photo: Rolling StoneWell, that much-hoped-for Guns N' Roses reunion keeps seeming more and more unlikely. After Axl Rose, the band's lone remaining original member, sat out GNR's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April (and was booed by ceremony attendees in absentia), he's made it even more clear that he has no plans to make nice with his former bandmate, guitarist Slash. Because apparently not only is Slash not welcome at any GNR gigs, but neither are Slash T-shirts.
According to British music magazine NME, a fan at GNR's May 31 concert at London's O2 Arena, who showed up a wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the top-hatted likeness of Axl's nemesis, was forced by security to remove his shirt at the door. The concertgoer, 18-year-old James Revell, grudgingly abided and entered the venue bare-chested.
When NME asked O2's security if there was in fact an official ban on Slash shirts, the answer was: "We were told by the management not to allow anyone into the O2 Arena who is wearing a Slash T-shirt, and we are asking anyone who is to remove it and if they refuse they will be turned away."
Revell told NME: "I believe they asked me to do this because Axl Rose has some problem with Slash and if he saw me wearing the shirt he might have stormed offstage." However, O2 security stated that this ban applied even to audience members sitting in the very back rows of the 20,000-capacity venue, who could not possibly have been spotted by Axl from the arena's stage.
Said Revell: "I felt very angry because I was looking after my little brother at the time, and felt as though my freedom to wear what I want had been taken away from me. However, I did not react angrily, as I didn't want to spoil the show for him."
He added: "I have never experienced anything as insulting as that at a concert before and I had to sit there in my little brother's jumper [sweater] and wait for Axl to turn up well over an hour late, which we could only stay to watch three songs as we had to catch a train back. I think that Axl Rose doesn't appreciate his fans or anyone for that matter, he needs to grow up and stop acting like a child."
No word yet on whether Velvet Revolver, Izzy Stradlin & The Ju Ju Hounds, Adler's Appetite, Gilby Clarke, or Buckethead tees are allowed at Guns N' Roses shows--but just to be safe, if you attend a GNR gig any time soon, you may want to bring a change of clothing with you.
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