Over the years, Slash has accumulated more stories than most, but one of the most striking dates back to his childhood, long before Guns N’ Roses and the excess of late 1980s Los Angeles.
Born in London and raised partly in Stoke-on-Trent before moving to Los Angeles, Slash grew up around the music industry. His father, Anthony Hudson, was an artist who worked with figures such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, while his mother, Ola Hudson, was a costume designer whose clients included Ringo Starr and Janis Joplin.
After his parents separated in the mid-1970s, Slash often accompanied his mother to work. During this period, she began working closely with David Bowie, contributing to his ‘Thin White Duke’ era and The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Their professional relationship became personal, and Bowie became a regular presence in Slash’s life.
“My mum started working with David professionally at first,” Slash recalled in 2012. “Then it turned into some sort of mysterious romance.”
For a time, Bowie was simply part of the household. Until one moment made that reality impossible to ignore.
“I caught them naked once,” Slash said. “They were always together. Looking back on it, I know exactly what was going on.”
The memory stayed with him, but his later reflections on Bowie reveal a more complex picture.
In his 2007 autobiography, Slash described Bowie as a perceptive and thoughtful figure, particularly when it came to his struggles with addiction.
“David was engaging and wise in the ways of chemical abuse,” he wrote. “He asked me about what I was doing… once I started talking about my little translucent friends, David interrupted me.”
It is a rare account that places Bowie not just as an icon of the era, but as a formative presence in Slash’s life, long before either man’s legend had fully taken shape.
