Tuesday 7th August 2012 by David Renshaw | Photos by WENN / Splash

Pete Doherty, Axl Rose, Keith Richards: has time been kind?

How are these rock icons holding up?

Now: Bloated and with an unfortunate case of white man dreads, Axl Rose is looking a long way off his best.

Then: Guitarist in one of the biggest bands the world has ever seen, Brian May had the hair and the riffs to elevate him above most men.

Now: Wrapped in his living room curtains and looking like an Elizabethan relic, Brian May trundles the glove finding new ways to squeeze another drop from the Queen cash cow.

Then: Believe it or not, Pete Doherty was once the epitome of cool. Supermodel girlfriend, hugely popular band and looks to boot. What could possibly go wrong?

Now: Oh dear. Sadly, drugs happened to Doherty and in a big way. These days he look like he could turn clean bathwater murky by just looking at it.

Then: Cheesy in a way only the 1980's could be, Barry Manilow was nevertheless at the top of his game.

Now: We get the distinct feeling that Manilow has swapped the Copa Cabana for the Plastic Surgeon.

Then: Pretty boy leader of Blur, Damon Albarn was the centre point of Britpop.

Now: The years may have been kind to bandmates Graham Coxon and Alex James but not so for Damon. The gold tooth doesn''t help.

Then: Snake hipped leader of the 1980's biggest hair metal band, Steven Tyler had it going on.

Now: Looking like a mermaid dragged out of the sea half way through her beauty regime, you're more likely to find Steven Tyler on American Idol than with scores of women at his feet.

Then: Seemingly half man, half lion - Robert Plant was the ultimate rock n roll star.

Now: We think he might just be 100% lion these days.

Then: Young, cool and reinventing music as he went along; Bob Dylan was the man of the 1960's.

Now: Looking like Zorro's creepy uncle, the only electric we want Dylan to pick up these days is a razor.

Then: Lead guitarist in The Rolling Stones, aka the coolest band ever, Keith Richards was by default, the coolest man on the planet.

Now: Well, the less said about this the better. Stay away from drink and drugs kids.

Then: Small but packed with power, The Who's Roger Daltrey was the original King of the Mods.

Now: Sorry, we appear to have posted a picture of our Auntie Irene by accident. Oh wait, nope that's Roger alright.

Tags: Guns N Roses, Peter Doherty, The Rolling Stones

Time can be a cruel mistress and nobody known this better than the stars of rock n roll.

Lauded for their looks, followed everywhere they go and generally worshipped for merely existing; it can be a good life to be in a succesful rock band. However, this comes at a cost when the hairline starts receeding, the chins increase and the bags under your eyes become more like suitcases.

Take Axl Rose for example (left). Once the iconic leader of Guns N' Roses, he cast an impressive figure atop that cliff in 'November Rain' and had supermodels lining up to, ahem, 'meet' him.

Flick through the pictures below to see how he, and all your favourite vintage rockers, turned out not quite as planned.