During a recent appearance on Artists On Record Starring Adika Live!, Chris Slade talked about whether he thinks AC/DC performed better with Axl Rose.
The drummer addressed the reactions against him at the time, saying:
“Some people have said, ‘You said once that Axl was better and it sounded better with Axl.’ I didn’t say that. What I was talking about was my in-ear monitors I used in-ear monitors and I’d never heard a band as good as I heard any band then.”
Slade further explained his point:
“That’s what I said to the interviewer but he made it sound like I was saying Axl was a better singer or the band was better with Axl than it was with Brian because he wanted some headlines, which was terrible for me and good for him. It was terrible for me because I gotta explain that wherever I go now. ‘You said Axl was better.’ I didn’t say Axl was better. He had a tremendous voice by the way. I thought that. He did a great job and he was never late. Ever.”
The Background Of Axl’s Gig With AC/DC
Previously, the rocker discussed how surprising it was when Rose joined the band during their 2015-2016 tour. Despite Axl’s tough reputation, Slade was impressed by his friendly behavior. He told Vinyl Writer Music:
“Yeah. Well, for me, it was quite a long time. Me and my Mrs. had to spend a lot of time in Miami, Florida. Towards that break, which ended in Florida, Brian was really unhappy with what he was doing. And I could hear him perfectly; I was using in-ears and I could hear the band, and him, perfectly. To me, it didn’t sound as bad as he thought it was. I kept saying to him, ‘Brian, you’re doing fine.’”
Slade continued:
“But he didn’t like it. I don’t know the circumstances, but all I knew is that Tim the tour manager said, ‘Brian’s not here anymore. We just gotta hang around.’ I went, ‘Oh, okay.’ It took some time; maybe a month or more. Then we went to Atlanta, Georgia and there were some auditions. I said to Dick Jones, ‘What’s tomorrow? Is it a day off?’ He said, ‘No. It’s Axl Rose tomorrow.’ I went, ‘What!?’ I couldn’t believe it; I heard all the stories about Axl.”
He shared what he thought when he met Axl:
“The next day, there he is. I shook his hand and thought, ‘This guy’s not bad at all,’ and he was telling jokes. And then he sang and I didn’t know he had that voice. I really had no idea he could sing like that. It was tremendous from the start. Within the next day, he was in the band.”
There were rumors that Angus Young and Axl would record a new album after the tour, but it didn’t happen. Instead, the band went quiet, and Axl focused back on Guns N’ Roses.
You can watch the rest of Slade’s chat below.