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Axl Rose shows up late, tries to walk off early at Dublin venue

From news service reports

DUBLIN - Axl Rose, it seems, needs a little more patience -- and a much louder alarm clock.

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Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses is shown during the band’s first appearance in the United States in four years on Aug. 14 at the Rock and Rev Festival in Sturgis, S.D.

The Associated Press

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The 48-year-old singer of U.S. hard-rock band Guns N' Roses irritated thousands of his Dublin fans at the 02 Arena on Wednesday night by showing up nearly an hour late -- a recurring problem on his band's European tour -- and then walking off after an unruly minority in the crowd hurled water bottles on the stage.

Most of the fans left, but Irish concert promoters MCD wouldn't let Rose leave until he finished the gig. The band went back on stage an hour later to a mostly empty venue and didn't stop playing until nearly 1 a.m.

MCD and the 02 issued a joint statement criticizing Rose for having "a long history for being late on stage," but emphasized that "no artist should be subjected to missiles and unknown substances being thrown at them."

Rose's patience snapped after he warned the crowd to stop throwing things on stage.

"Here is the deal. One more bottle up here and we go. We don't want to go. Your choice," he told the crowd during an abrupt break to the band's second song, "Welcome to the Jungle."

But when introducing his other band members before a following number, up came another bottle -- and off Rose went to a chorus of boos. "OK, that's it. Good night. Have a nice evening," he said.

Rapper T.I., wife arrested on drug charge

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Grammy-winning rapper T.I. was arrested along with his wife on suspicion of possessing methamphetamines, five months after the hip-hop star finished a prison stint on weapons charges.

The 29-year-old rapper, whose real name is Clifford Harris, and his wife, Tameka Cottle, were arrested Wednesday night in West Hollywood after deputies smelled marijuana and pulled the couple over, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

Chris Brown returns to top of Billboard charts

NEW YORK - Chris Brown is back to a familiar place -- the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts. The 21-year-old's latest song, the goodbye groove "Deuces," hit the top spot of Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart this week.

Since Brown's February 2009 altercation with then-girlfriend Rihanna, he has not had much success musically. He released his third album, "Graffiti," in December 2009 and it's his lowest-selling CD to date. Only two songs from the album hit the charts; the first single, "I Can Transform Ya," peaked at No. 20 on the pop charts.

"Deuces" appears on Brown's mixtape, "Fan of a Fan," and it features rappers Tyga and Kevin McCall.

Brown also stars in the heist thriller "Takers," which debuted on top of the box office last week.

Painting remains missing

NEW YORK - First it was a curious tale of a $1.3 million painting a middleman said he lost while trying to help a friend sell it in New York.

Now a part owner of the painting is withdrawing her lawsuit against the middleman -- after she identified the canvas' co-owner as an admitted art thief.

Kristyn Trudgeon's attorney said she learned from seeing a prison mug shot that co-owner Thomas Doyle pleaded guilty in 2007 to stealing a bronze Edgar Degas sculpture from a wealthy collector. Doyle was paroled in December.

The fate of the painting remains a mystery. Police say no complaint about the disappearance of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's "Portrait of a Girl" had been filed.