Axl Rose, the frontmen of Guns N’ Roses, had a tumultuous childhood that eventually helped create his persona.
Born on February 6, 1962, as William Bruce Rose Jr., Axl’s upbringing in his hometown of Lafayette, Indiana, has been everything but easy. Born to a teenage mom and a troubled 20-year-old father who was murdered in 1984, Axl grew up believing that his mother’s new husband, Stephen L. Bailey, was his biological father.
The household he was brought up in was a rather strict and religious one, and most of the things other children his age took for granted, such as music and TV, were labeled “evil” and forbidden.
The family attended Pentecostal services several times a week, and Axl, who even taught Sunday school, later the home as oppressive and fear-driven: “Everything was evil.”
Over the years, he has spoken openly of his childhood trauma and the way he was treated by his stepfather, as well as his mother’s indifference and probably inability to protect him because she had chosen her husband over her children.
Sadly, high school wasn’t any easier and Axl wasn’t able to find refuge there. Instead, he experienced bullying and was underestimated by everyone but himself. Even with everything that was going on around him, he was determined to succeed, telling his friends, “I’m going to make it.”
In his late teens, he was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder, which helped explain years of emotional turmoil. His rebellion intensified, and he was frequently in trouble with the law. Axl himself has said he had “around 20 arrests,” though exact records are unclear. Facing possible habitual offender charges, he decided it was time to escape Indiana.
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