Axl Rose Passes Up Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Induction

Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose said it as politely as he could, but still made it completely clear: he won't attend his band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction because he won't tread where he isn't welcome.

Rose didn't simply publicly decline the invitation to attend this week's induction ceremony among fellow lineup inductees Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagen and Steven Adler, Reuters reports. He also asked that his name be struck completely from the Hall of Fame's record.

"I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf," he wrote publicly in an open letter distributed Wednesday.

The five-piece rock legends have been set to join the 27th annual Hall class alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys, Donovan, Laura Nyro, the Faces, the Crickets, the Miracles and others. Above all else, the California quintet is famous/infamous for three oft-recalled legacies: their 1987 album Appetite For Destruction spawning legendary hit singles like "Sweet Child O' Mine", "Paradise City" and "Welcome To The Jungle" that made Rose's wailing vocals and lead guitarist Slash's blistering, dynamic solos immortal notes in rock history; in-fighting seemingly permanently napalming bridges between Rose and the original lineup, especially Slash; and the band's early 1990s drug and alcohol excesses leading to the five dismantling the band by the middle of the decade, though Rose eventually won a legal fight to tour with a new lineup under the Guns N' Roses name.

Rose's comments betrayed an initial hint of optimism felt toward the honor, but eventual reluctance that his would-be peers among the Hall would ever really welcome him.

"When the nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were first announced, I had mixed emotions but, in an effort to be positive, wanting to make the most of things for the fans and with their enthusiasm, I was honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing," Rose wrote. "Of course, I realized as things stood, if Guns N' Roses were to be inducted it'd be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation.

Ultimately, Rose read the writing on the wall clearly enough to make up his mind after months reading and hearing public remarks by bandmates and his own meetings with Hall of Fame board members.

"No offense meant to anyone but the Hall of Fame induction ceremony doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or respected," Rose wrote.

Hall of Fame representatives didn't issue a statement late Wednesday concerning Rose's feelings. Unless something changes, members of Green Day have been slated to induct Guns N' Roses alongside their classmates on Sat. April 14 in Cleveland, Ohio.