As the ‘80s rolled into the ‘90s, Guns N’ Roses were the biggest band in the world. Formed in Los Angeles in 1985, the band was actually born from the combination of two other acts: Hollywood Roses and LA Guns. While an early EP in 1986 introduced their glam rock-inspired sound and Axl Rose’s yowling vocals, it was their debut album that really kicked in the doors. Released in 1987, 'Appetite For Destruction' almost single handedly made them the biggest rock act in the world. Led by singles like 'Welcome to the Jungle' and 'Sweet Child of Mine', it would go on to sell over 28 million records ...
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Full Biography
As the ‘80s rolled into the ‘90s, Guns N’ Roses were the biggest band in the world. Formed in Los Angeles in 1985, the band was actually born from the combination of two other acts: Hollywood Roses and LA Guns. While an early EP in 1986 introduced their glam rock-inspired sound and Axl Rose’s yowling vocals, it was their debut album that really kicked in the doors.
Released in 1987, 'Appetite For Destruction' almost single handedly made them the biggest rock act in the world. Led by singles like 'Welcome to the Jungle' and 'Sweet Child of Mine', it would go on to sell over 28 million records in the US alone. The group’s ridiculous popularity was only matched by their equally bad behaviour; the late ‘80s being the last real bastion of rock’n’roll excess, something the band took full advantage of.
Surviving the subsequent tours and hotel room dramas, Guns N’ Roses released a double-album follow-up in 1991, ‘Use Your Illusion I’ and ‘Use Your Illusion II’. The two albums debuted at number one and number two on the charts, respectively. Led by stadium-sized hits like ‘November Rain’ (one of the most epic videoclips of all time), the two LPs spent over 100 weeks in the US charts. The accompanying world tour is still the biggest in history.
Of course, the problem with being the biggest band in the world is there’s only one way to go from there, and by 1993 things had started unravelling pretty seriously for Guns N’ Roses. While a collection of punk- and glam-rock covers entitled, ‘The Spaghetti Incident?’, didn’t go over well with critics, the band were also constantly fighting. Although work began on a follow-up album in 1994, it would take 15 years for the sequel, ‘Chinese Democracy’, to finally arrive. During that time, all the original members - Slash, Duff, et al - would up and leave, leaving only Axl Rose.
Recruiting new members, Rose remerged at the start of this millennium with a series of US concerts to mixed results. While some sold out, he didn’t even bother turning up for several, which resulted in riots. Meanwhile, ‘Chinese Democracy’ grew ever more mythical and expensive.
Just when everybody had given up on the album as an elaborate hoax, events started to happen. Songs were leaked online in 2006 and the new incarnation of the band set out on an international tour later that same year. While more album leaks followed in 2007, no one really believed the new LP would ever see the light of day. Dr Pepper even offered a free can of their soda to everyone in the US if the group released the album before the end of 2008. You can just imagine the look on their accountants’ faces when on November 23, 2008, 15 years since their last album, ‘Chinese Democracy’ was finally released.
By Mikolai
