Sales of Guns N' Roses' 'Chinese Democracy' have failed to meet expectations because the record has been poorly promoted, reports claim.

Label bosses at Geffen Records are understood to have shouldered much of the blame on frontman Axl Rose, who has been out of contact for two months.

The album, which was released last week after a fourteen year wait, failed to top the charts in the UK, falling 80,000 copies behind The Killers' 'Day And Age'.

“Everyone knows Axl is a bit of a maverick genius and won’t do anything he doesn’t want to do,” a source told the Sun newspaper.

“The label is really glad to have him back. But it is frustrating because the album would have had a much better chance of going to No1 if he had only been prepared to show his face.

“People have been trying to contact him for two months and he’s been completely AWOL.

“You would have thought after spending 15 years on an album you might do a few weeks promotion.”

First week sales of 'Chinese Democracy' in the US, where the album was available exclusively in Best Buy stores, are understood to be approaching 500,000.

But the record is facing a battle against Kanye West and The Killers to claim the number one position on the US Billboard chart.

(by Jason Gregory)