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Bret Michaels on Why He Wanted Slash in Poison Instead of C.C. DeVille

It has been widely known that Slash once auditioned for Poison, and Bret Michaels really pushed to bring him on board. In a new book, we learn some additional details…

Slash, Bret Michaels and CC DeVille
Kevin Winter, Kevin Winter, Ethan Miller/Getty Images

It has been widely known that Slash once auditioned for Poison, and Bret Michaels really pushed to bring him on board. In a new book, we learn some additional details of how C.C. DeVille became the guitarist for Poison instead.

Michaels recalled this situation in Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion, which was released last month. Michaels said in the book (as transcribed per Ultimate Classic Rock), "I got where Slash was coming from. But Bobby and Rikki saw it with C.C. It was one of our first arguments in the band. Because Slash f---ing killed it. C.C. came in and barely learned our songs. He started playing his own stuff. He was like, ‘I’ve got these other songs! You gotta hear ‘em!’ We immediately butted heads."

Slash would eventually bow out of consideration for the guitarist position in Poison largely due to not being really big on the band's super glam persona. As for those songs DeVille wanted to play instead of what Poison had already written, drummer Rikki Rockett noted in the book that one of them was "Talk Dirty to Me," which turned out to be a huge hit.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights