There are other ways of helping them than just getting them off drugs.  There were other ways he could have altered the arrangement without taking complete control of everything.  I don't disagree that something needed to be done; I disagree with what Axl decided to do.

Yeah I'm not saying it's illegal either. I'm saying it's was "bad form" to your friends and co-founders from an ethical perspective,  but probably what he had to do given his own situation. Also, in signing,  Slash and Duff did what they had to do given their peoblems at the time. Like the decision to throw out steven it sort of all makes rational sense for everyone but in your heart it's just a little wrong somewhere.

killingvector wrote:

As Dexter said, it didn't happen.

Firstly, It's perspective. As i said in this thread pages and pages ago. The "threat" of Axl's reaction to a refusal doesn't have to be issued by him walking in and directly threatening to crack the shits. His prior conduct of causing riots, smashing stuff, randomly disappearing, delaying recordings, walking off stages and so on speaks for itself. Slash and Duff were well aware that these are the sorts of behaviours Axl exhibits when he doesn't get his way. They could impute what would happen next if they refuse.

Because that decision is based on an assumption by Slash and Duff (quite a logical one I'd add based on subsequent events), legally Axl's correct that he never directly threatened them and so it wasn't rasied as an argument. But practtically speaking and ethically speaking...it was undoubtedly a factor.

Secondly, even if it didn't happen, what Axl did was still not a nice thing to do to your friends. Call it swindling, call it a dick move, call it tricking, call it legit, call slash and duff fucking morons..but ...they used to be equal partners, then Axl gets them to sign all authority over to him, demotes them to employees, starts replacing things they've recorded. Have a read of Izzy's interviews when he left the band and he talks of all the contracts over everything being thrown at him, and how when he helped build the band and write the songs he's suddenly treated like hired help. It's a dick thing to do.

At the same time, I don't think I'm calling Axl evil or witch like, he knows he's turbulent and cant control it and he had to move to protect himself from being fired. He has to be in control for safety. Did what he had to do. That simple. But what doesn't make sense is why Axl demands they apologise to him now - when his own conduct is so tarnished.

Even if he didn't so it illegally - Axl took control of the band and started imposing his will on the people who with him made GNR what it was, and sadly, that's led to the current state of affairs - and bands that once looked up to GNR like Bon Jovi and U2 are now still megastars.

I've always said Axl isn't as rich as some people thought he was.