Music with Eddie Rowley

SLANE Castle kicks off the first of Ireland’s big outdoor summer concerts this Saturday when the Co Meath natural amphitheatre plays host to American rockers Guns N’ Roses.

Controversial frontman Axl Rose has had a reputation for arriving hours late for shows through the years, but insiders say he’s on his best behaviour these days.

Rose once said: “I’m late for everything. I’ve always wanted to have it written in my will that when I die the coffin shows up a half-hour late and says on the side, like in gold, ‘Sorry I’m late.’ ”

At least the man has a sense of humour — even if the band’s fans haven’t always appreciated it.

Axl’s personal life has been just as chaotic. He was born William Bruce Rose Junior on February 6, 1962, in Lafayette, Indiana, to a 16-year-old mother and a 20-year-old father.

His parents split up when he was a toddler and his mother remarried a man called Stephen Bailey and changed her son’s surname.

Rose grew up believing that Bailey was his biological father until the age of 17, when he discovered the existence of his father while going through papers at his parents’ house. From then on, he began using Rose as his surname.

Rose was frequently in trouble with the police and spent time in jail on charges of public intoxication and battery. He moved to Los Angeles in 1982 and joined the band AXL before changing his name to W. Axl Rose. He eventually formed Guns N’ Roses and the band released their debut album, Appetite for Destruction, in 1987.

In 1990, Rose married Erin Everly, daughter of Don Everly and the inspiration for the band’s ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ single, but the couple split within a month.

After reuniting last year, Guns N’ Roses have already grossed $200 million from their current tour.