Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash didn’t like Sweet Child O’ Mine at first.
The 1988 track has become one of the rock band’s defining singles but the musician was unconvinced by the “ballad” feel to the song, even though he came up with the track’s riff.
Speaking to Guitar World magazine, Slash said: “I have to admit I did have a thing with it.
“It was a riff I came up with, and I didn’t know what I was going to do with it. I wasn’t really thinking about it at the time, but it inspired the whole song.
“I always say this, but to me, we were like a Motorhead-type hard rock band, so any kind of ballads were sort of uncongressed.”
The 60-year-old guitarist added: “We played it one time opening for Ted Nugent, and when it was time to play that song, I was like, ‘Oh, f***…’
“And, of course, I had to remember how to play the riff accurately by myself in front of everybody every time we played, which, at the time I was a little drunk, and you never knew what was going to happen.”
Slash is famous for his guitar solos on Guns N’ Roses tracks such as November Rain and Welcome to the Jungle but admits they weren’t planned.
He explained: “I don’t remember ever sitting down and figuring any of them out. Especially Jungle.
“I remember going into that, and it sounds very structured to a point, but that’s just what the chord changes were. It’s interesting to think back on sometimes. When you’re onstage, your mind wanders, and I’ll go back and think about stuff like that.”
Slash left Guns N’ Roses back in 1996 due to tensions with frontman Axl Rose before rejoining in 2016 and insists that he is on good terms with his bandmates – including fellow guitarists Duff McKagan and Richard Fortus.
The rocker -whose real name is Saul Hudson – said: “I have no idea. I think a lot of the stuff that was an issue for Guns in the early days – especially in the 90s – had to do with management stuff that pitted me and Axl against each other. And it worked; it definitely worked.
“But without that element, he and I get along great. Duff and I have always gotten along great, and I love working with Richard Fortus. He and I make a really good guitar team, and he’s just a good guy.
“We all get along really well, and we have a good time doing what we do.”
