In his first official interview in nine years

Feb 6, 2009 15:28 GMT  ·  By

“Chinese Democracy,” one of the most anticipated and hyped albums of the decade, was finally released in November 2008, but, while critics received it warmly and fans were enthusiastic about it, it registered rather lackluster sales. Axl Rose has just accepted to do a first interview with Billboard in nine years, and to approach topics such as the album, a possible tour and whether there are any chances for him and Slash to reunite.

Speaking of the unexpected sales of “Chinese Democracy,” until now believed to have been prompted by an exclusive deal with Best Buy, Axl Rose tells Billboard that it was all the labels’ fault, namely Interscope and Universal Music. The album, as good as it was and as hyped, did not get enough promotion and this is why people did not rush to buy it, Axl says in the lengthy interview.

“Unfortunately I have no information for me to believe [that] there was any real involvement or effort from Interscope. I do know [that] I’ve been asking for a marketing plan for over five years and still haven’t got anything.” Rose maintains. Interscope is also to blame for the delay of the “Better” video, which was initially supposed to drop either in late December or early January, but was repeatedly pushed back. “We’re finalizing a video for ‘Better’ and writing a couple others now. We have been discouraged from making a video all along by Interscope, up until Best Buy requested one after the release.” the Guns N’Roses frontman explains.

As far as a possible reunion with Slash goes, fans might as well forget about it, Axl shares. That deal has been signed many years ago and neither him nor Slash for that matter are willing to go back on it and get back together just because fans really want it to happen. “In regards to Slash, I read a desperate fan’s message about, what if one of us were to die and looking back I had the possibility of a reunion now, blah blah blah. And my thoughts are, ‘Yeah, and while you’re at the show your baby accidentally kicks a candle and burns your house down, killing himself and the rest of your family.’ Give me a [expletive] break. What’s clear is that one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man.” the rocker reveals.

On the bright side of things, even if nothing regarding a tour has yet been announced, it looks like Axl and Guns will be hitting the road soon enough to promote “Chinese Democracy.” As of now, there’s only “talk” of an upcoming tour but, from what Rose tells Billboard, the management and promoters are very excited about the prospect of a tour. So stay tuned here to learn more on this.