Slash’s 2 Kids: All About the Rocker’s Sons London and Cash — and How They’re Building Music Careers of Their Own

Slash is one of the best guitarists of all time, but he’s also a great dad to his two kids.

The music legend, whose real name is Saul Hudson, shares two sons, London and Cash, with his ex-wife, Perla Ferrar. The couple married in 2001 and welcomed their first child, London, the following year. In 2004, their family grew once again with the birth of their second son, Cash.

“Having children is life-changing,” Slash told Birmingham Live in November 2010. “I was so used to being self-centered and wrapped up in the band that it was a shock to realize I now had responsibility for two lives other than my own. I suddenly had other people to worry about. I had to work at domestic unity.”

The former Guns N’ Roses icon went on to explain that becoming a father had a major impact on his rock and roll lifestyle. “I do all the un-rock star things you’d expect any dad to do with his kids,” he said. “I take them to Disneyland; I take them to school; I take them to hockey and softball, and I watch from the sidelines.”

Along with his daily dad duties, fatherhood had an even deeper impact on the musician. Speaking to Yahoo Entertainment, Slash, who has been open about his past struggles with substance abuse, credited his sobriety to having a family. “I had two kids, and I didn’t want their earliest memories of me to be this burned-out drug addict,” he explained.

In 2014, Slash and Ferrar filed for divorce after more than ten years of marriage. As a child of divorce himself, a “traumatic” experience for the rocker, Slash wanted to make sure and prioritize his two sons. “I definitely tried to be way more in contact with them, way more hands-on when my ex and I split up,” he told Rolling Stone in August 2018. “You just kind of try to be there for your kids.”

From how they’ve followed in their father’s footsteps to how they changed his life, here’s everything to know about Slash’s kids.

London Emilio Hudson, 22

Slash became a father for the first time on Aug. 28, 2002, when he and Ferrar welcomed their son, London Emilio Hudson.

Ferrar had a fairly difficult pregnancy, and she was placed on bed rest for four months before delivering London. The whole time, Slash was by her side. “He’s really squeamish usually, but he was right there with me,” Ferrar told ePregnancy Magazine.

In the same interview, Slash opened up about the experience of seeing his firstborn delivered. “My first thought was that he was healthy — in one piece. You have a certain paranoia that he’s not going to be okay,” the musician said.

After that initial relief, he jumped right into dad mode. “I cut the cord, I gave him his first bath and I changed the first diapers,” Slash said.

Ferrar went on to praise the rocker’s dedication to his new family during her C-section recovery in the hospital. “For four days, he was there taking care of me,” she said. “He slept with us, and took care of the baby at night so I could get some rest … He was great — I couldn’t get rid of him.”

Becoming a father also prompted Slash to make a major change in terms of the kind of pets he kept. “I used to have a huge menagerie of about 75 snakes — boas, pythons, the lot — but I got rid of them around the time that my first son was born,” he told Uncut in January 2016. “I’d had some close calls with snakes nearly eating my pet cats and had this sudden feeling that something terrible might happen to my kids.”

Growing up, London played a variety of sports, including hockey, football and soccer, but unsurprisingly, he was more interested in music. Though he started out learning to play guitar and bass, he quickly switched his focus to drums.

In an October 2018 interview on the Appetite for Distortion podcast, London explained that he chose drumming to avoid comparisons to his famous father. “I don’t want to live in his shadow … that’s the main reason I don’t play guitar or stringed instruments,” he said.

As for the type of music London enjoys, he has a lot in common with his dad. “My oldest one is totally into rock ‘n’ roll and metal so we listen to the same stuff,” Slash told Loudwire in 2018. “He plays drums. He’s really analytical so he really listens to stuff. It’s a trip for me. All of a sudden he just became this guy and I can relate back to when I was 15 and 16 years old.”

London started playing in his first band in 2016. Since then, he has been part of several bands, including Suspect208 with Noah Weiland, son of the late Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots, and Tye Trujillo, son of Metallica’s Robert Trujillo. Currently, he’s the drummer for the band Return to Dust.

While London used to go on tour to watch his dad play with Velvet Revolver, the roles have now reversed, and Slash is the one cheering on his son from the crowd. “It’s very surreal to see him doing gigs and playing the way he is,” the legendary guitarist told Wall of Sound in February 2022. “It’s mind-blowing to see your little one up there doing that.”

As for whether or not he helps him navigate the music business, Slash said he is pretty hands-off. “I encourage him, but he’s pretty independent and does it all on his own,” he said. “If he ever asks for any advice, I’m always there.”

Cash Anthony Hudson, 21

Slash and Ferrar welcomed their second child, son Cash Anthony Hudson, on June 23, 2004. Becoming a father for the second time proved to be a driving force for the musician’s sobriety.

“I had two kids, and I was living in a hotel because I couldn’t be around them,” he told Belfast Live in April 2019.

After years of struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, the musician decided to go to rehab in 2005. “I really embraced it and I came out of it really happy and all that energy I was putting towards self-destruction I just put towards music,” Slash said.

Despite his wild adventures as a rockstar, Slash took the role of being a dad seriously. “I want to make sure that I instill in my children some of the values that kept me grounded growing up,” he told the Independent in October 2012.

“In the midst of all the drugs and the booze and the chicks, no matter how crazy I have been, there was always a decorum and set of manners,” he further explained.

In a November 2010 interview with The Guardian, Slash spoke about having a close relationship with his sons. 

“Having children is still changing me,” he said. “I’m the eternal teenager, so having my two boys is kind of like having a couple of buddies around.”

Like his older brother, Cash is a talented musician. “Both kids are really musically inclined. Cash, my younger son, plays piano and does hip hop beats,” Slash told Wall of Sound, adding, “It’s amazing, it’s a whole different trip.”

While he’s not in a band himself, Cash is exploring a career of his own in the music industry. “[He’s] totally into old school hip-hop and he makes amazing beats and melodies,” Slash told Loudwire. “There’s no vocals or anything, just really cool beats and he sells them online.”

Another talent he inherited from his famous father is his illustrating skills. During a 2022 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Slash praised his younger son, saying he “is an amazing artist,” adding, “He’s doing NFT’s now, so he’s trying to get me to buy one.”