Guns N' Roses
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Guns N' Roses is one of the popular, American Hard Rock Band. They estimated sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. Their debut album, Appetite For Destruction remains as one of the best selling debut album of all time.
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Members
Axl Rose - lead vocals
Dizzy Reed - keyboards
Robin Finck - lead & rhythm guitars
Tommy Stinson - bass
Chris Pitman - keyboards, programming
Richard Fortus - rhythm guitar
Bryan Mantia - drums
Bumblefoot - lead & rhythm guitars
Frank Ferrer - drums
Former Members
Ole Beich - bass
Rob Gardner - drums
Tracii Guns - lead & rhythm guitars
Steven Adler - drums
Izzy Stradlin - rhythm guitar
Gilby Clarke - rhythm & lead guitars
Slash - lead & rhythm guitars
Matt Sorum - drums
Duff McKagan - bass
Josh Freese - drums
Paul Tobias - rhythm & lead guitars
Buckethead - lead & rhythm guitars
About
Guns N' Roses was founded in March 1985 by "Axl Rose" and "Izzy Stradlin" in Los Angeles. Axl was a high school dropout. Axl Rose had, by age 20, compiled a police record that included charges for public intoxication, criminal trespass, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Axl became a member of LA. Guns and Hollywood Rose. Izzy is also a member of Hollywood Rose. An ELO and Queen fan, the singer became friends with guitarist Izzy Stradlin, and the two joined forces in L.A. in the early ’80s to form a band called, Guns N' Roses with "Tracii Guns" of L.A. Guns, "Ole Beich" also from, L.A. Guns, "Rob Gardner", and "Duff McKagan". When Tracii and Robbie could not attend the Guns N' Roses' first performance in Seattle, Axl recruited "Slash" on guitar and "Stephen Adler" on drums that he had met recently and asked if they would play. The two agreed and the band's original line-up was finalized.
In 1986, the band released their EP, which led them to sign a recording contract under Geffen Records. The following year, the band released their debut album, Appetite for Destruction. The first single, "Welcome To The Jungle" did not perform well at the chart. Their next single, "It's So Easy" gained popularity through radio airplay in United Kingdom. Their next single, "Sweet Child O' Mine" became a smash hit worldwide. In the early 1988, their debut single, "Welcome to the Jungle," was re-released. Followed by, "Paradise City". This three-said singles became top ten singles in the U.S. Singles Chart. The album sold 26 million copies, had three top 10 singles, and hit #1 on the charts. Appetite For Destruction remains as one of the best selling debut album of all-time.
By the end of 1988, they released their next album, G N' R Lies which chartered at #2 in the Billboard Music Charts and features the single, "One in a Million" which sparked intense controversy, as Axl slipped into misogyny, bigotry, and pure violence. He used the words 'niggers' and 'faggots', resulting in many accusing the band of racism and homophobia, which Axl denied citing the fact that his lead guitarist was half black. He also cited that he idolized gay singers like Freddie Mercury and Elton John.
The band won favorite Pop/Rock single for "Sweet Child O' Mine" in 1989 under American Music Award. "Duff McKagen" and "Slash" appeared on the nationally televised American Music Awards, visibly intoxicated. They also used strong language while accepting the award for Best Heavy Metal Album for "Appetite For Destruction", and Best Heavy Metal Song for "Paradise City". Because of the incident, subsequent American Music Award shows have been broadcast using a five-second delay. In 1990, during an opening for the Rolling Stones at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the members finally agreed to step down with their addictions after Axl threatened to break the band if they continued to use heavy drugs.
In October 1990, the band fired Stephen, reportedly due to his unwillingness to address his heroin addiction. He was replaced by, "Matt Sorum", formerly the drummer of Colt. During recording, the band added "Dizzy Reed" on keyboards. In 1991, the band fired their manager, "Alan Niven". He was replaced by "Doug Goldstein". After being delayed for nearly a year, the albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II were released in September 1991 and debuted at #2 and #1 on the U.S. Billboard Albums Chart. The band set a record, as they became the first and only group to date to achieve this feat. The two albums spent 108 weeks in the chart.
They released their next album, The Spaghetti Incident? in 1993. The album did not match the success of their previous albums. Then tension increased within the band. Most of the members started to do other projects. Slash left the band in 1996. The following year, Duff and Matt left the band too, which left Axl as the sole original member.
Axl rebuild the group in 1998 with new members, "Robin Finck" on guitar, "Paul Tobias" on rhythm guitar, "Tommy Stinson", former member of The Replacements on bass, "John Freese" of The Vandals on drums, "Dizzy Reed" on keyboard and "Chris Pitman". Paul left the band in 2002, due to his frustrations with life on the road. He was replaced by Richard Fortus". Former member of the band, The Psychedelic Furs and Love Spit Love. The band went on a break until they were scheduled to play at Rock in Rio IV in May 2004.
In February 2007, it was announced in their website that their album, Chinese Democracy is already finished and the band had now moved onto mixing the album. However, there is no scheduled of released yet.
Awards & Certifications
Certifications
| Year | Album | RIAA Certification |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Appetite for Destruction | Certified 15x Platinum |
| 1988 | G N' R Lies | Certified 5x Platinum |
| 1991 | Use Your Illusion I | Certified 7x Platinum |
| 1991 | Use Your Illusion II | Certified 7x Platinum |
Chart Toppers
| Year | Title | US Hot 100 | U.S. Mainstream Rock | UK Singles Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Welcome to the Jungle | 7 | 37 | 24 | Appetite for Destruction |
| 1988 | Sweet Child o' Mine | 1 | 7 | 24 | Appetite for Destruction |
| 1989 | Patience | 4 | 7 | 10 | G N' R Lies |
| 1991 | You Could Be Mine | 29 | 3 | 3 | Use Your Illusion II |
| 1992 | November Rain | 3 | 15 | 4 | Use Your Illusion I |
News
Tours & Concerts
There are no current tour and concert schedules for Guns N' Roses.
Announcements
There are no announcements as of this time
Discography
Albums
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Singles
| Date | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Welcome to the Jungle | Geffen |
| 1988 | Sweet Child o' Mine | Geffen |
| 1989 | Patience | Geffen |
| 1991 | You Could Be Mine | Geffen |
| 1992 | November Rain | Geffen |
Compilations & Live Releases
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Other artists
Similar artists
Contemporaries
Influences
Trivia
- Both Use Your Illusion albums are certified by the RIAA as 7x Platinum, with SoundScan sales of 5,355,985 and 5,435,447. This is because they were released, sold, and charted in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
- The name Guns N' Guns was derived from a combination of Guns and Rose's pseudonymous last names, while earlier band names in the same vein had been Rose and Hollywood Rose. Fans often shorten the name to the 'Gunners'.
