It's difficult to change people's minds about you once you develop a reputation for being a certain way, and Axl Rose has a bigger reputation than most. Yet as the Guns N' Roses frontman's longtime friend and road manager Del James insisted during a recent interview, the private Axl is very different from the one we often see under the spotlight.

Making an appearance on the SiriusXM boxing show At the Fights, James pointed out he'd been "down with" Rose for 30 years, and argued, "If the guy was as difficult as people say he is, no one could have stuck it out that long. There's no amount of money worth that big of a headache. And the reality is, the truth of the matter is, whenever my kids needed something and I couldn't afford it — whatever it was, a medical bill or whatever — he was the first one: 'Yeah, I got it. And don't worry about it.'"

But Rose isn't just generous with his money, continued James. "He's the guy who you call if you make a mistake and need to be bailed out at 4 o'clock in the morning. He makes sure you're taken care of, and he looks after his better than anyone else I can think of."

James, who's said to have met Rose during the rocker's first weekend in Los Angeles in 1985, has enjoyed a varied career, working as a writer for publications such as RIP (where he served as Senior Editor), a director, a songwriter and the author of the short horror story collection The Language of Fear, which contains "Without You," the work that inspired the Guns N' Roses hit "November Rain." Check out audio from James' At the Fights appearance below.

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