Axl Goes AWOL

• 5th Dec 2008

Axl Rose is apparently to blame for Guns N Roses' disappointing chart position in the album charts this week. And before you say anything, if you spend 15 years and $15 million recording an album, No 2 is disappointing. And don't forget, it's actual sales stats that matter. The band were beaten to the top spot by The Killers, who managed to shift 200,000 copies of their new album, 80,000 more than 'Chinese Democracy'. US sales figures were disappointing too.

According to The Sun, this is all thanks to Axl, who has refused to take part in any promotion for the album. Actually, technically he hasn't, because no one has been able to get in touch with him to ask him to do so. A source said: “The label is really glad to have him back. But it is frustrating because the album would have had a much better chance of going to No. 1 if he had only been prepared to show his face. People have been trying to contact him for two months and he's been completely AWOL.