On May 4, Sidgwick and Jackson (an imprint of PanMacmillan Books) will publish "Axl Rose - The Unauthorized Biography" (cover), written by longtime rock journalist Mick Wall, formerly of Kerrang! magazine. The official book description reads as follows:

"Axl Rose is one of rock's most colorful figures and yet his story has never been properly told until now. Mick Wall knew the original line up of GUNS N' ROSES before they were famous and has interviewed them many times. Drawing on exclusive unpublished material, he has written a no-holds-barred study of the troubled life and turbulent career of the group's singer and leader.

"The roots of Axl's behavior lie in his difficult childhood in Indiana — brought up in a strict Pentecostal household Axl claims, he was abused by his father William Rose and as a teen got into trouble with the police. Escaping to L.A., he and his fledgling band struggled to survive until they were signed up by Geffen in 1986. The first album, 'Appetite for Destruction' turned them into stars but the band's decadent lifestyle took its toll — they embarked on a two-year tour that sounded the death knell for the original line-up. As their lives slipped out of control, the original members all left and Axl turned into an increasingly reclusive figure. For the past thirteen years, he has been working on a long-awaited album, 'Chinese Democracy', and finally in 2006 has re-emerged into public view as the latest GUNS N' ROSES line-up embark on a world tour.

"Scrupulously researched and vividly written, 'W. Axl Rose' is an explosive biography of rock's biggest living legend."

Mick Wall's unauthorized GN'R biography, "Guns N Roses: The Most Dangerous Band In The World", first published in Britain by Sidgwick and Jackson in 1991 (and in America, in updated form, the following year, by Hyperion) so incensed W. Axl Rose that he wrote a song about it, "Get In The Ring", from GN'R's 1991 zillion-selling "Use Your Illusion II" album.

Wall recently wrote an article about GUNS N' ROSES' long-awaited new album, "Chinese Democracy", for the U.K.'s The Mail, stating, in part, "The last time I actually saw Rose, though, was when he and three menacing 'cohorts' cornered me in a Los Angeles bar and threatened to murder me if I went ahead with a planned book on his band. 'If I see anything with my name on it, I promise you this,' he said, pausing for effect while peering at me through his long red hair, 'I will track you down, and I will kill you.'

"Of course, I went ahead with my book. By then, Rose threatening people with violence was a fairly regular scenario.

"A couple of months ago, Merck Mercuriadis, who until recently was managing Rose, said, 'I donÂ’t know that we will announce a release date. You might just walk into your record shop one day and find it there.' (Since then Merck has become the latest to fall out with the singer after a row last month.)

"An Internet announcement [last] month by Rose predicts a 'firm' release date of March 6, 2007. But as Rose himself said via the GUNS N' ROSES website, 'If you're waiting, don't. Live your life. That's your responsibility, not mine. But if you're really into waiting, try holding your breath for Jesus, 'cos I hear the payoff may be that much greater.'"