Early Axl Rose demo showcases low tone

A clip from a 1983 demo recording featuring future Guns n’Roses icon Axl Rose has been posted online. Hear it below.

It’s a track called Ready To Rumble by Rapidfire, the band he fronted in 1983. The recording was made on May 25 – three days before the singer met future bandmate Slash at a Rapidfire concert, leading to the formation of Hollywood Rose, and, later, GnR.

The clip, which showcases Rose’s lower tones, was posted by guitarist Kevin Lawrence. He also appears on the tape and owns the full recording of Ready To Rumble plus four other tracks: All Night Long, The Prowler, On The Run and Closure.

Find out more about the Rapidfire session.

Rose was determined to succeed from his earliest years – and confident that he would. Music impresario Kim Fowley recently told how the singer was offered a suitcase containing $50,000 to leave GnR, who didn’t have a record deal, and join a band that did. But he refused, telling the manager who’d made the offer: “We’re going to be bigger than that.”

-Classic Rock