Editing Axl Rose (section)

=== 1994–2000: hiatus ===
Without consultation from his bandmates, Rose did not renew Gilby Clarke's contract with the band in June 1994,<ref name="Wall07"/> as he claimed Clarke to be only a "hired hand".<ref>{{cite book|author1=Slash|last2=Bozza|first2=Anthony|title=Slash|date=October 30, 2007|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-135142-6|page=576}}</ref> Tension between Rose and Slash reached a breaking point after the latter discovered that Rose had hired his childhood friend [[Paul Tobias|Paul "Huge" Tobias]] as Clarke's replacement.<ref name="Wall07"/> Although the band recorded material during this time, it was ultimately not used because, according to Rose, their lack of collaboration prevented them from producing their best work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=82|title=Guns N' Roses Launch "Chinese Democracy" Tour in China|date=August 14, 2002|work=Guns N' Roses press release|access-date=May 16, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317014050/http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=82|archive-date=March 17, 2015}}</ref>

In August 1995, Rose legally left the band and created a new partnership under the band's name, a step he said he took "to salvage Guns not steal it".<ref name="PRTN">{{cite web|url=http://www.gnrevolution.com/viewtopic.php?id=3350|title=1995: Chinese Whispers / 1995 / GNR Evolution - Guns N Roses Forum|website=www.gnrevolution.com}}</ref> Rose reportedly purchased the full rights to the Guns N' Roses name in 1997.<ref name="gnrname">{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/508988/axl-rose-buys-guns-n-roses-name/|title=Axl Rose Buys "Guns N' Roses" Name|first=Mark|last=Brown|date=January 30, 1997|work=[[MTV News]]|publisher=[[Viacom (2005–present)|Viacom]]|access-date=April 24, 2015|quote="Guns N' Roses leader Axl Rose has bought the rights to the name "Guns N' Roses," and can put out any music he wants under that moniker, played by anyone he chooses"|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630062052/http://www.mtv.com/news/508988/axl-rose-buys-guns-n-roses-name/|archive-date=June 30, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/news/shownews.php?newsid=7|title=Axl Rose Buys "Guns N' Roses" Name|first=Mark|last=Brown|date=January 30, 1997|work=heretodaygonetohell.com; Addicted To Noise|access-date=April 24, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216081305/http://heretodaygonetohell.com/news/shownews.php?newsid=7|archive-date=December 16, 2010}}</ref> Slash claimed he and other bandmates signed away rights to the name before the July 5, 1993 show in Barcelona, Spain with Axl delivering an ultimatum: they had to sign the name over to him or he would not perform.<ref name="RollingStone00">{{cite magazine|title=What Happened to Axl Rose: The Inside Story of Rock's Most Famous Recluse|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=May 11, 2000|access-date=June 5, 2011|url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=32|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906062814/http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=32|archive-date=September 6, 2011}}</ref> (In 2008, however, Rose said Slash's claims were false and that the alleged coercion would have rendered the contract legally untenable.<ref>{{cite news|title=Axl Rose: Why I Am Continuing To Use Name Guns N' Roses|work=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|date=December 14, 2008|access-date=February 18, 2012|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/axl-rose-why-i-am-continung-to-use-name-guns-n-roses/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311010855/http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/axl-rose-why-i-am-continung-to-use-name-guns-n-roses/|archive-date=March 11, 2014}}</ref>)

Slash finally left Guns N' Roses in October 1996 due to his differences with Rose,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1429823/g-n-rs-blizzard-of-acrimony/|title=G n' R's Blizzard of Acrimony|date=November 8, 1996|work=MTV News|access-date=April 24, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519022453/http://www.mtv.com/news/1429823/g-n-rs-blizzard-of-acrimony/|archive-date=May 19, 2015}}</ref> while Matt Sorum was fired in June 1997 after an argument over Tobias's involvement in the band.<ref>{{cite news|last=Harkness|first=Geoff|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2001/jun/28/seven_questions_with/|title=Seven Questions with Matt Sorum of The Cult|work=Lawrence Journal-World|date=June 28, 2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914002401/http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2001/jun/28/seven_questions_with/|archive-date=September 14, 2008|access-date=July 3, 2015}}</ref> Duff McKagan departed the band in August of that year, leaving Rose and Dizzy Reed as the only remaining band members of the ''Use Your Illusion'' era.<ref name="RollingStone00"/>

As the stability of Guns N' Roses collapsed, Rose withdrew from public view. The band never officially broke up, although it did not tour or perform for several years and no new material was released. Rose continued to recruit new musicians to replace band members who either left or were fired. By the late 1990s, he was considered to be a recluse, rarely making public appearances and spending most of his time in his mansion in [[Malibu, California|Malibu]]. In various media reports, he was referred to as the "[[Howard Hughes]] of rock" and "rock's greatest recluse".<ref name="Spitz99"/><ref name="Sutcliffe01">{{cite magazine|last=Sutcliffe|first=Phil|title=Didn't You Used to be Axl Rose?|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|date=May 2001|access-date=June 5, 2011|url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=42|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110530003051/http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=42|archive-date=May 30, 2011}}</ref> Rose was said to spend his nights rehearsing and writing with the various new lineups of Guns N' Roses, working on the band's next album, ''[[Chinese Democracy (album)|Chinese Democracy]]''.<ref name="RollingStone00"/>