10 Fascinating Stories Behind Rock Music Star Stage Names
6. Slow Down, Kid - Slash
This Guns N' Roses guitarist and loyal subscriber to Top Hat Monthly really didn't need a stage name, as his real one was more than good enough for use in the rock world.
Slash was born Saul Hudson in England in 1965, the son of an artist father and a famous costume designer mother. Hudson went to live with his mother in the US when his parents got divorced and, owing to the nature of her job, the young boy rubbed shoulders with the great and the good.
His mother, Ola, famously designed the look of David Bowie's Thin White Duke character, but it wasn't the Starman who gave the future shredder his nickname. That honour fell to actor Seymour Cassel, who was nominated for an Oscar in 1969 for his role in the film Faces.
Cassel noticed that the young Hudson was always running around from one thing to another, constantly in a hurry. He would call him Slash as a result, and the nickname stuck.
Interestingly, Slash didn't know the reason behind this name until years later, when he asked Cassel over dinner. Hopefully he hadn't thought he was being rude that whole time.