SLASH's Friend Says DUFF MCKAGAN Brokered Peace Deal For GUNS N' ROSES Reunion

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Slash's best friend, Marc Canter, has told the Daily Mail that the GUNS N' ROSES reunion finally fell into place thanks to bassist Duff McKagan brokering a peace settlement between Slash and singer Axl Rose — but only after Slash left his wife of 13 years, Perla Ferrar-Hudson. Canter explained: "Duff was a big part in getting them back together. He was working with Axl again and is a good middle man. There was no one else who communicated with Slash and Axl. When Axl was venting about Slash, Duff was able to help him see things through Slash's eyes."

McKagan had been instrumental in getting both ex-bandmates, who had not been speaking since 1996, to sign off on a series of music licensing deals that required both their signatures.

Yet one thing stood in the way of a full-fledged reunion: Perla, who had managed Slash's solo career and was an executive in his various companies.

According to Canter, Axl thought Perla was "controlling," with her presence remaining an obstacle.

Slash separated from Perla in 2014, with Canter saying, "Perla was out of the picture and Axl didn't like Perla and the way she controls things."

Canter also claimed that the band originally broke up because Slash and Duff wrote a dozen new songs around 1995 and Axl refused to sing on all but three or four of them — leading Slash to pursue a solo venture.

Slash told The Pulse Of Radio a while back why he found it too difficult to work with Rose at the time. "Something with Axl was very insecure and it just kept the band from sort of functioning properly," he said. "Although he was wanting to do things, I never to this day really understand exactly what he was getting at, and because it took so long to ever get anything done, I always attribute it to some sort of fear factor."

The reunited trio of Axl, Slash and Duff played their second Coachella festival gig this past Saturday (April 23) and will head out on a full North American tour this summer — after Axl finishes his stint as AC/DC's guest frontman on 12 dates in Europe.