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THE
BAND
W. Axl Rose born as William Bruce Bailey - 6th February
1962
Slash born as Saul Hudson - 23rd July 1965
Matt Sorum born as Matthew Sorum - 19th November 1960
Izzy Stradlin' born as Jeff Isbell - 8th April 1962
Dizzy Reed born as Darren Reed - 18th June 1963
Duff McKagan born as Michael McKagan - 5th February 1964
Steven Adler born - 22nd January 1965
Rebel
rockers Guns n' Roses won over legions of white male rock
fans in the late '80s with their gritty
punk-meets-heavy-metal sound and bad boy antics (domestic
assault, public indecency, property destruction, inciting
riots) that often bordered on rock 'n' roll parody.
The band
formed in Hollywood in 1985 when Indiana transplants Axl
Rose (b. William Rose) and Izzy Stradlin (b. Jeff Isbell)
hooked up with guitarist Slash (Saul Hudson), bassist Duff
McKagen (Michael McKagen) and drummer Steve Adler. They
took their name from two former bands Axl and Izzy had
played in -- the L.A. Guns and the Hollywood Roses. After
paying their dues in the gritty rock clubs of Hollywood,
Guns n' Roses self-released an EP, 1985's Live ?!*@
Like a Suicide, that caught the attention of Geffen
A&R exec Tom Zutaut.
Their
debut for Geffen, Appetite For Destruction, was
released in July 1987. Propelled by three Top 10 singles
-- "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Paradise
City" and "Welcome to the Jungle" -- Appetite
For Destruction rose to the top of the album charts
and went on to sell more than 20 million copies. The band
spent most of '87 honing their live act, opening for the
likes of Aerosmith, Motley Crue and the Cult.
Geffen
quickly followed up with 1988's G N' R Lies EP,
which included songs from the first Gn'R EP mixed in with
new acoustic material. Despite the controversial lyrics of
songs like "One in a Million," a neo-racist
denunciation of "niggers" and
"faggots," G N' R Lies brought the band
even greater success. When G N' R Lies hit No. 2 on
the charts, Guns n' Roses became the only band in the '80s
to have two albums chart in the Top 5 at the same time.
But as
their popularity grew, so did the swirl of controversy
surrounding the band. At England's Monsters of Rock Tour,
two fans were killed in the near-riotous crowd. Reports of
heroin and alcohol abuse abounded, and came to light in
several highly publicized incidents: Slash let loose a
string of obscenities on live TV while accepting an
American Music Award, Izzy was arrested for urinating in
public on an airplane and Axl's three-week marriage to
Erin Everly ended abruptly amidst charges of physical
abuse. Ultimately it was Adler who was forced out of the
band because of his heroin habit.
In the
fall of 1990, Guns n' Roses went back into the studio with
new drummer Matt Sorum (formerly of the Cult) and
keyboardist Dizzy Reed. After several long delays, the
group emerged with two albums, Use Your Illusion I
and Use Your Illusion II, released simultaneously
in the fall of 1991. The albums, both mixed by Appetite...
producer Mike Clink, debuted at No. 1 (Use Your
Illusion II) and No. 2 (Use Your Illusion I) on
the Billboard charts.
But
despite the group's then-promising future, Stradlin
abruptly quit the band, unable to resolve his ongoing
conflicts with Rose. With new guitarist Gilby Clarke, Guns
n' Roses set out on a 28-month marathon world tour,
including an appearance at the April '92 Freddie Mercury
tribute concert in London which, via satellite, had the
largest music audience in history. Back at home, the epic
concept video for "November Rain" had become the
No. 1 most requested video on MTV. Gn'R later picked up an
MTV Video Award for "Best Cinematography" and
the coveted MTV Vanguard, awarded for the group's body of
work.
The
band's next release, a collection of punk covers called The
Spaghetti Incident, came out in 1993. By this time,
however, grunge had knocked heavy metal off the music
radar and the rock 'n' roll excesses of bands like Guns 'n
Roses seemed suddenly out of date.
The
Spaghetti Incident sold poorly and the band slowly
disintegrated over the next few years, leaving Rose with
sole ownership of the Guns n' Roses name. In late 1998
Rose entered the studio with guitarist Robin Finck (Nine
Inch Nails), bassist Tommy Stinson (Replacements), drummer
Josh Freese (Vandals), guitarist Paul Huge and keyboardist
Dizzy Reed to work on new Guns n' Roses material.
In 1999,
"Oh My God," the first original Guns n' Roses
song in eight years, appeared on the End of Days
soundtrack.
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