Axl Rose wants apology, payment from Dr Pepper

November 30, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

LOS ANGELES — Axl Rose and the band are bubbling over with anger at Dr Pepper’s botched soda giveaway.

The Guns N’ Roses singer is accusing the beverage maker of profiting from the band’s name — and then bungling its promised giveaway of a free 20-ounce soda to every person in America.

The soft-drink maker said in March that it would give a free soda to everyone in the country if the band’s “Chinese Democracy” album were released this year. Notorious for being delayed since recording began in 1994, the album went on sale last Sunday.

While the band finally made good with “Chinese Democracy,” Dr Pepper did not, lawyer Alan Gutman, who represents Rose and the band, said in a letter to Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. dated Tuesday. The soda-maker’s Web site malfunctioned during the 24 hours it offered the free pop to consumers last Sunday, causing many fans to get upset, said the Beverly Hills-based attorney.

The lawyer demanded an expanded time period to redeem the soda; and “an appropriate payment to our clients for the unauthorized use and abuse of their publicity and intellectual property rights.”

Today’s birthdays

Actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is 91. Actor Robert Guillaume is 81. TV personality and producer Dick Clark is 79. Director Ridley Scott is 71. Bassist Roger Glover of Deep Purple is 63. Singer-actor Mandy Patinkin is 56. Singer Billy Idol is 53. Comedian Colin Mochrie (“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”) is 51. Actor-director Ben Stiller is 43. Guitarist Mike Stone of Queensryche is 39. Actress Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Sideways”) is 38. Country singer Mindy McCready is 33. Singer Clay Aiken is 30. Actress Elisha Cuthbert (“24”) is 26.