Rock and roll is a genre littered by attitude and ego; it’s incredibly exciting to be a part of and makes for some of the most engaging stage performances of all time.
One of the bands most renowned for bringing their die-hard rockstar attitude on stage with them is Guns N’ Roses. They look like rockstars, sound like them and put on a show that oozes with the swagger and venom of hard rock pioneers.
Guns N’ Roses were one of the first bands I was ever obsessed with, and since beginning that obsession, I’ve been lucky enough to see them live a few times. When I was a kid, I would watch compilation videos of fights breaking out at their shows and hear stories about them turning up to shows hours late and refusing to apologise because the crowd should just be happy they turned up at all. Those antics seemed to dissipate following their reunion.
When the band got back together, it was like a different lineup altogether, as they were turning up on time to shows, playing with little to no antics, and getting off the stage when the venue’s curfew kicked in… that was until I went to their London show. The band were being funny with the sound at Tottenham’s Stadium, so much so that the support bands set was cancelled and Guns N’ Roses refused to go on stage, resulting in them being around 90 minutes late.
Stood in the bar, still pondering over those pints that filled from the bottom (I still don’t know how they do that), I revelled in the disappointed musings of fans standing around, complaining about the delayed start. I must have been one of the only people in the stadium elated, revelling in the fact that I was finally at a proper Guns N’ Roses show, one not only filled with rock music but also controversy. The band eventually came on stage and delivered a stellar performance, and I was all the happier for it because of the delay.
While I might have enjoyed the gimmick of it, the same can’t be said for Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Slash. No matter what band he is in, Slash has spent the majority of his life on the road, and with that comes a degree of professionalism. This went against the mindset of Axl Rose in the early days of Guns N’ Roses, who was never in a rush to get on stage and would often turn up late to shows. Slash was never a huge fan of this attitude, but his dissatisfaction was really brought to the surface when the band went on tour with Metallica.
Metallica are an incredibly professional band, always turning up to shows on time and ensuring they give the audience what they paid for. This attitude, paired with Rose’s attitude of putting the rockstar lifestyle before the duties of a rockstar, highlighted just how much Slash hated the band he was in. The worst night on tour was when James Hetfield caught fire because of a malfunctioning pyrotechnic, and Metallica had to cut their set short. Guns N’ Roses were asked to make up the time that fans were missing out on, but they turned up late again. It led to Slash being incapable of even looking at Metallica down the line because he was so embarrassed.
“Not only did we not go on early enough to fill the void left by Metallica, we went on three hours later than our OWN scheduled stage time. In the end it was something like four hours between the time Metallica were forced to stop the show and the moment we took the stage, and once we did, Axl ended it early,” recalled the guitarist, “It was a very tense time – a major straw on the camel’s back for me and for everybody in our camp. It was actually a huge issue for me because I’d lost face with everyone in Metallica. We didn’t keep our promise to them, the fans, or to ourselves to put on the best show possible. I felt like an ass and I couldn’t look James, Lars, or anyone from their band in eye for the rest of the tour…..”
