Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash had heart scare at Michael Jackson show

Jun 28 2009 by Paul Cole, Sunday Mercury

PLAYING live with Michael Jackson almost gave Midland rock star Slash a heart attack.

The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist from Stoke-on-Trent faced a medical crisis of his own while appearing at Jackson’s 40th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden.

Slash – real name Saul Hudson – reveals that it was his first gig after having a major heart operation.

“Years of drinking had swollen my heart to the point of bursting,” he recalls. “It reached the point where the doctors gave me between six days and six weeks to live.

“They installed a defibrillator to keep my heart from stopping and keep it beating at a steady rate. After the operation I began therapy and miraculously my heart started to heal.

“I was out of circulation for four months before I picked up a guitar. It was the darkest period of my life – but in 2001 I agreed to play at Michael’s birthday celebration.

“This was my first gig since the operation so I was looking forward to it. It certainly turned out to be memorable.”

Slash did two days’ rehearsal for the September show, which boasted a bill including the reunited Jacksons, Marlon Brando, Liza Minnelli, Gloria Estefan and a host of Jacko’s celebrity chums.

“On the day it was a great show,” he recalls. “Everyone in the Michael Jackson entourage was rocking out, and I was doing the best I could to stay away from alcohol.

“After all, I now had a pacemaker.

“When the doctors put the defibrillator in me, it was for maintaining a normal heart rate. For most people this isn’t a problem, but it was for me.

“Once I get up onstage my heart rate sky-rockets. When I took the stage with Michael and got into it, I was suddenly hit in the chest by a shock and my vision flooded with electric blue light.

“This happened about four times during each song, and I had no idea what was going on.