Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses in 2017. From left to right: Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus, Duff McKagan, Axl Rose, Slash, Melissa Reese and Frank Ferrer
Background information
Also known as	G N' R, GNR, Guns N' Fuckin' Roses, G N' F'N' R
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Hard rock heavy metal
Years active	1985–present
Labels	Geffen UMG Uzi Suicide Black Frog
Members	Axl Rose Duff McKagan Slash Dizzy Reed Richard Fortus Frank Ferrer Melissa Reese
Past member(s)	See: List of Guns N' Roses band members
Website	gunsnroses.com

Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose singing onstage at the Download Festival at Donington Park, England in 2006

Guns N' Roses is a popular American hard rock band. The band was formed in Los Angeles, California, USA in June, 1985. The five original members of the band were Axl Rose (lead vocals), Slash (lead guitar, backing vocals), Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals), and Steven Adler (drums). Axl's old band was named Hollywood Rose, and Tracii's old band was named L.A. Guns. They joined the two names and got the name Guns N' Roses. The band's most known songs are Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City, Sweet Child O'Mine, Patience, Live and Let Die, November Rain", Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Don't Cry, and Civil War.

The music they made was different from the rock music that was popular in the 1980s. They played harder rock music. It was also closer to traditional rock. Because of this, many music fans became interested in Guns N'Roses.

In 1985, Guns N' Roses went to Seattle to perform. Tracii Guns and Rob Gardner couldn't attend the show. Axl called guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler, who were his friends. He asked them for help. They agreed, and became permanent members. On the way back to Los Angeles, the five members wrote the lyrics for 'Welcome to the Jungle' which became one of their most famous songs. Then in 1990, drummer Steven Adler got fired from the band because of his drug abuse. He was replaced by The Cult drummer Matt Sorum.

In November 1991, Gilby Clarke replaced Izzy on rhythm guitar. Gilby left the band in October 1994 and was replaced by Axl's childhood friend Paul "Huge" Tobias.

Slash left the band in October 1996.

In April 1997, Matt got fired from the band due to fighting between him and Paul. In August 1997, Nine Inch Nails' Robin Finck replaced Slash on lead guitar. Duff left the band.

In 1998, Josh Freese replaced Matt on drums on March, The Replacements' Tommy Stinson replaced Duff on bass on May, while Chris Pitman joined the band as a second keyboardist alongside Dizzy on October.

Robin left Guns N' Roses to rejoin Nine Inch Nails in August 1999. In 2000, Buckethead and Bryan "Brain" Mantia joined the band in March, with Buckethead replacing Robin, Brain replacing Josh. Robin then rejoined Guns N' Roses on October.

In July 2002, Richard Fortus (who was previously member of Love Spit Love and The Psychedelic Furs) joined Guns N' Roses, replacing Paul. Slash, Duff and Matt were in Velvet Revolver with Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland and Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner, until Scott died.

Buckethead left the band in March 2004. Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal then replaced Buckethead in May 2006. In October 2006, Frank Ferrer joined the band, replacing Brain. In March 2009, Sixx:A.M.'s DJ Ashba joined, replacing Robin who returned to Nine Inch Nails. In June 2014, Tommy and Bumblefoot left. Bumblefoot became a member of Art of Anarchy and Sons of Apollo. Ashba left the band in July 2015.

Since parting ways with the Appetite for Destruction lineup, Axl has remained a constant member and many lineups have changed since. The last studio album the band released was Chinese Democracy (2008), which had been delayed for over 10 years, to mixed reactions. In 2016, Slash and Duff rejoined the band, along with the band's first female member, Melissa Reese, who replaced Chris.

Band members

Current lineup

Slash performing during a Velvet Revolver concert.

• Axl Rose – lead vocals, piano, percussion (1985–present)
• Duff McKagan – bass, backing and occasional lead vocals (1985–1997, 2016–present)
• Slash – lead and occasional rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1985–1996, 2016–present)
• Dizzy Reed – keyboards, piano, percussion, backing vocals (1990–present)
• Richard Fortus – rhythm and occasional lead guitars, backing vocals (2002–present)
• Frank Ferrer – drums, percussion, occasional backing vocals (2006–present)
• Melissa Reese – keyboards, synthesizers, sub-bass, programming, backing vocals (2016–present)

Former

• Tracii Guns – lead guitar, backing vocals (1985)
• Izzy Stradlin – rhythm and occasional lead guitars, backing and occasional lead vocals (1985–1991)
• Ole Beich – bass (1985; died 1991)
• Rob Gardner – drums, backing vocals (1985)
• Steven Adler – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1985–1990)
• Matt Sorum – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1990–1997)
• Gilby Clarke – rhythm and occasional lead guitars, backing vocals (1991–1994)
• Paul "Huge" Tobias – rhythm and occasional lead guitars, backing vocals (1994–2002)
• Robin Finck – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals, occasional keyboards (1997–1999, 2000–2008)
• Josh Freese – drums, percussion (1998–2000)
• Tommy Stinson – bass, backing and occasional lead vocals (1998–2014)
• Chris Pitman – keyboards, synthesizers, sub-bass, programming, percussion, backing vocals (1998–2016)
• Buckethead – lead and rhythm guitars (2000–2004)
• Brain – drums, percussion (2000–2006)
• Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal – lead and rhythm guitars, backing and occasional lead vocals (2006–2014)
• DJ Ashba – lead and rhythm guitars (2009–2015)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

• Appetite for Destruction (1987)
• G N' R Lies (1988)
• Use Your Illusion I (1991)
• Use Your Illusion II (1991)
• "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993)
• Chinese Democracy (2008)

Live album

• Live Era '87–'93 (1999)

Compilation albums

• Use Your Illusion (1998)
• Greatest Hits (2004)

Other websites

• LAGUNS - (COVER BAND) - forums, videos, chat, photos Archived 2017-06-26 at the Wayback Machine