Adelaide photographer Simon Cross recounts the night he spent partying with Axl Rose in 2007

In 2007, photographer Simon Cross headed out to snap photos of Guns N’ Roses... and got way more than he bargained for. We revisit his extraordinary brush with fame ahead of the band’s big gig at Adelaide Oval tonight.

In 2007, Simon Cross, a young photographer with Adelaide’s Sunday Mail, headed to the Hyatt Hotel to see if he could snap a few shots of the members of Guns ‘N Roses, who had just come off stage after their gig at the Entertainment Centre.

As he told journalist Elisa Lawrence, a routine job turn out to be a night he would never forget. Here’s how the night unfolded.

I will never forget the night I spent partying with rock’n’roll legends Guns N’ Roses.
It was about 1.30am on Thursday and I was hanging out in front of the Hyatt Hotel hoping to snap a photo of their frontman Axl Rose as he arrived back from their show at the Entertainment Centre.

As the band’s car rolled up and the door opened, out stepped the rock legend and I caught a few frames, not believing my luck. Little was I to know, my luck was only just beginning.

A few minutes after the band had gone upstairs, their publicist re-emerged and asked if I wanted to get a better shot of Axl and the other band members later on.

I agreed and she took me into the hotel, sat me down at the bar and organised a bar tab.

Musicians Ron Thal, Robin Finck, Axl Rose, Sebastian Bach enjoying a Coopers Pale Ale after their gig in Adelaide in 2007.

About half an hour later, she came back and said to put my camera away and just come up to the penthouse and mingle for a little bit.

When I first walked in, there were about 10 people but about an hour later, there were about 30. There were three trolleys of spirits on offer, two large eskys of beer, including South Australian brew Coopers, and a tray of Red Bulls.
RELATED: ADELAIDE’S WEIRDEST BRUSHES WITH CELEBRITY
Axl was still in the shower and the rest of the band were just arriving. They were really quite nice, coming up and saying hello. And they were turning down the lights, trying to got the right ambience, to set the mood.

One of the guitarists was sitting at the piano quietly playing and singing Elton John and Beatles songs. It wasn’t exactly what you’d expect.

Axl Rose and Guns N’ Roses with Canadian singer Sebastian Bach and members of his band partying at the Hyatt Regency after their Adelaide gig in June, 2007.

When Axl came in, his publicist came and introduced him to me.

I’ve got to admit, I was pretty nervous. I’ve heard stories of Axl breaking cameras and beating up photographers.

I had no idea what to expect. But he was very easygoing. I didn’t feel out of place at all.

It was just like going to a mate’s place for a few drinks. I was certainly made to feel welcome. He talked about how he loves wallabies.
He said you can buy them in the States and he has owned a few of them as pets. I suggested he get a kangaroo but he said they were just too big.

He was also discussing wombats and seemed to like all Australian animals. Axl always had a drink in his hand but he wasn’t out of control.

Guns N’ Roses performing at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on June 13, 2007. Photo Simon Cross.

Axl Rose on state at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in June, 2007.

He had a lot of energy and just seemed happy. He was going around talking to everyone, mingling, having a laugh.

The band said they had never seen Axl this happy after a concert before.

The thing that really stuck with me was talking with him while he sat there and casually played the piano. He wasn’t playing anything in particular but it was all pretty laid-back.

He also talked about his cigar collection. He was just being a really nice guy.

I was there for almost four hours before they left for the airport to fly out.

I didn’t really want to press them before that and they just wanted me to become comfortable with them before getting the photos.

I snapped off a few shots but I didn’t want to push it by asking for a photograph of Axl with me.

Apparently someone had asked for his autograph during the night and he said he didn’t like doing that sort of thing. I didn’t want to spoil it.

And then they were in their car and off to the airport. It was a weird turn of events.

I would have put Axl in the top 10 celebrities that I was never going to meet. So to meet him, talk to him and be at his party was pretty exciting. It was a bizarre night but very much a night to remember.

Have you had a notable brush with celebrity in South Australia? Let us know!

Head to Advertiser.com.au on Wednesday morning to read our review of tonight’s Guns N’ Roses show.