SLASH: No Amount Of Money Can Bring Classic GUNS N' ROSES Lineup Back Together

Legendary guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES) was interviewed by Piers Morgan on last night's (Wednesday, May 23) edition of CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight". The interview, which aired live at 9 p.m. EDT, touched on Slash's history and his new album, "Apocalyptic Love", and how he has remained a vital artist for almost 20 years after leaving GUNS N' ROSES.

When asked about the drama surrounding GUNS N' ROSES and his departure from the group, Slash said (see video below),"It's a lot of attention put on a lot of negative stuff. And granted, the negative stuff existed, and might still exist or whatever, but dwelling on that stuff…. All things considered, I left the band in 1996, so we're talking a pretty long amount of time that I haven't really even focused on that [band]. [I last spoke to GUNS N' ROSES lead singer Axl Rose] in 1996 [and my last words] were… Basically, it was just that I'm done. And it wasn't even me necessarily leaving the band, it was not continuing on with the new band that Axl put together that he was now at the helm of, which was the new GUNS N' ROSES. I was given a contract to basically join his new band, and it took about 24 hours before I decided, 'I think this is the end of the line."

On the topic of the kind of offers the classic GUNS N' ROSES lineup has received to reunite for a show or a tour, Slash said, "I've heard a lot of numbers, but I've never been handed a specific offer. But I'd say it starts off with seven figures and then sometimes it starts to get even more grandiose than that." The guitarist went on to say that no amount of money could possibly bring the band back together. "I don't think it's a matter of that; it really isn't," he said. "I think you've got a situation where nobody involved wants to revisit. It's not just me — it's the whole band. And so I don't think there's a price tag that anybody's put in front of us that's going to make that work."

Rose skipped GUNS N' ROSES's induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last month and declined to be inducted along with the rest of the group. The singer also reaffirmed that there is no chance of the original lineup reuniting, and seemed to speak directly to fans still hoping for a reunion when he added in an open letter, "Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another's, or in this case several others', expense."

In at least a partial nod to his former bandmates, however, Rose wrote, "For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from GUNS their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It's their show, not mine."

Original GN'R members Slash, Steven Adler and Duff McKagan, along with later members Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke, performed three songs at the induction ceremony in Cleveland. They were joined on vocals by Myles Kennedy, who sings in Slash's solo band.