W.Axl Rose (born February 6, 1962) is an American hard rock singer and songwriter, born in Lafayette, Indiana. He was born William Bruce Rose, and later changed his name to William Bailey after his mother remarried, before adopting the name he is now most commonly known by. He moved to Los Angeles, California in his teens.

His band, Guns N' Roses released Appetite for Destruction in 1987, which made the group one of the most popular acts of the 1980s. This was followed by a series of albums, including the massively popular GNR Lies, Use Your Illusion I, and Use Your Illusion II. Albums that followed - The Spaghetti Incident and Live Era '87-'93 - haven't enjoyed the same success.

Axl Rose caused some controversy by physically confronting fans who had smuggled cameras to his concerts. He had previously heard that some underground gay magazines had printed surreptiously photographed close-up images of his crotch.

Now with his new Guns n' Roses line-up which contain, apart from himself, no original members, he is recording a new album called Chinese Democracy.