Rose 'blown away' by response to Hall of Fame snub
Axl Rose has been "blown away" by the positive response to his decision to stay away from the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the weekend.
The Guns N' Roses singer announced last week he would not attend the 27th Annual event in Cleveland, Ohio, where his band Guns N' Roses were being inducted for their contribution to music, and despite being booed by the crowd at the event on Saturday, he admits he is surprised to have received a lot of support from fans.
He wrote in an open letter on the group's website: "I seriously didn't plan on or expect the overwhelmingly positive response and public support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
"With such a generous outpouring of solidarity from fans, media outlets, writers and other artists, I'm truly humbled, blown away and unbelievably relieved!
"To be honest, I thought it would go the other way and was just hoping to weather the storm. As I said, I sincerely didn't want to disappoint anyone. It gets old being the outlaw even if 'it's only rock and roll'."
In the letter, Axl - who requested not to be inducted in his absence - suggested he declined the chance to be part of the honour because he "doesn't understand" the Hall of Fame.
He added: "It took a lot of focus and soul searching to be sincere and informative while making a genuine effort to be somewhat diplomatic.
"We made, what I feel, are real efforts to learn about the Hall and the Board, spoke as I said with the president and various members, and though I inducted Elton John and Bernie Taupin in '94 saying something to the effect of 'I'm learning what the Hall's about...'
"I still don't exactly know or understand what the Hall is or how or why it makes money, where the money goes, who chooses the voters and why anyone or this board decides who, out of all the artists in the world that have contributed to this genre, officially 'rock' enough to be in the Hall?
"This isn't an attack. These are genuine issues I don't have enough verified information on to have more than rough ideas. Certainly not enough information to make any judgments about."
Axl signed off his letter with an apology to the people of Ohio and vowed to return to the state eventually.
