ROSE BLAMES THE COPS

It seemed too good to be true - after biting a bloke and then meekly forking out a small fine, you might have thought Axl Rose was losing his touch.

Not so.

Rose claims he was 'held to ransom' by Swedish police:

[His manager] Merck Mercuriadis said the star was threatened with up to three weeks in prison if he did not "co-operate", jeopardising the band's tour.

He said police were fully aware there were "millions of dollars at stake".

We're not entirely sure we follow this - is Mercuriadis actually complaining that the police had the cheek to arrest Rose for assaulting a man, and then refused to bend justice to fit Guns N Roses tour scheudle?

Yes, yes he is:

"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 'co-operate'.

"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."

Eh? So, effectively, the manager reckons that Axl deserved a spot of jail time, and yet is angry that the police let him off with a tiny little fine?

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