Slash would be an animator or illustrator if he wasn't a rock God

Speaking to Metro.co.uk at Download Festival on Friday (14.06.19), he said: "I started out illustrating.

"'So if I hadn't picked up the guitar, that's what I would still be doing.

"I was actually [also] racing BMX and aspiring to race 250cc motocross bikes, and then work my way up to 400.

"So that's where my head was at, but I was doing a lot of drawing and I have been ever since I could hold a pencil.

"So I would probably have ended up being some sort of animator or an illustrator, something like that. "Definitely something artistic, that's my whole background, my upbringing, my family are all artists, so it would definitely be something in the art realm."

However, the 'Welcome to the Jungle' rocker says it's "hard" to see himself doing anything the playing the guitar.

He continued: "But I picked up a guitar, and I haven't really thought about anything else. It's hard to imagine had I not picked up the guitar."

As well as Guns N' Roses, Axl also plays in Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, who performed at the heavy metal festival, and this year he is working on records for both bands.

He said recently: "The Conspirators are finishing up in mid-August and then Guns is going out in late September/October, so in the fall.

"But at the same time, we're focused on working towards this new record that everybody's been asking about. So start focusing on that in earnest. And that's it.

"I'm not thinking about anything else while that is going on. That's really the main focus.

"By the time the Conspirators tour is done, I will have written enough material for the next Conspirators record that whenever that break comes up with Guns N' Roses we can go on to do that.

"We'll just juggle all this stuff, schedules permitting."