By Jae-Ha Kim and Scott Fornek
Chicago Sun-Times
April 12, 1992
Rowdy heavy metal rocker Axl Rose cancelled a concert at the Rosemont Horizon and skipped town to escape the long arms of persecuting prosecutors, a representative for the singer says.
Leaving thousands of fans waiting outside the Rosemont Horizon, Rose’s band, Guns N’ Roses, canceled a Friday night show half an hour before doors were to open so that Rose could avoid being served with
misdemeanor arrest warrants for his alleged role in a Missouri riot last year.
“It smacks of celebrity persecution,” said a management representative for the band in a press release. “We understood they planned to arrest Axl imminently, thus preventing the show anyway.”
Not so, says a representative for the Cook County sheriff’s police, who were asked by St. Louis County police to serve the warrants. All Rose needed was a little “Patience.”
“We did not want to cause any riots or disruptions,” said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for the Cook County sheriff’s office. “Our plan was to effect the arrest of Mr. Rose after the concert.”
Sources said St. Louis County prosecutors had issued a $100,000 bond against Rose for four misdemeanor charges stemming from a riot that erupted at the Riverport Performing Arts Center after Rose leapt from the stage and allegedly traded blows with a fan who was snapping photos.
Cook County sheriff’s police officers contacted concert promoter Jam Productions so Rose could either be served before or after the concert. But Rose and the other five band members apparently fled the county early in the evening, Daly said.
Fans turned away from the Horizon apparently had no “Appetite for Destruction,” and police reported no problems.
The Horizon dates were makeup concerts for a July 4 concert that was canceled after the Missouri riot. Guns N’ Roses concerts Monday and Tuesday in Auburn Hills, Mich., also were canceled.
The band is expected to decide in the next few days whether to reschedule the show or refund the $25 tickets.
“Apparently Mr. Rose and the band chose not to fulfill their obligations, not only to the law but to the fans,” Daly said. “He chose to go out in a blaze of glory.”
Oh, Axl, there’s one last thing.
“If he is determined to be in Cook County, he is a fugitive at this point,” Daly said. “These warrants will be outstanding.”
