We realise it's hard to read that headline without a little "I'll believe it when I see it" cynicism, but, if reports are to be believed, Axl Rose has delivered his band's looooooooong-awaited new album 'Chinese Democracy' in its completed form to his record label, Universal's Geffen.
According to reports, all that needs to be decided now is how to promote the album in a manner that will recoup the reported $15 million recording costs that have built up over the last 14 years. AllYourTV.com are reporting that Rose and Geffen are now in talks with TV companies about airing a reality TV show, which would follow GNR in the run-up to the album's release and seemingly use previously recorded footage of Rose et al. The label are hoping that this would re-excite a mainstream audience in the rock band, get the GNR faithful fanbase energised, and get Rose plenty of controlled media exposure - important give his often less-than-friendly attitude to journalists. Presumably it would also generate revenue in itself.
"There is a lot of footage to choose from," said 'a network source' with knowledge the show. "Some of it is incredibly personal and revealing about Axl's life". The 'source' also let slip that a deal to get everything up and running is "close, but not signed".
Presumably bosses at Dr Pepper will now be punching the air or punching the walls, depending on how likely they thought it would be that they would have to follow-up on their recent offer to give everyone in America (except former GNR guitarists Slash and Buckethead) a free can of Dr Pepper if 'Chinese Democracy' was released this year.
But let's not all get too excited just yet. Especially you Dr Pepper drinking US readers out there in CMU land. As you should know by now in this saga, anything can happen. And when I say "anything can happen", I mean nothing usually happens.