2010.05.19 - New York Post - Axl’s Legal Riff-t (& related articles)

Axl’s legal riff-t

By Claire Atkinson

An ongoing legal war between two music industry heavyweights took a turn this week when Guns N’ Roses front man Axl Rose lobbed his own legal grenade at his former manager, Irving Azoff, two months after the manager sued the musician for nonpayment of management fees.

In Rose’s counter-suit, which seeks $5 million and was filed in Los Angeles, the rocker claimed “Azoff and his cohorts neglected to manage and oversee the promotion and marketing of the ‘Chinese Democracy’ album, lied about a prospective Van Halen super tour, and mishandled Guns N’ Roses tour dates in Asia, Canada and South America.”

The court document suggests that actions taken by Azoff were aimed at breaking up the current members of Guns N’ Roses in favor of engineering a reunion tour with its original members.

“Azoff resigned and abandoned Guns N’ Roses on the eve of a major tour, filing suit for commissions he didn’t earn and had no right to receive,” the suit claims.

Rose’s suit suggests that the band lost millions of dollars because of problems related to the management of the worldwide tour. Axl Rose is also upset about Azoff’s use of his real name, William Bill Bailey, which Rose contends causes him immense pain and is not his legal name.

The claims by Rose follow a lawsuit filed March 25 in Los Angeles by Azoff for non-payment of $1.875 million in management fees. Azoff is the CEO of concert tour promoter Ticketmaster.

Azoff’s spokesman, Larry Solters, said, “On advice of counsel I cannot respond at this time, but will discuss in my upcoming book my life with William Bill Bailey.”

Howard King, a partner with King, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner, the law firm representing Azoff, also said that the only thing that their client wasn’t accused of was, “Being on the grassy knoll in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.”

“What comes next is the battle to get Mr. Bailey in a chair before court reporters and a camera to testify as to the facts that could support these expansive allegations,” King told The Post:

Rose’s lawyer, Skip Miller, of Miller Barondess, said, “I’m looking forward to putting this case on trial and before a jury of 12 good citizens.”

https://nypost.com/2010/05/19/axls-legal-riff-t/

New York Magazine/Vulture, same date:
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Hero Manager Sued for Trying to Reunite Guns N’ Roses

By Lane Brown

Axl Rose is suing his former manager, Irving Azoff, for allegedly trying to make the singer come to his goddamn senses. According to the lawsuit, filed yesterday in Los Angeles, Azoff deliberately botched the promotion for 2008’s low-selling Chinese Democracy and mishandled tour dates for Rose’s current band. This sounds bad, sure, but wait: Axl claims the mistreatment was part of a plan to force him “into a position where he would have no choice but to reunite with the original members of Guns N’ Roses for a reunion tour” — which would have been great!

After Azoff’s well-intentioned cruelty failed to get Axl, Slash, Izzy, Matt, and Duff back together, and the manager was fired, he was so upset that he lashed out by using Axl’s real name: “Out of spite and vindictiveness to cause Rose emotional distress and harm,” Axl’s suit alleges, Azoff used Rose’s real name, William Bailey, when he filed his own lawsuit against the singer in March, even though “Azoff knew that the name William Bailey carries significant emotional damage.” And yesterday, when told of Axl’s lawsuit, Azoff did it again. In a statement, he said: “On advice of counsel I cannot respond at this time, but will discuss in my upcoming book, My Life With William Bill Bailey.”

If Azoff’s new career in comedy doesn’t work out, though, maybe he can manage Morrissey?

https://www.vulture.com/2010/05/hero_manager_gets_sued_trying.html