There are a huge number of melodies recognizable by the first notes. In the same way there are musicians, actors with their own unique stage image and image, one of them is Sol Hudson. Slash is his world famous creative pseudonym. And leather pants, glasses, a protruding blue bandana from the back pocket and, of course, an invariable hat-cylinder over long curly hair - this is his calling card, making up one of the most shocking images in the music world.
short biography
Despite the prevailing opinion, Sol Hudson has no Jewish roots, he was born in the "black and white" family of a typical Englishman and black American on July 23, 1965 in London. His parents were creative people, this could not but reflect on the development and inclinations of the child to art. Anthony Hudson - the boy's father was an artist, the creator of covers for music records. He has worked with Neil Young, Johnny Mitchell and other artists. Mother Ola (Oliver) Hudson - designer, costume designer. In her creative piggy bank, work on costumes for David Bowie.
When Hudson was 6 years old, strong troubles began in the family, his father became addicted to alcohol. Parents broke up, his father stayed in England, and when he was 11 he and his mother moved to America. Having settled in Los Angeles, his mother devoted little time to the boy; he lived in the care of his grandmother, who was engaged in his upbringing. Slash, a creative pseudonym, was his nickname, received in childhood from a friend of the Seymour Cassell family, because of his tendency to rush around like a madman from one thing to another.
In the 70s, he attended Beverly Hills High School, but he was not interested in his studies, all his attention was focused on music. His childhood was difficult enough that could not but affect his behavior and habits. At age 13, Sol Hudson first tried cocaine, heroin at 19, which years later led him to 4 cases of clinical death and severe alcohol dependence. He could get rid of drug addiction only in 2001.
At age 14, he began to learn to play the guitar. Then he took lessons at Fairfax from Robert Wallin. Sometimes classes lasted 10-12 hours. The first acoustic guitar was presented to him by a grandmother at the age of 15. Napara and Stephen Adler organize Tidus Sloan, his first group in 1981, and drop out of high school.
Sol Hudson (Slash) is a British-born guitarist, American rock musician, producer, and composer who gained the greatest popularity as a member of the legendary band Guns N'Roses, which became world famous in the late 80s and early 90s of the last century. Shocking, notorious for its antics, appearance, endless alcohol and drug intoxication, the group was considered simply dangerous.
At the age of 35, the musician is diagnosed with cardiomyopathy caused by prolonged use of drugs and alcohol. According to doctors' forecasts, he had only a few weeks to live, but a defibrillator was implanted, and Hudson survived no matter what. Since 2006, she has been sober, and in 2007 there is a book written by Sol Hudson himself - an autobiography called "Slash". In 2009, his mother died of lung cancer, after which the artist quit smoking.
Perhaps the difficult life moments experienced by Sol, prompted him to charity. He is a member of the board of directors of Little Kids Rock, a national organization dedicated to supporting and restoring music education in disadvantaged schools.
For someone, a strange, peculiar Slash, is famous as a lover of reptiles and animals. Until 2008, he was the owner of a collection of 8 dozen snakes, 79 of which he then sold and handed out for fear that they might kill his children. He helped set up the Bob Irwin Fund for Wildlife Conservation.
Career start and career path
A few years after the creation of his first group, Slash joined the already organized Hollywood Rose band with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin, but the group did not last long. And in 1985, Rose, Stradlin, Slash, Duff McKagan and Stephen Adler reunited in the new hard rock band Guns N'Roses.
They began to actively write songs that became instantly known around the world. In 1986, they signed a lucrative contract with the progressive fashion label Geffen Records, and Sol Hudson is one of the most prominent guitarists of the 80-90s. This period was the most progressive in creative terms. The debut album, released in 1987, Appetite for Destruction soared to the top of the charts, was released with a circulation of 15 million and became the second commercial success in the United States, after the group Boston. The most famous compositions:
- Sweet Child o'Mine - a hit that instantly hit the top of various charts;
- Paradise City;
- Welcome to the Jungle.
Together with fame, the band members got bogged down in alcoholism and drugs. After a couple of years, Axel Rose publicly announced that she would leave the group if the participants did not stop the “heroin” life.
Use Your Illusion was also a tremendous success - the 1991 album, which consisted of two parts, after which the musicians went on a world tour for more than 2 years. After that, popularity and creative progress began to decline. Stradlin unexpectedly left the team. After a performance in July 1993, Slash took time out at Guns N'Roses for three years, and in 1996 there was a final break between Slash and Axl, after which he announced that he was no longer a member of the group.
During this time, in 1994 he formed the project "Slash's Snakepit", which released the album in 1995. It's Five O'Clock Somewhere, which was critically acclaimed and sold over 1.2 million copies, and in 2000 the album Ain't Life Grand . During the break of 1996-98, Slash created another blues cover band Slash's Blues Ball.
In 2002, together with Daf McKagan and Matt Sorum, former Guns N'Roses collaborators, he created Velvet Revolver, the vocalist of which was Stone Way Pilots member Scott Weyland (then scandalously left the group in 2008). This project turned out to be very successful and rehabilitated Slash as the most successful guitar performer. In the same 2008, Seal Hudson began a solo career and subsequently released three albums. 2016 was marked by the reunion of the legendary Guns N'Roses.
During his musical career, Slash went on stage and collaborated with such musicians as: Ronnie Wood, Alice Cooper, Ray Charles, Code Rock, Sammy Hagar, Ozzy Osbourne, Stevie Wonder, Iggy Pop, he played guitar parts in several singles of Michael Jackson.
Personal life
For the first time, Sol Hudson married in 1992 the model actress Rene Suran, who lived with him for 5 years. The second darling was Perla Ferrar, they got married in 2001. The couple has 2 sons - London Emilio (2002) and Cash Anthony (2004). After 9 years of marriage, Slash files for divorce, but the story ends with reconciliation after a couple of months. Pearl is 10 years younger than Saul and was his manager.
After 13 years of marriage, Sol Hudson again filed for divorce and a custody of his two sons, talking about insoluble contradictions in the relationship. Slash and Pearl broke up peacefully, remaining business partners. Today you can find messages about Slash and his new girlfriend Megan Hodges.
Films and awards
The musician has little experience in cinema:
- In 1988, the Guns N 'Roses team appeared in an episode of the feature film Death Race;
- In the episode 18 of Season 2 of Anger Management, Slash played a cameo role;
- Participated in the 6th season "Tales from the Crypt";
- Parody in the series of the cartoon "South Park";
- The documentary "Lemmy" - the role of himself (2010).
Slash is recognized as one of the legendary and great guitarists according to Classic Rock. Winner of the Kerrang Icon Icon Award in 2012, a star with his name was placed on the Rock of Rock in January 2007 next to Jimmy Hendricks, Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page. And in July 2012, the musician received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Truly great Sol Hudson, whose photo is often full of glossy covers, is always recognizable. He is the owner of an unrivaled rock style and stage image. His first guitar was a Gibson brand instrument. In the future, the company made instruments specifically for the musician. And now more than a dozen models are produced - exact copies of his guitars with the signature of Slash himself. Also two "subscription" models are produced by BCRich.