Slash has admitted there were nights he was "too inebriated" to perform effectively.

The former Guns N' Roses rocker - who battled drink and drug addictions for a number of years - revealed while his ability to play was often affected by his vices, he never used drugs for musical inspiration.

He explained: "I would be lying if I didn't say that there had been nights where I had been too inebriated in some way, shape or form to really play effectively, but I made sure that I was together way more often than not.

"I wasn't on a chemical exploration with my music. Drugs were never something that I used to get inspired musically, which was great. I knew a lot of people growing up who did that and I think I learned a lot from watching their pitfalls."

The Velvet Revolver guitarist admitted there were periods in his Guns N' Roses career when he thought he'd be lucky to be alive in a year's time - but insists the prospect didn't worry him.

He told Q magazine: "If someone would ask me, 'What are you going to be doing next year?' I'd say, 'If I'm alive next year that'd be f**ing good', you know? For a long time I pushed myself up against The Edge because that was sort of how I rolled, right?

"I just thought it was fun. Maybe if somebody had looked at me from a psychological and emotional point of view I don't know what they would have come up with. As far as I was concerned I was having a blast."