Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses | |
|---|---|
| File:GNR Full Band.jpg The 1985-1990 lineup of Guns N' Roses. | |
| Background information | |
| Years active | 1985- present |
| Members | Axl Rose Dizzy Reed Robin Finck Tommy Stinson Brian Mantia Richard Fortus |
Guns N' Roses (GN'R) is an American hard rock band. The band's 1987 major label debut, Appetite for Destruction, gained them worldwide popularity while their 1991 second major effort, the simultaneous releases of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, and subsequent tour cemented the band's place as an influential member of rock and roll history. Guns N' Roses helped usher in a new era in the hard rock genre. Glam metal dominated the airwaves in the late 1980s, but the band's style of music and onstage behavior created a new movement within the music industry, as they offered a grittier, more traditionalist take on rock music, winning over many fans who admired their apparent authenticity. The band obtained success during the period of 1987-1993, but the personalities of different band members, coupled with their heavy drug abuse and the controversial actions of frontman Axl Rose hindered the group's ability to work together. Rose is the only original member in the current lineup.
History
Guns N' Roses were founded in Los Angeles in June 1985. Their unique style incorporated punk, blues, glam, and other genres of music into the popular heavy metal music of the time. The band was formed by singer W. Axl Rose, guitarists Tracii Guns and Izzy Stradlin, bassist Ole Beich (replaced by Duff McKagan), and drummer Rob Gardner. The name was derived from two bands that the original members had played in; "Hollywood Rose" and L.A. Guns.
Rise to Fame (1985-1990)
When Tracii Guns and Rob Gardner could not attend one of the first Guns N' Roses shows in Seattle, Rose called guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler, whom he had met recently, and asked if they would join the band on stage for the show. They agreed, thus creating the band's most famous lineup. On the way back to Los Angeles, the five members wrote the lyrics for "Welcome to the Jungle", which eventually became their signature song.
The band released a self-produced EP, Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, in 1986. (Original vinyl copies of this EP are very rare and seen as the ultimate collector's item amongst fans.) Copies of the EP reached Geffen Records executives who soon signed the band. That same year, Alan Niven was hired as the band's manager. Appetite for Destruction, GNR's debut album, was released on August 21, 1987. The album sold twenty million copies and reached #1 on the charts. It included the songs "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City", all of which were top ten singles on the Billboard charts. As of 2006, Appetite For Destruction remains the best-selling debut album of all time.
The band began opening shows for major acts in the rock industry, but as Appetite for Destruction's sales began to rise, a world tour in support of the album was scheduled. Guns N' Roses traveled across the United States, and in spring of 1988 were invited to the notorious Monsters of Rock Festival in Europe. The band shared the stage with famous groups including Iron Maiden, KISS and Judas Priest.
However, the behavior of GNR's respective members was garnering increased negative attention from the media. McKagan, Slash and Adler were constantly seen on stage under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Members of the crew at the time stated that Slash had to be carried onstage by a group of people and that he often passed out after each concert ended. During the Monsters of Rock concert in the UK, two fans were killed when the crowd began jumping and surging forward after Guns N' Roses' set started. The media blamed the band for their deaths, but each band member was unaware of the incident until after the show had ended. Events such as these during the Appetite for Destruction Tour earned the group their title of "most dangerous band in the world".
The song "Welcome to the Jungle" was included on the soundtrack of the fifth Dirty Harry movie The Dead Pool, which led to a few seconds of screen time for the band.
Guns N' Roses' next release was the half-acoustic album G N' R Lies in 1988, which hit #2 on the Billboard music charts. The album also included the entire Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide EP. The song "One In A Million", which included the words "niggers" and "faggots", led to controversy in which critics accused both the band and Axl Rose of racism and homophobia. Rose denied these allegations, saying that he was a fan of homosexual singers like Freddie Mercury and Elton John, and that band member Slash was half black. Rose also insisted that the song reflected racial and prejudicial problems of society, rather than promoting them.
The behavior of some members of the group led their music label to demand the band modify their habits. The members took steps to deal with their addictions after Rose threatened to end the band if they continued with their heavy drug abuse. He even spoke up about the situation, specifically their heroin addictions, during an opening set for the Rolling Stones in 1989 at LA Coliseum.
In 1990, Guns N' Roses returned to the studio to begin recording their most ambitious undertaking yet. During recording sessions, drummer Steven Adler was unable to perform due to his struggles with cocaine and heroin addiction. Adler was fired in August 1990, and replaced with former Cult drummer, Matt Sorum. About the same time, keyboardist Dizzy Reed joined the band as a full time member. The band's manager, Alan Niven, was fired in May 1991 and was replaced with Doug Goldstein. With enough music for a double album, the band instead chose to release Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II as two separate albums on September 17 1991. The tactic paid off when the albums debuted as #2 and #1 respectively on the Billboard charts.
Use Your Illusion Tour (1991-1993)
Following the release of both albums, Guns N' Roses embarked on the twenty-eight month long Use Your Illusion World Tour to support them. It would become famous for both its financial success and the many controversial incidents that occurred.
On July 2nd, 1991, Axl Rose jumped into the audience during a concert in St. Louis, Missouri and assaulted a fan who was recording the show with a video camera. Rose subsequently left the stage, ending the show early, and the angry crowd began a riot in which dozens of people were injured. Rose was charged with having incited the riot, but police were unable to arrest him until almost a year later, as the band went overseas to continue the tour. Charges were filed against Rose, but a judge ruled he had not directly incited the riot. The incident also led to the city of St. Louis receiving an unflattering mention in the "Thanks to..." list in the liner notes of Use Your Illusion I and II.
During this time, guitarist Izzy Stradlin quit the band due to differences with Rose. He was replaced by Los Angeles based guitarist Gilby Clarke. The band added a touring ensemble of both a horns section and several background vocalists in late 1991.
In 1992, the band appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, performing a two song set. Later in the year they went on a mini-tour with American heavy metal band Metallica. During a show in August 1992 at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, Metallica frontman James Hetfield suffered severe burns after stepping too close to a pyrotechnics blast. Metallica was forced to cancel the second hour of the show, but promised to return to the city for another show. After a long delay, during which the audience became increasingly restless, Guns N' Roses took the stage. However, the shortened time between sets did not allow for adequate tuning of stage monitors resulting in musicians not being able to hear themselves. Compounding the situation were Rose's claims that he had problems with his voice. Before performing "Double Talkin' Jive," Axl announced that the show will be their "last show for a long fucking time.” At the end of "Civil War," Axl made another announcement, “Thank you, your money will be refunded, we're outta here,” ending the band's set after only nine songs. The cancellation led to another riot by audience members, reminiscent of the rioting that had occurred in St. Louis one year earlier. Rioters overturned cars, smashed windows, looted local stores and set random fires. Local authorities were barely able to bring the mob under control.
The Use Your Illusion Tour is notable for the many videos the band released to support it, including "Don't Cry", "November Rain" [1] and "Estranged" - some of the most expensive videos ever made.
The hit ballad "November Rain" became the most requested video on MTV, eventually winning the 1992 MTV Video Music Award for best cinematography. During the awards show, GNR performed the song with Elton John accompanying the band on piano.
In May 1993, Gilby Clarke broke his wrist in a motorcycling accident and the band needed a replacement for some dates in Europe. Izzy Stradlin briefly returned for a string of five shows.
The historic tour ended in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 17, 1993. The tour set attendance records and lasted for twenty-eight months in which more than 200 shows were played. The last show in Buenos Aires was also the last for the classic lineup of the band.
Decline (1994-1997)
On November 23 1993, Guns N' Roses released a collection of mostly punk covers entitled The Spaghetti Incident?. This album did not match the success of the Illusion albums and tensions increased within the band. Despite protests from Rose's bandmates, an unadvertised cover of Charles Manson's song "Look at Your Game Girl" was included on the album at his request.
In 1994, Gilby Clarke was let go from the band as other members felt his songwriting skills were inadequate for their future projects. That same year, a cover version of The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" was recorded by the band for the movie Interview with the Vampire. The addition of Axl's childhood friend Paul Tobias in place of Clarke did not sit well with remaining band members. During the recording of "Sympathy for the Devil", Tobias played several solos in addition to solos that Slash had recorded. Slash was infuriated when he heard the song's final mix and Tobias's solos were used in place of his.
Slash then drifted in and out of the band for the next year or so, beginning a side project called Slash's Snakepit before finally quitting in late 1996, citing musical differences with Axl. He was quickly replaced by Robin Finck. The next year, Sorum was fired from the group following a verbal dispute with Rose regarding negative comments Paul Tobias had made about Slash. In early 1997, McKagan opted out of his contract. This left Rose as the sole remaining member of the original band. Slash, McKagan and Sorum have since formed the band Velvet Revolver.
Current Lineup (1998-present)
Rumors circulated in 1997 that Axl Rose had returned to the studio to begin work on a new album. The album's producer was supposedly Mike Clink, and there is some belief that Axl might have been working on the album since late 1994. Nothing came out of the rumors in 1997, and GNR remained in hiatus. In 1998, Axl formally returned to the studio accompanied by drummer Josh Freese (of the Vandals), bassist Tommy Stinson (formerly of The Replacements), guitarist Robin Finck (formerly of Nine Inch Nails), rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias (aka Paul Huge), effects man Chris Pitman, and keyboardist Dizzy Reed.
In 1999, the band released one new song, "Oh My God", which was included on the soundtrack of End of Days. The song's release was intended to be a prelude to their new album, now officially titled Chinese Democracy. GNR also released Live Era 87-93, a collection of songs recorded on the road between 1987 and 1993. Later that year, Finck returned to Nine Inch Nails to perform on their world tour for The Fragile.
In 2000, avant-garde guitarist Buckethead joined Guns N' Roses to compliment a returning Robin Finck, and drummer Josh Freese was replaced with Brian Mantia (formerly of Primus and Praxis, the latter of which also included Buckethead). The revised lineup debuted on stage in January 2001 with two well-received concerts, one in Las Vegas and one at the Rock in Rio Festival in Rio de Janeiro. The band played a mixture of old hits as well as new songs from their forthcoming album. During their Rock in Rio set, Rose made the following comment regarding former members of the band:
- "I know that many of you are disappointed that some of the people that you came to know and love could not be with us here today. Regardless of what you have heard or read, people worked very hard (meaning my former friends) to do everything they could so that I could not be here today. I say fuck that. I am as hurt and disappointed as you that, unlike Oasis, we could not find a way to all get along."[2]
The new lineup played another two shows in Las Vegas at the end of 2001. In 2002, rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias left the band because of his frustrations with delays in the album's recording. He was replaced by Richard Fortus, formerly of the band Love Spit Love. The band then played several shows in August of 2002, headlining festivals and concerts throughout Asia and Europe. They made their way to New York for a surprise appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards in September.
The band's first North American tour since 1993 was organized in the autumn of 2002 to support Chinese Democracy. However, the opening show in Vancouver was canceled by the venue when Rose failed to show up in a timely manner and a riot ensued. This tour was met with mixed results. Some concerts in smaller markets did not sell well, while shows in larger markets such as New York sold out in minutes. Due to a second absence by Axl Rose in Philadelphia and the resulting riot by fans, promoter Clear Channel canceled the remainder of the tour.
Buckethead left the band in March 2004, causing Rose to cancel their scheduled May 30 appearance at Rock in Rio 4 in Lisbon, Portugal. No replacement guitarist has been announced.
Also in March 2004, Geffen released Guns N' Roses' Greatest Hits since Rose had failed to deliver a new studio album in ten years. Rose expressed his displeasure with this album as its track listing was established without his consent.
In September 2005, Rose allegedly told a group of fans in Malibu that the band may put a song on the soundtrack to The Da Vinci Code.[3]
In January 2006, Rose told Rolling Stone that "people will hear music this year" with regards to Chinese Democracy. He also would not rule out the band playing live dates in 2006.[4]
In February 2006, demos of the songs "Better", "Catcher In The Rye", "I.R.S.", and "There Was a Time" were leaked on the internet through a Guns N' Roses fan site. The band's management requested that all links to the MP3 files and all lyrics to the songs be removed from forums and websites. That same month, it was announced that the band would launch a European tour starting in May, headlining both Download Festival and Rock In Rio-Lisboa. Two warm-up shows will precede the tour at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. These will be the band's first live dates since a December 5, 2002 concert at Madison Square Garden.
The band's management has stated that "no release date has been set" for Chinese Democracy, but assures that the album "is coming".[5] It has been in production for over ten years at a cost of over thirteen million dollars.[6]
Legacy
Guns N' Roses is recognized as the band that changed how the heavy metal industry was moving in the late 1980s. While most bands during that period produced simple songs and were dependent on their looks rather than the messages of their music (see hair metal), Guns N' Roses ushered in an era where facial make-up and spandex pants were no longer seen as popular. Their peers in the music industry spoke highly of the band. Ozzy Osbourne and Joe Perry called GNR "the next Rolling Stones." In 2002, Q magazine named Guns N' Roses in their list of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". Also, the television network VH1 ranked Guns N' Roses ninth in its "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" special. Appetite for Destruction appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine's special issue "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
However, the band has not been free of criticism from the media. While Appetite For Destruction was widely praised, some people have criticized the Use Your Illusion albums as being disappointingly pompous, overwrought and cliche, lacking the reckless spirit and humor of their debut. It has also been noted that the quality of their music declined beginning with those albums. The well-known drug abuse by some members of the group, particularly Slash and McKagan, and Axl's fondness of Charles Manson T-shirts, was used by the media to portray GNR as a bad example to their young fans. The long periods of time that the band took to record albums were also a source of heavy criticism.
Frontman Axl Rose has become a source of both controversy and criticism since the other founding members left the group. His constant elusiveness, such as the fact that he has not held a press conference since 1994, has led to several stories claiming he is suffering from bipolar disorder. Music critics have blamed Rose for the break-up of the original group, and have criticized him for continuing the band after the original members had departed. They also cite his sense of perfectionism as a cause of personal conflict and the long delays between albums. However, he still has fans who view him as a sort of musical anti-hero.
The band will be eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame beginning in 2012. Critics and fans alike view this as an opportunity for the bands' original lineup to reunite. On the VH1 special, Behind the Music, Slash was questioned about a reunion and stated that "No matter how much money they throw in our faces, there's no reason for us to get together...unless there's a mutual respect and understanding...and we're way far from that." Regardless of such comments, fans remain hopeful a reunion will someday occur.
Members
Current Members
- Axl Rose - lead vocals, piano (1985-present)
- Dizzy Reed - keyboards, piano (1990-present)
- Robin Finck - lead guitar (1997-1999, 2000-present)
- Tommy Stinson - bass (1998-present)
- Chris Pitman - keyboards, effects, programming (1998-present)
- Brian Mantia - drums (2000-present)
- Richard Fortus - rhythm guitar (2002-present)
Former members
- Ole Beich - bass (1985)
- Rob Gardner - drums (1985)
- Tracii Guns - lead guitar (1985)
- Steven Adler - drums (1985-1990)
- Izzy Stradlin - rhythm guitar (1985-1991)
- Gilby Clarke - rhythm guitar (1991-1994)
- Slash - lead guitar (1985-1996)
- Matt Sorum - drums (1990-1997)
- Duff McKagan - bass (1985-1997)
- Josh Freese - drums (1997-2000)
- Paul Tobias - rhythm guitar (1994-2002)
- Buckethead - lead guitar (2000-2004)
Touring Members
- Tracey Amos - backing vocals (1991-1993)
- Teddy Andreadis - harmonica, keyboards, backing vocals (1991-1993)
- Roberta Freeman - backing vocals (1991-1993)
- Diane Jones - backing vocals (1991-1993)
- Anne King - horns (1991-1993)
- Lisa Maxwell - horns (1991-1993)
- Cece Worrall - horns (1991-1993)
Touring Substitutes
- Fred Coury - drums (1987-1988 - eight performances)
- Stephen Harris - bass (1988 - one performance)
- Don Henley - drums (1989 - one performance)
- Izzy Stradlin - rhythm guitar (1993 - five performances)
Touring Guests
- Vince Neil - vocals (1988 - one performance)
- Matt McKagan - horns (1989 - four performances)
- Shannon Hoon - bongos, vocals (1991-1993 - nine performances)
- Sebastian Bach - vocals (1991 - three performances)
- Lenny Kravitz - guitar, vocals (1992 - one performance)
- Steven Tyler - vocals (1992 - one performance)
- Joe Perry - guitar (1992 - one performance)
- Brian May - guitar (1992-1993 - two performances)
- Elton John - piano (1992 - one performance)
- Ronnie Wood - guitar (1993 - two performances)
- Tom Doyle - bongos (1993 - four performances)
- Michael Monroe - vocals (1993 - one performance)
- Blake Stanton - vocals (1993 - one performance)
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | US | UK | US Sales | RIAA Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide (EP) | - | - | 10,000 | - |
| 1987 | Appetite for Destruction | 1 | 5 | 18,000,000 | 15x Platinum |
| 1988 | G N' R Lies (EP) | 2 | 22 | 5,000,000 | 5x Platinum |
| 1991 | Use Your Illusion I | 2 | 2 | 5,355,985 | 7x Platinum |
| 1991 | Use Your Illusion II | 1 | 1 | 5,435,447 | 7x Platinum |
| 1993 | The Spaghetti Incident? | 4 | 2 | 1,290,849 | Platinum |
| 1998 | Use Your Illusion | - | - | 430,912 | - |
| 1999 | Live Era: '87-'93 | 45 | 45 | 729,370 | Gold |
| 2004 | Greatest Hits | 3 | 1 | 2,419,000 | 2x Platinum |
| TBA | Chinese Democracy | - | - | - | - |
All sales reflect US numbers only; worldwide sales are estimated at more than ninety million.
RIAA certifications are based on storewide shipments only. Some albums have yet to be re-certified again, thus making their current certification outdated.
Singles
Videos
All but seven of these music videos can be seen on the DVD compilation Welcome to the Videos, a re-release of a 1998 VHS title of the same name. "It's So Easy" was never publicly released. "Don't Cry (Alternate Lyrics)" has aired on television in the past, and is basically just a rough cut of the "Don't Cry" video with an alternate audio track. "Civil War" was taken from the band's 1992 Tokyo show, and that is available as a separate DVD release. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" was taken from the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and could not be included for legal reasons. "You Could Be Mine" features footage from the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day and could not be included for legal reasons. The two videos from Live Era: '87-'93 aren't included because they were produced in 1999.
Accomplishments
Awards
- 1988 - Best New Artist - MTV Video Music Awards ("Welcome to the Jungle")
- 1989 - Favorite Pop/Rock Single - American Music Awards ("Sweet Child O' Mine")
- 1989 - Best Heavy Metal Video - MTV Video Music Awards ("Sweet Child O' Mine")
- 1990 - Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist - American Music Awards
- 1990 - Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album - American Music Awards (Appetite for Destruction)
- 1992 - Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist - American Music Awards
- 1992 - Video Vanguard - MTV Video Music Awards
- 1992 - Best Cinematography - MTV Video Music Awards ("November Rain")
- 1993 - Best Selling Hard Rock Artist - World Music Awards
Televised Performances
- 1988 - MTV at The Ritz (full set - live from New York City)
- 1988 - The Late Show ("You're Crazy", "Used to Love Her" - live from Los Angeles)
- 1988 - MTV Video Music Awards ("Welcome to the Jungle" - live from Los Angeles)
- 1989 - American Music Awards ("Patience" - live from Los Angeles)
- 1990 - Farm Aid IV ("Civil War", "Down on the Farm" - live from Indianapolis)
- 1991 - Rock in Rio II (two full sets - live from Rio de Janeiro)
- 1991 - MTV Video Music Awards ("Live and Let Die" - taped from London)
- 1991 - MTV New Year's Eve (three songs - taped from St. Petersburg)
- 1992 - American Music Awards ("Yesterdays" - taped from Las Vegas)
- 1992 - Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert ("Paradise City", "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" - live from London)
- 1992 - MTV Video Music Awards ("November Rain" - live from Los Angeles)
- 1992 - Use Your Illusion Tour (full set - live from Paris)
- 1992 - Use Your Illusion Tour (full set - live from Santiago)
- 1992 - Use Your Illusion Tour (full set - live from Buenos Aires)
- 1993 - Use Your Illusion Tour (full set - live from Buenos Aires)
- 2001 - Rock in Rio III (full set - live from Rio de Janeiro)
- 2002 - MTV Video Music Awards (medley: "Welcome to the Jungle", "Madagascar", "Paradise City" - live from New York City)
2006 Tour Dates
- Hammerstein Ballroom - May 15th (New York, New York)
- Hammerstein Ballroom - May 17th (New York, New York)
- Rock in Rio V - May 27th (Lisboa, Portugal)
- Auditorio Juan Carlos I - May 28th (Madrid, Spain)
- Budapest Sports Arena - May 31st (Budapest, Hungary)
- Rock Am Ring - June 2nd (Nürburgring, Germany)
- Gods of Metal Festival - June 4th (Milan, Italy)
- RDS Arena - June 9th (Dublin, Ireland)
- Download Festival - June 11th (Donnington, England)
- Sazka Arena - June 13th (Prague, Czech Republic)
- Legia Stadium - June 15th (Warsaw, Poland)
- Nova Rock Festival - June 17th (Burgenland, Austria)
- Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy - June 20th (Paris, France)
- Graspop Metal Meeting - June 24th (Dessel, Belgium)
- Globen Arena - June 26th (Stockholm, Sweden)
- Oslo Spektrum - June 28th (Oslo, Norway)
- Roskilde Festival - June 29th (Roskilde, Denmark)
- Goffertpark - July 2nd (Nijmegen, Netherlands)
- Hartwall Areena - July 5th (Helsinki, Finland)
- Hartwall Areena - July 6th (Helsinki, Finland)
- Oslo Spektrum - July 8th (Oslo, Norway)
References
- Stenning, Paul (2004). The Band That Time Forgot: The Complete Unauthorised Biography of Guns N' Roses. Chrome Dreams. ISBN 1842402463.
- Wall, Mick (1992). Guns N' Roses; The Most Dangerous Band in The World. Hyperion. ISBN 1562829513.
See also
External links
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Official Websites
Resources
- GNROnTour - Setlists for Guns N' Roses concerts, 1985-present
- Here Today... Gone To Hell! - Guns N' Roses news archive
- GNRInfo - Information on official releases
- Information on GNR songs
Fan Forums
- Guns N' Roses Reincarnated
- Roses Of Velvet
- ChineseDemocracy.com
- Thenewguns.com
- Welcome to the Jungle
Fan Websites
- GNR: Critical Solution
- Guns N Roses Chinese Democracy Starts NOW!
- Rat's Guns N' Roses Web Site
- Right Next Door To Hell
- GN'R Norway
Commercial Websites
- Guns N' Roses discography at Discogs
- Template:Last.fm
- Guns N' Roses discography at MusicBrainz
- Metallian's history of Guns N' Roses