Axl Rose Blasts Police for 'Blackmail'

Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has blasted Swedish police for blackmailing him into cooperating with their demands.

The singer was being held in a Swedish jail after being arrested in the early hours of Tuesday morning for allegedly biting a security guard during a drunken brawl.

After agreeing to pay a fine of $5,500, he was released from jail. He was also ordered to pay $1,360 in damages to the security guard.

But tour manager Merck Mercuriadis says the star only admitted to the "violent conduct" because he was physically mistreated as well as threatened with up to three weeks behind bars if he didn't. Rose would have missed the tour had he not complied.

Mercuriadis says, "We are in the middle of a tour.

"The Swedish authorities were very aware of this, yet continually threatened us over a 12-hour period with between five days and three weeks incarceration without bail if Axl did not 'cooperate'.

"They were fully aware that there were millions of dollars at stake, not to mention the hopes of tens of thousands of fans who had paid for tickets to see Guns N' Roses."

"The point is, the police report should not be taken at face value, and if one were to be explicit, this experience is tantamount to being held for ransom.

"If the context were any different, Axl would probably have preferred to spend the time in jail in order to ensure that all the facts were a matter of public record."

sfgate