‘Evict Axl’: The bizarre contest that saw Axl Rose kicked out of his own home
The MTV era was indeed a peculiar time, with famous musicians often acting with unchecked freedom, their egos buoyed by a media eager to indulge them. It was an outrageous period, producing countless moments that left both contemporary fans and those who witnessed it wondering what they’d just seen. While Madonna and Michael Jackson often embody the spirit of the era, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose is also emblematic of its wild essence.
From the moment he stormed onto the scene, Rose was a divisive figure. With Guns N’ Roses, he injected a fierce edge into the hair metal scene, delivering hits like ‘It’s So Easy’ and ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ before rocketing to global fame with ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’. Rose’s reputation grew as much from his powerful vocals and stage presence as it did from his unmistakable personality offstage, making him a distinctive figure in rock history.
Despite guitarist Slash asserting that Guns N’ Roses stood apart from other hair metal bands in the West Hollywood scene, their acclaimed 1987 debut album, Appetite for Destruction, placed them squarely at the centre of rock excess. Taking the mantle from bands like Mötley Crüe, they became the emblem of the era’s heaviest indulgences and excesses.
Uncomfortable tales of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll would emerge over the years, which include the band shockingly including real copulation between Rose and drummer Steven Adler’s on-and-off partner, Adriana Smith, in one of their songs, ‘Rocket Queen’. Reflecting the nature of the time, stories such as this would only feed into the band’s notoriety and commercial pull.
However, leaders of the emerging grunge movement found themselves on the opposite side of the fence, viewing Rose and his band of excess-driven rockers as emblematic of everything wrong with music. Kurt Cobain, in particular, made no secret of his disdain for Rose, sparking one of the era’s most infamous musical feuds as Nirvana’s popularity skyrocketed.
It wasn’t just Cobain and alternative rock that would take the piss out of Rose, though. In 1991, in one of the strangest moments of the madcap MTV era, the broadcaster sought to cash in on his outlandish rockstar vibe by running a competition, Evict Axl, where one lucky viewer would win a prize beyond their wildest dreams: his apartment on Sunset Strip, featuring a bar, barbeque, and swimming pool.
“This beautiful Sunset Strip property has everything a rock and roller could ever want,” Rose says in the promotional clip. “A bar. A barbecue. And a pool within throwing distance.”
The frontman adds: “The bed’s never been slept in,” he adds, ever the rascal. “I’m not saying it hasn’t been used – it just hasn’t been slept in!”
The advert further reveals Rose’s desire to leave behind Hollywood’s hard-living epicentre for a quieter life. In classic, over-the-top style, the voiceover adds that the lucky winner would inherit his furniture, stereo system, and even enjoy a “moving-in” party hosted by Rose himself. Reportedly, MTV received over 400,000 entries for the contest.
It was revealed that the winner of Evict Axl was a 21-year-old student in Akron, Ohio, called Erika Alden. After receiving the call from MTV, she told the Muncie Evening Press in August of that year: “I was so excited, but I was so calm. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself.” Wisely, she took her boyfriend Carmen Carcelli with her to collect the deed.
