Slash (musician) - Early Life

Early Life

Saul Hudson was born in Hampstead, London. His mother, Ola Hudson (born Oliver; 1946–2009), was an African-American costume designer whose clients included David Bowie, and his father, Anthony Hudson, is an English artist who created album covers for musicians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Contrary to several reports, Slash's mother was not Nigerian, nor is his father Jewish. Of his mixed background, Slash later remarked, "As a musician, I've always been amused that I'm both British and black; particularly because so many American musicians seem to aspire to be British while so many British musicians, in the sixties in particular, went to such great pains to be black."

During his early years, Slash was raised by his father and paternal grandparents in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire while his mother left the family shortly after Slash’s birth to pursue her career, a decision that caused great stress on those involved due to the fact that Anthony had never gotten on well with his father, even going as far as to come to blows over simple difference of opinion. Anthony made it a habit to take Slash on outings often while they lived in England. Despite the fact that Ola had obtained her profession around a year after leaving for L.A. and Anthony’s bitter attitude toward his upbringings, it wasn't until Slash was around four or five years old that he and his father finally joined his mother in Los Angeles, California. In between the period of Slash moving to L.A. and his parents separation, Ola made several attempts to make up for lost time with her son by taking him on outings with her friends as well as to work with her where Slash met several film and music stars. His brother, Albion "Ash" Hudson, was born in 1972. The separation of Slash’s parents in 1974 due to several issues like constant separation, Anthony’s dislike of Ola’s mother aiding with the family and Anthony’s love of alcohol constantly making him insult others led to Slash becoming extremely troubled and a self-described "problem child,". When the separation occurred, Slash chose to live with Ola and he was often sent to live with his beloved maternal grandmother whenever his mother had to travel for her job. He was given the nickname "Slash" by family friend Seymour Cassel, because he was "always in a hurry, zipping around from one thing to another."

"My big awakening happened when I was 14. I'd been trying to get into this older girl's pants for a while, and she finally let me come over to her house. We hung out, smoked some pot and listened to Aerosmith's Rocks. It hit me like a fucking ton of bricks. I sat there listening to it over and over, and totally blew off this girl. I remember riding my bike back to my grandma's house knowing that my life had changed. Now I identified with something."

In 1979, Slash decided to form a band with his friend Steven Adler. The band never materialized, but it prompted Slash to take up an instrument. Since Adler had designated himself the role of guitarist, Slash decided to learn how to play bass. Equipped with a one-string flamenco guitar given to him by his grandmother, he began taking classes with Robert Wolin, a teacher at Fairfax Music School. During his first lesson, Slash decided to switch from bass to guitar after hearing Wolin play "Brown Sugar" by the Rolling Stones. His decision to play guitar was further influenced by one of his school teachers, who would play songs by Cream and Led Zeppelin for his students. As a result, Slash stated, "When I heard him do that, I said, 'That's what I want to do.'" A champion BMX rider, Slash put the bike aside to devote himself to playing guitar, practicing up to twelve hours a day.