Remember Axl Rose? Sure, his career wilted with the demise of 80s hard-rockers Guns n' Roses, but our man Axl is still around. Still showing up in the headlines from time to time. This weekend, he was spotted in Vegas, hitting the nightclub at the new Wynn Las Vegas hotel. Maybe he was celebrating an early birthday, because Axl turns 44 today.

Though it seems like forever since we've heard any music from him, Axl told Rolling Stone magazine last month that fans "will hear music this year." Guns n' Roses' new album, Chinese Democracy, reportedly has 32 songs on it (26 of which have been completed.) "I am trying to do something different. Some of the arrangements are kind of like Queen."

For those who appreciate the old Axl, here's some good news. Some recordings he made prior to joining GNR are being mixed and readied for release. Reportedly recorded by his band Rapidfire (photo below) in 1983, the tapes have been in storage in 8-track format for two decades.

Here's some Axl trivia for you 80s fans:
-- His real name is William Bailey. (At age 17, he discovered his real father's name was Rose. Axl is taken from the name of one his early bands. Axl Rose is also an anagram for "oral sex.")
-- Axl is rumored to have slept with Liza Minelli. (Well, so is Sean Daly, but that's a longer story.)
-- Appetite for Destruction album is one of the best-selling debut albums of all time. (Freshman efforts by Boston and Hootie and the Blowfish rank a little higher.)
-- "Welcome to the Jungle" has a line that reportedly was yelled at Rose while he was hitchhiking in NYC: "Do you know where you are? You're in the jungle baby. You're gonna die!"