Legendary guitarist Slash had to quit GUNS N' ROSES to prevent himself from falling into the "same rut" he says Axl Rose is trapped in.

The PARADISE CITY axeman was looking for fresh challenges and is delighted with his current group THE VELVET REVOLVER.

Slash says, "People treat Guns N' Roses as this great mythical thing.

"I'll always be very proud of having come from that band, but it's been a long time since I was part of it, and if I walk into a bar and someone says, 'There's that guy from Velvet Revolver', that's a very big thing because it's the first time it's happened since I quit Guns N' Roses.

"And it was a hard band to quit. But if I hadn't I'd be in the very same rut that Axl's stuck in right now, which is going nowhere.

"I couldn't sit still that way."

18/08/2004 21:00