Slash

Slash married model-actress Renée Suran in 1992; this marriage ended in divorce in 1997.

He married Perla Ferrar in 2001. The couple has two sons. Slash first filed for divorce in 2010, but the couple reconciled a couple of months later. However their relationship soured again and he filed for divorce a second time in 2014.

He fell very ill in 2001 and was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a form of congestive heart failure caused by his many years of alcohol and drug abuse. Even though the initial prognosis was poor, he beat all the odds to survive. Currently he is clean and sober.

Slash was born as Saul Hudson in London on July 23, 1965. His mother Ola J. Hudson was an African-American costume designer and his father Anthony Hudson was a white English artist. He was nicknamed “Slash” by a family friend.

He had a difficult childhood marked by his parents’ separation, father’s alcoholism, and other troublesome family issues. He was a troubled child who grew up to be a rebellious teenager.

He was not much interested in academics as a school student and was more inclined towards music. He began taking guitar classes with Robert Wolin, a teacher at Fairfax Music School.

He also loved biking, but his love for music was so great that he abandoned biking to focus on his music. He was so passionate about music that he practiced playing the guitar up to 12 hours a day.

Slash embarked on his professional career in the early 1980s. He joined his first band in 1981 and two years later, he formed his own band with his friend, Steven Adler. However the band was not successful and was disbanded quickly.

He, along with Adler joined the newly founded band Guns N’ Roses in 1985. Initially they played at nightclubs and opened for bigger bands, and by the end of 1986 they began recording their debut album.

Guns N' Roses released their debut album ‘Appetite for Destruction’ in 1987 which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, on the strength of the hit ‘Sweet Child o' Mine’—their only single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Over the next few years, Slash found widespread fame and success with the band which released several successful albums including ‘Use Your Illusion I’ (1991), ‘Use Your Illusion II’ (1991), and ‘The Spaghetti Incident?’ (1993).

By the mid-1990s, Slash realized that he no longer wanted to be a part of Guns N’ Roses and quit the band in 1996.

His debut solo album, ‘Slash’, proved to be a big hit and established him as a successful solo artist. He featured several musicians in the album, including his old friend, Steven Adler. The album peaked at No. 1 on the Austrian Albums Chart, Canadian Albums Chart, Finnish Albums Chart, and U.S. Billboard Independent Albums.