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The origin of this controversial Hard-Rock group can be traced back to
Los Angeles in 1983 when childhood friends vocalist Axl Rose, born William
Bruce Rose and guitarist Izzy Stradlin, born Jeff Isbell started their
first band called Rose; two years later the pair hooked up with bassist
Duff McKagan and re-named the band to Guns N' Roses, the group was completed
by the addition of guitarist Slash, real name Saul Hudson and drummer
Steve Adler.
The quintet began to perform live at underground L.A. clubs, releasing
their first EP in 1986, which led to a contract with Geffen who eventually
released their breakthrough album "Appetite For Destruction"
one year later; it reached the #1 on The Billboard Top 200 chart on the
strength of sensational single cuts such as The Billboard Hot 100 chart
topper "Sweet Child O Mine"; both "Welcome To The Jungle"
and "Paradise City", also stormed the same chart reaching respectively
the #7 and the #5 spots.
In fall 1988 the band released the second album, "G N' R Lies",
which quickly reached the #2 in U.S. Top 200 chart, its single, "Patience",
climbed to #4 on Billboard Hot 100; in early 1989, Guns N' Roses, had
two records simultaneously in the top 5 of The Billboard Top 200 list
with over 20 million copies sold worldwide.
Around this time their career was littered with incidents involving drugs
and alcohol abuse; Rose was also accused of racism and homophobia for
"One In A Million" offensive lyrics.
During the recording sessions of the subsequent two albums, Adler was
fired for alleged drug addiction and replaced by drummer Matt Sorum from
The Cult, the band added Dizzy Reed on keyboards;
eventually, in September 1991, "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use
Your Illusion II" were issued simultaneously; the two records went
straight to the top 2 spots on The Billboard Top 200 chart; two singles
preceded the release of the pair of albums: the #4 Active Rock anti-war
song "Civil War" and the cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin'
On Heaven's Door", which entered the top 20 in the same chart, followed
a string of hit singles: "Don't Cry", "You Could Be Mine",
"Live And Let Die", "Yesterdays" and one of the biggest
rock ballad from the '80s, "November Rain" which peaked at #3
on The Billboard Hot 100.
Stradlin left the band by the fall of 1991, he was replaced by Gilby Clarke.
The cover collection, "The Spaghetti Incident", appeared two
years later, despite all the singles missed the American Top 40, the set
peaked at #4 on The Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.
After this event followed a period of the band's uncertain future, in
1994 a new incarnation of the band covered The
Rolling Stones' "Sympathy For The Devil" for the soundtrack
to "Interview With The Vampire", the single became a top 10
hit on Mainstream Rock chart.
Slash officially left the band in 1995 and two years later, after the
departure of McKagan, Axl Rose became the sole legal owner of the band-name;
the revamped Guns N' Roses released a new single titled "Oh My God"
in 1999, featured on the soundtrack of the movie "End Of Days".
Guns N' Roses' long awaited album, "Chinese Democracy", arguably
the most anticipated LP in Rock history, will be included "IRS".
Guns N' Roses biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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