Presumably your solo gigs include songs by Candy, Kill For Thrills and solo ones, plus a few GN’R favourites? I don’t go as far back as Candy, but apart from that there’s a little of everything – some Slash’s Snakepit and Guns tunes – and we always end up doing at least two by the Rolling Stones [laughs].
In March you toured South America as Slash’s guest. Tell us about the friendship with your former bandmate?
The real connection is that we both like the same kind of music. If you see Slash’s band play and then go and see mine, they’re not that different.
Axl Rose famously declined to be inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, at which you were present but not included. When did you last talk to him?
I honestly don’t recall the date. Maybe it was twenty years ago. But he turned up unexpectedly at one of my gigs at the Cat Club [in Hollywood]. He jammed with us, and afterwards we sat up all night, just rapping about stuff. We hung out like it had been yesterday since our last meeting… And I haven’t spoken to him since.
Are you surprised that Axl’s feud with Slash has now apparently ended?
I’ve no inside information on that, but I’m not surprised at all. I always felt that there was a strong connection between them. Nobody should hold grudges for that long.
Do you think the Appetite GN’R line-up will now reunite? Is it something that should happen?
I feel the same as everybody else. I bought Appetite For Destruction on the day it came out. It was a great band. I followed them like the rest of the fans. The guys are all still alive, and there are so many bands out there now that shouldn’t be playing. It would be such a shame if nothing happened now. DL
Clarke’s tour ends in Bilston on December 14.
