Roses' reps to include that song in the soundtrack, due out next Tuesday (Jan. 15), but she adds that she says she has no knowledge of the group's internal business.

"I found out that it's incredibly difficult to license Guns N' Roses songs," says Nelson. "We tried for the rights to the original masters, and then a re-recorded version. We came close, but it just wasn't going to happen."

Nelson adds that the movie is based on a true story and "Welcome To the Jungle" was the song playing during the real life incident, so the filmmakers were hoping to land the song for accuracy's sake. The track "Minstrel Boy" by Joe Strummer was used instead.

Sources close to the band confirm that at the best of times GN'R is notoriously reluctant to license their songs, and also note that the incident was not the first. Industry rumors of discontent circulated in 1999 over the use of "Sweet Child O' Mine" on the Big Daddy soundtrack. Rose reportedly promised the movie's producers that they could use a re-recorded version of the song, but met resistance from Slash and former bassist Duff McKagan.

The song, which "morphs" from the original into a new version with tracks added by the new band, ended up buried deep in the credits and not included on the album, amid threats of legal action. Another version recorded by Sheryl Crow, thought to have been a compromise, is also in the movie. Speculation says that this time around, the old members just wouldn't let it happen at all.

In other news, Slash has confirmed to a British publication that he did indeed disband his group, Slash's Snakepit. "You can't reinvent the start of Snakepit. That was my little thing, and it was a blast, seeing all those guys kind of doing it for the first time, but I was kind of carrying everybody through that," Slash reportedly told Classic Rock magazine, adding that he would be doing a Slash solo album in the near future.

The guitarist is currently without management or a label and was unavailable for comment.
(Sorelle Saidman)