{"id":6419,"date":"2026-03-15T01:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T06:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/?p=6419"},"modified":"2026-04-13T17:06:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T22:06:23","slug":"guns-n-roses-the-band-that-almost-wasnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/?p=6419","title":{"rendered":"Guns N’ Roses \u201cThe Band That Almost Wasn\u2019t”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In the 1980\u2019s Hollywood music scene, Guns N\u2019 Roses was known as \u201cthe band that almost wasn\u2019t.\u201d Formed in 1985 by members of two popular local bands, L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose, the new group came up with the name \u201cGuns N\u2019 Roses\u201d not for their band, but for a record label they wanted to form when their efforts to get a recording contract failed. The record label never happened and the band went through multiple lineup changes and one miserably failed tour (both vans broke down and the band members had to hitchhike home with instruments on their backs) before they finally signed with Geffen Records in 1986.<\/p>\n

From the start, the band was hugely popular on the L.A. Music scene, filling legendary clubs like The Roxy and The Troubadour. But their fans had to wait another year while the band battled with record company executives, producers and each other over getting exactly the right sound.<\/p>\n

In July of 1987, their first studio album, Appetite for Destruction, was finally released, and it was worth the wait. The album went to number one on the U.S. charts, and included now-iconic singles including \u201cWelcome To the Jungle,\u201d \u201cParadise City,\u201d and the band\u2019s first–and last–number one hit, \u201cSweet Child of Mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The release featured the band\u2019s first core lineup: Izzy Stradlin and Slash on guitar, Steven Adler on drums, Duff McKagan on bass and Axl Rose, the band\u2019s charismatic and volatile front man, on vocals. The five embarked on a massive tour, leaving behind the local clubs for arenas during a sixteen-month world-spanning tour. Guns N\u2019 Roses started off supporting established rock acts including Alice Cooper, Motley Cru\u00eb and Aerosmith, but by Spring of 1988, a Guns N\u2019 Roses concert was most definitely the headlining act.<\/p>\n

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View Guns N\u2019 Roses<\/strong><\/em><\/span> Tour Schedule & Order Tickets Online! HERE!<\/strong><\/a><\/span> while they last. Save 10% on your tickets with code TNDEALS10<\/strong><\/span> At Checkout. Image Courtesy Of Apple Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the intervening years, the band has had its ups and downs. Band members missed shows because of injuries sustained in fights, police detainment and stints in rehab. During the band\u2019s set at the 1987 Monsters of Rock festival, two fans were crushed to death. Band members and managers were fired or resigned over drug use, lawsuits were filed, and Axl Rose brawled with audience members and walked off the stage in the middle of concerts. Throughout the first years of these upheavals, the band continued to record and perform, and Guns N\u2019 Roses concert tickets continued to be top sellers.<\/p>\n

By 1999, Axl Rose was the only remaining original member of the band. He announced that the band\u2019s next studio album, Chinese Democracy, was in the works, but it would be another nine years — and a staggering number of lineup changes — before it, the bands final studio album, was released. And, although the album eventually made it to number three on the charts, the supporting tour was a disaster, with the majority of shows being rescheduled or cancelled altogether due to the band\u2019s inability to keep a stable lineup.<\/p>\n

Despite these setbacks, fans were still hungry for Guns N\u2019 Roses tickets. So, when it was announced that the 2016 Coachella Music Festival would be headlined by a \u201creunion concert\u201d featuring Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan, it could only be hoped that a tour would follow.<\/p>\n

And what a tour it was! The aptly named Not In This Lifetime\u2026 Tour kicked off in April 2016 and had grossed nearly half a million dollars by its finish.<\/p>\n

Now, Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan are hitting the road again, filling stadiums for the Guns N\u2019 Roses 2026 Tour “Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things”. Guns N\u2019 Roses 2026 Tour tickets are selling fast, so secure your seats today!<\/p>\n

Every product\/service is selected by editors. Products\/Services you buy through these links may earn “SMG” a commission or revenue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the 1980\u2019s Hollywood music scene, Guns N\u2019 Roses was known as \u201cthe band that almost wasn\u2019t.\u201d Formed in 1985 by members of two popular local bands, L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose, the new group came up with the name \u201cGuns N\u2019 Roses\u201d not for their band, but for a record label they wanted to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,921],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature-four","category-streamapse-highlights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6421,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6419\/revisions\/6421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}