Slash stamp -
Early life

Slash was born on July 23, 1965, in Hampstead, a middle class suburb of London,[5] to a white English father and Nigerian American mother. Slash's mother, Ola Hudson, worked as a costume designer for David Bowie, and his father was an artist who contributed live ensembles for famous musicians including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.[6] Slash was raised in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, until the age of 11 , when his parents relocated the family to Los Angeles, California in the mid-1970s. His parents separated and he lived primarily with his mother. He was given the nickname "Slash" by family friend Seymour Cassel because he "was always in a hurry, zipping around from one thing to another."[7][8]

At 15, Slash was given a single stringed guitar by his grandmother. He subsequently dropped out of Crespi Carmelite High School to focus on music. In a Rolling Stone magazine article, he remarked:
“ My big awakening happened when I was fourteen. I'd been trying to get into this older girl's pants for a while, and she finally let me come over to her house. We hung out, smoked some pot and listened to Aerosmith's Rocks. It hit me like a fucking ton of bricks. I sat there listening to it over and over, and totally blew off this girl. I remember riding my bike back to my grandma's house knowing that my life had changed. Now I identified with something.[9] ”

In 1983, Slash formed the band Road Crew with childhood friend Steven Adler. He placed an advertisement in a newspaper for a bassist, and received a response from Duff McKagan.

When Road Crew disbanded, Slash joined a local band known as Black Sheep. Headed by Willie Bass, the band shared an agent with another new group known as Hollywood Rose. In 1984, both bands opened for Christian metal band Stryper. After the show, Slash and lead singer Axl Rose were introduced to one another by a friend. The two quickly became friends, and several months later, Slash and Steven Adler were invited to join with Axl Rose, Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin as the band, Guns N' Roses.