Iconic rock guitarist Slash has spoken of his grief after his mother Ola Hudson died after a battle with lung cancer.
The quintessential American rock guitarist, it is a little known piece of trivia that Slash was actually born in England. His mother Ola Hudson was a stylist for David Bowie, who married a British artist.
Raise in Stoke, it wasn’t until the age of eleven that Slash moved to the United States. Musical from an early age, Slash discovered the guitar in his teens and was soon mastering licks by rock greats.
Helping form Guns N Roses, the band would go on to achieve spectacular world wide success with debut album ‘Appetite For Destruction’. Later dissolving in a morass of drug abuse and personal tension, Slash left the band in 1995.
Guns N Roses returned last year with their new album ‘Chinese Democracy’. In a publicity stunt Dr Pepper offered everyone in the United States a free can, with two exceptions – Slash and fellow guitarist Buckethead.
In a moving new blog on MySpace, Slash revealed that his mother Ola Hudson had died. The guitarist had credited his mother with nurturing his musical ambitions, naming her as one of the “most creative and talented” people he had ever met.
“Hello all, as some of you may already know, my mom (Ola Hudson) died 6:30am last Friday morning of Lung Cancer,” Slash wrote.
“This is a difficult time, but I have to share with you that she was the sweetest, warmest, most loving human being I’ve ever known (next to my grandmother on her side), as well as one of the most creative & talented. She was also the coolest Rock & Roll mom a Rock junkie like myself could ever possibly want to have.”
“She was responsible for exposing me to a lot of the music that would influence me as a musician growing up. As well as introducing me to “the life” & priming me to survive this crazy business that I’m now in. But more importantly, she turned me on to all different forms of art & the importance of artistic self expression & creative communication thru music & dance from as early on as I can remember. She really was all things artistic & creative personified & the world is a lesser place without her.”
“I still haven’t grasped fully that she is gone & this is going to take some time to process. But, I have gotten a lot of really genuine condolences from many of you & I want to tell you that I appreciate it more than you can possibly know. My family & I thank you for your support.”
Slash is currently working on a new solo album.
