Born in Hampstead, England, and raised in the US, Saul Hudson is not a gentleman. Those who would expect reading something in this line here are about to be very disappointed: Saul or, better yet, Slash is the perfect image of a rock'n'roll god, the guitar icon of an entire generation, a man who lived his entire life in the spotlight, by the rules imposed by the game. He is not educated or well-behaved or even good looking: instead, he is an extremely accomplished guitarist, a showman par excellence, a former drug addict and, in short, a rock god.

His father was an artist who also designed the covers for some of the albums of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell; his mother was a fashion designer who created the costumes for David Bowie's 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' - so you can see where Slash got his artistic genes from. When he was still a child, he moved with his mother to Los Angeles, where they would be later joined by his father. Until the 11th grade, Saul's childhood could be described as 'normal' (whatever that might mean): he went to the Beverly Hills High School, learned how to play the guitar, founded a couple of bands, you know, stuff teenagers normally do.

By the time he was in the 11th grade, he already knew that studying was not for him: he had dropped out of school to focus intently on his band, called Road Crew. Sure, just like his previous projects, this group too was soon disbanded but its name is still retained by many for being the vehicle that enabled Slash to meet the man with whom he would make music history, Axl Rose. At that moment, Rose was the lead singer of Hollywood Rose and the two groups met while preparing to open for Stryper, in 1984. The rest was history, as they say, and Guns'N'Roses was founded, the rock band that would alter and literally shape the rock music of the '80s and '90s.

At first, things didn't go as smoothly: the Guns used to hold gigs in bars and garages and to tour as the opening act of other rockers, more famous than them. By 1986, they already had a bunch of tracks penned down (which would later become smashing hits) but no album released. That all changed a year later, when 'Appetite for Destruction' was put out, a material that, besides including many of the band's legendary songs, like 'Welcome to the Jungle', 'Paradise City' and 'Sweet Child O' Mine', stirred quite a controversy because of the artistic cover it initially had. In two more years, the boys from Guns were famous and preparing for yet another album.

From the very start, Slash did not get along with Axl but, for quite some time, both of them managed to either hide their differences or to meet halfway. The rift became more and more obvious in the '90s, when the high level of success Guns had reached made Axl go for a more commercial variant of rock which, naturally, was not something that Slash approved of. Hits like 'Don't Cry' and 'November Rain', that have become emblems of that spleen an entire generation of youngsters was experiencing, and the fact that Axl was going for more dramatic and expensive videos (oh, so un-rock'n'roll-ish of him!) did nothing else but virtually end the friendship and work relation the two (brilliant singer and equally brilliant guitarist) had shared for so long. Slash's departure became official in 1996, when he announced that he would be pursuing a solo career but, in fact, the situation had become obviously unbearable way before that date.

After he left Guns, Slash got involved in a myriad of projects, singing with other famous rockers and rappers and featuring on their albums and videos. He was, by now, a star on his own and he didn't need Guns'N'Roses for people to know his face or his music, especially since he kept the trademark elements that had distinguished him from other rockers: curly hair, tophat and the cigarette dangling from his lips while performing... shirtless. In 2003, he officially moved away from his Guns past, by founding Velvet Revolver, the band with which he made his comeback into the public eye. Meanwhile, Guns was left only with Axl (the rest of the members had also left) and slowly began to fade away.

Slash was married twice but details like this tend to be overlooked when we're talking about one of the greatest and most accomplished guitarists of our times. Instead, the media has (and probably always will) focused on his turmoiled life, which was often 'spiced up' with drug use, incendiary statements, allegations of weird habits and hobbies (like collecting snakes), drunken appearances, alcohol abuse and f**king fiery performances! In the long run, only that last part matters because, however Slash really is and whatever he might have said or done, we will always have his music.

Most people, when they hear about Slash, tend to think of him in terms of 'Oh, yeah, he's that guy who used to sing with Guns' or, even worse, 'He's that f**ker that made the Guns fall apart!' and that's it. But, not that I'm an expert in the matter or anything, his merit goes beyond this, beyond being just a band member: armed with his guitar and by being true to himself, Slash made music history. Without him and his characteristic sound, the late '80s and '90s would have been less tragic, less glam, less rock'n'roll. Of course, if you don't feel the same way, here's your chance to make yourselves heard, by taking our poll below and voting Saul Hudson, aka Slash, IN or OUT.