Guns N' Roses back together?
Our resident Kiss92 DJ/journo is ready to believe any and every rumour about the original Guns N' Roses finally reuniting
COMMENTARY
Now this is amazing news.
The original lineup of Guns N' Roses (GNR) just might be getting back together.
For more than two decades, we've waited for these bozos to sort out their various issues, which basically boil down to drugs, booze, ego, general dysfunction and rank stupidity.
The US rock band started imploding in 1990 after the success of Appetite For Destruction (below).
Released in 1987, this hard rock masterpiece remains the best-selling debut album of all time, shifting 18 million units in the US alone.
I personally consider it the greatest hard rock album ever made, every tune a darkly sparkling black diamond.
It rocketed the quintet to unimaginable fame and fortune, and gave the guys all the licence they needed to act like total morons, particularly the neurotic lead singer Axl Rose.
The tight little unit that crafted Welcome To The Jungle, Sweet Child O' Mine, Paradise City, Nightrain and Rocket Queen self-immolated.
Drummer Steven Adler was fired in 1990 for heroin addiction.
Rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin wandered away in 1991 out of a sense of ennui.
Lead guitarist Slash quit in 1996 out of disgust with Rose's diva antics.
Bassist Duff McKagan finally left in 1997 when it became clear that Rose had anointed himself the Dear Leader of GNR.
As for Rose, the last original member standing, he went on to finally release the underwhelming Chinese Democracy in 2008 and has been touring off-and-on with his reconstituted GNR ever since.
Here's the thing.
Even though he legally owns the name, Rose isn't Guns N' Roses.
He and the four other guys who made Appetite For Destruction are Guns N' Roses.
The good news is that, at long last, Rose himself finally seems to be recognising this simple fact.
If you look at GNR's official website, you will notice that you can now buy merchandise featuring the original members.
Before last week, you couldn't find a T-shirt featuring the iconic cross design that showed cartoon skulls of all five of them on the cover for Appetite For Destruction - and now you can.
It's almost unimaginable that Rose would have allowed this image to be used if there hadn't been some sort of reconciliation.
In fact, over this past summer, there were reports that the long-feuding Rose and Slash had bro-ed things out.
For years, Slash has flat-out denied that there would ever be a reunion, but during an interview last month with the Telegram, he was much more circumspect, saying he didn't want to talk about it.
I'll take that.
Anyway, I'm now heading over to the GNR website to get my official GNR classic-lineup T-shirt.
Knowing these guys, it might not be available for long.
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