The Most Dangerous Band in the World: The Story of Guns N' Roses

0:00:02 > 0:00:04This programme contains strong language from the start.

0:00:04 > 0:00:07'Let's hear it for Guns N' fucking Roses.'

0:00:07 > 0:00:09'The world's most dangerous band.'

0:00:09 > 0:00:11Welcome to the fucking jungle, people.

0:00:13 > 0:00:15It's going to be interesting.

0:00:16 > 0:00:17You know, why not?

0:00:17 > 0:00:22We were The Rolling Stones and Poison was The Beatles.

0:00:22 > 0:00:23Things just happened.

0:00:23 > 0:00:25This is not for kids.

0:00:25 > 0:00:27The one thing that made Guns N' Roses dangerous

0:00:27 > 0:00:32and drew everybody to them ultimately led to its demise.

0:00:35 > 0:00:39The entire Sunset Strip experience, from The Rainbow, to the Roxy

0:00:39 > 0:00:43to the Whisky a Go Go is like an adult fairytale.

0:00:44 > 0:00:50MUSIC: Live And Let Die by Guns N' Roses

0:00:55 > 0:00:57Sunset Strip was pretty amazing at this time.

0:00:57 > 0:01:01A lot of people don't realise that there were thousands of kids there,

0:01:01 > 0:01:04to the point where the sheriffs had to literally

0:01:04 > 0:01:06block off Sunset Boulevard.

0:01:08 > 0:01:12MUSIC: Live And Let Die by Guns N' Roses

0:01:12 > 0:01:14BIRDS CAW

0:01:23 > 0:01:26BIKE ENGINES RUMBLE

0:01:26 > 0:01:28ALL SOUNDS MERGE

0:01:36 > 0:01:38Hey!

0:01:49 > 0:01:52MUSIC: Right Next Door To Hell by Guns N' Roses

0:02:16 > 0:02:19# I'll take a nicotine, caffeine, sugar fix

0:02:19 > 0:02:21# Jesus don't ya get tired of turning' tricks

0:02:21 > 0:02:23# But when your innocence dies, you'll find the blues

0:02:23 > 0:02:26# Seems all our heroes were born to lose

0:02:26 > 0:02:29# Just walkin' through time you believe this heat

0:02:29 > 0:02:31# Another empty house, another dead-end street

0:02:31 > 0:02:33# Gonna rest my bones an' sit for a spell

0:02:33 > 0:02:35# This side of heaven is close to hell... #

0:02:35 > 0:02:39'If you were in a band and you wanted to be noticed by anybody,

0:02:39 > 0:02:41'you tried to get into the Rainbow.'

0:02:44 > 0:02:46Where am I?

0:02:50 > 0:02:54It was a place to go to get drinks and chicks and drugs.

0:02:54 > 0:02:55And I loved every minute of it.

0:02:55 > 0:02:58All the bands, the bands that were big,

0:02:58 > 0:03:00the bands that were not big,

0:03:00 > 0:03:03you know, kids from Iowa with dreams...

0:03:03 > 0:03:05Everybody hung out at the Rainbow.

0:03:05 > 0:03:07A lot of dead rock stars used to come here.

0:03:09 > 0:03:12Led Zeppelin came here, famously.

0:03:12 > 0:03:14That was Slash's table.

0:03:14 > 0:03:15It was Jimmy Page's table.

0:03:16 > 0:03:19Led Zeppelin used to party here, and one day

0:03:19 > 0:03:21I was walking through the dining room there

0:03:21 > 0:03:24and I saw about four heels sticking out

0:03:24 > 0:03:27because they had the long tablecloths there

0:03:27 > 0:03:30and I always wondered what them girls were doing under there.

0:03:30 > 0:03:32You can figure that out.

0:03:32 > 0:03:35Me and Slash went there one night, and it was ladies' night

0:03:35 > 0:03:37and he couldn't get in.

0:03:37 > 0:03:40For some reason they didn't let him in, but I got in.

0:03:40 > 0:03:44So he went home and had his mum dress him up like a woman.

0:03:44 > 0:03:48He put a dress on and he went up there and he got in.

0:03:48 > 0:03:52The real people, the wannabes, the dreamers, the schemers,

0:03:52 > 0:03:54it was all at the Rainbow.

0:03:57 > 0:04:00MUSIC: Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N' Roses

0:04:02 > 0:04:03# Welcome to the jungle

0:04:03 > 0:04:05# We got fun and games

0:04:05 > 0:04:09# We got everything you want. How do we know the names?

0:04:09 > 0:04:13# We are the people that can find whatever you may need

0:04:13 > 0:04:17# If you got the money honey we got your disease

0:04:17 > 0:04:20# In the jungle welcome to the jungle

0:04:20 > 0:04:24# Watch it bring you to your n-n-n knees, knees

0:04:26 > 0:04:29# I-I want to watch you bleed

0:04:29 > 0:04:31# Welcome to the jungle

0:04:31 > 0:04:33# We take it day by day

0:04:33 > 0:04:36# If you want it you're gonna bleed but it's the price to pay

0:04:36 > 0:04:40# And you're a very sexy girl that's very hard to please

0:04:40 > 0:04:42# You can taste the bright lights... #

0:04:42 > 0:04:46You know, you had Madame Wong's which was a Chinese restaurant.

0:04:46 > 0:04:49The woman who owned it loved rock music.

0:04:49 > 0:04:53There was Gazzari's which is where Van Halen were discovered.

0:04:54 > 0:04:59A lot of bands played at the Starwood. Bands like London.

0:04:59 > 0:05:02Nikki Sixx's band he was in before Motley Crue.

0:05:02 > 0:05:05They all stood in line and mixed to get into the Rainbow and,

0:05:05 > 0:05:08obviously, the rock stars got in there automatically,

0:05:08 > 0:05:11they didn't even have to pay.

0:05:11 > 0:05:14They let them in because Mario, who owns the Rainbow,

0:05:14 > 0:05:16also owned the Whisky.

0:05:16 > 0:05:18He did co-own even the Roxy next door.

0:05:21 > 0:05:23# You'll take it eventually

0:05:23 > 0:05:25# You can have anything you want

0:05:25 > 0:05:27# But you better not take it from me

0:05:27 > 0:05:29# In the jungle, welcome to the jungle

0:05:29 > 0:05:34# Watch it bring you to your n-n-n-n-n knees, knees

0:05:37 > 0:05:40# I'm gonna watch you bleed... #

0:05:44 > 0:05:45I hit LA with a backpack,

0:05:45 > 0:05:49a piece of steel in one hand and a can of mace in the other

0:05:49 > 0:05:53and you guys were trying to sell me joints everywhere.

0:05:53 > 0:05:56I come from England and these guys just played in England

0:05:56 > 0:05:59and they told me a very nasty rumour that all you guys

0:05:59 > 0:06:03in America are a much better audience than people in England.

0:06:03 > 0:06:05And...

0:06:05 > 0:06:07CHEERING

0:06:07 > 0:06:10If you think you're a better audience, put your hands up.

0:06:13 > 0:06:16Right, and if you do that all the time then you prove to me

0:06:16 > 0:06:19that you're much better than the guys back in England, all right? OK.

0:06:19 > 0:06:24Right, we'll be going very shortly. Thanks very much for waiting.

0:06:24 > 0:06:27Isn't it fucking hot in this fucking place?

0:06:27 > 0:06:30I'm looking around and I'm thinking, "This is good.

0:06:30 > 0:06:32"These guys really click."

0:06:32 > 0:06:36I began to videotape the shows to...

0:06:36 > 0:06:39to basically capture what was happening.

0:06:40 > 0:06:42# Welcome to the jungle... #

0:06:43 > 0:06:46You know, there's always this term, the fifth Beatle.

0:06:46 > 0:06:49So Slash introduced me to Marc Canter and said,

0:06:49 > 0:06:52"If there were a fifth Beatle in Guns N' Roses -

0:06:52 > 0:06:55"since there are five of us, I guess there'd be a sixth Beatle,

0:06:55 > 0:06:57"it's Marc Canter."

0:06:57 > 0:07:00Show everybody your Footloose haircut.

0:07:00 > 0:07:02What Marc Canter was doing for Guns N' Roses

0:07:02 > 0:07:05is what I would do for a new band that I found and signed.

0:07:05 > 0:07:09The difference is that Marc was feeding the band

0:07:09 > 0:07:10in his parents' deli

0:07:10 > 0:07:13instead of using a record company expense account.

0:07:13 > 0:07:15# Welcome to the jungle

0:07:15 > 0:07:19# Feel my, my, my serpentine... #

0:07:22 > 0:07:25The first time I videotaped the show - they watched it and then

0:07:25 > 0:07:29they could learn from that because they could hear what they are doing,

0:07:29 > 0:07:30and mistakes, if there's any,

0:07:30 > 0:07:33they could see if there's something they want to change.

0:07:33 > 0:07:35It was kind of helping them learn what they're doing,

0:07:35 > 0:07:38but maybe they want to change about what they're doing.

0:07:39 > 0:07:42# Welcome to the jungle it gets worse here every day

0:07:42 > 0:07:46# Ya learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play

0:07:46 > 0:07:50# If you hunger for what you see you'll take it eventually

0:07:50 > 0:07:52# You can have anything you want, but... #

0:07:52 > 0:07:54I'm sure they didn't need to look at every gig

0:07:54 > 0:07:57because after one or two they got the idea of what they loved

0:07:57 > 0:08:00and what was going on.

0:08:00 > 0:08:03# Knees, knees... #

0:08:06 > 0:08:08I took pictures, that kind of stuff.

0:08:08 > 0:08:11I never stopped taking pictures because sometimes

0:08:11 > 0:08:14I'd set the video on wide angle and just snap a few shots anyway.

0:08:16 > 0:08:18They just knew that every time there was a gig I'd be there

0:08:18 > 0:08:20and I'd be doing that.

0:08:21 > 0:08:23# Down, down

0:08:23 > 0:08:26# Down! #

0:08:45 > 0:08:50I had Welcome To The Jungle on my answering machine

0:08:50 > 0:08:54and it was the piece that goes, "You're gonna die!" BEEP!

0:09:24 > 0:09:27# You know where you are?

0:09:27 > 0:09:28# You're in the jungle, baby. #

0:09:28 > 0:09:30And now LA bands are making it big.

0:09:30 > 0:09:32LA bands kick ass.

0:09:35 > 0:09:37What kind of people are they?!

0:09:37 > 0:09:38# Welcome to the jungle...

0:09:38 > 0:09:41I was in the midst of that whole

0:09:41 > 0:09:44sort of rock and roll LA thing, you know?

0:09:44 > 0:09:46And that was a lot of fun.

0:09:46 > 0:09:49It was a really creative, really inspired time

0:09:49 > 0:09:52and the people were really great. It was very cool.

0:09:54 > 0:09:57MUSIC: Welcome To The Jungle, by Guns N' Roses

0:10:04 > 0:10:07# It's gonna bring you down Huh! #

0:10:15 > 0:10:17I'm dead on monitors.

0:10:17 > 0:10:20Wow! It's so cool. I could do that.

0:10:20 > 0:10:22I came from Stoke-on-Trent,

0:10:22 > 0:10:26so it was that sort of small-town familiarity, you know?

0:10:26 > 0:10:30It was really... I miss it because I moved to Los Angeles

0:10:30 > 0:10:32and it was constant panic living in LA.

0:10:32 > 0:10:34Everything is going a million miles a minute

0:10:34 > 0:10:39I first met Slash in 1976 and I was at a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

0:10:39 > 0:10:45I had a motorbike and he was walking by and was thinking of taking it.

0:10:47 > 0:10:50Then he looked inside, saw me and recognised me from school,

0:10:50 > 0:10:52but we didn't know each other.

0:10:52 > 0:10:55So, he decided to make friends with me rather than try to steal it.

0:10:55 > 0:10:58That way, it would be a sure way of getting to ride it

0:10:58 > 0:10:59without being in trouble.

0:10:59 > 0:11:01We became good friends.

0:11:01 > 0:11:04At some point, we started riding BMX bicycles together.

0:11:04 > 0:11:08He got good pretty quick. It also showed in his artwork.

0:11:11 > 0:11:14CHEERING

0:11:14 > 0:11:16The first time I met him I was riding my skateboard

0:11:16 > 0:11:19over at Laurel Elementary School

0:11:19 > 0:11:23just down the street from my grandmother's - where I lived.

0:11:23 > 0:11:26I fell off the ramp and right on my head.

0:11:26 > 0:11:31He was walking down the street and said, "Hey, dude, are you OK?"

0:11:31 > 0:11:32There was an incident where...

0:11:32 > 0:11:36Slash always liked reptiles - so he had a snake.

0:11:36 > 0:11:39I bought the snake, but we kept it at his house.

0:11:39 > 0:11:43I remember one time I gave him a dollar,

0:11:43 > 0:11:46or whatever it was at that time, for a mouse to feed the snake.

0:11:46 > 0:11:51And he bought cigarettes with it. So the snake died and I blamed him

0:11:51 > 0:11:56for selling out the snake to a pack of cigarettes.

0:11:56 > 0:12:02When I was a kid, my best friend, his dad used to call me Slash,

0:12:02 > 0:12:06he said, basically, because I was always hustling

0:12:06 > 0:12:09and I never had time to talk - so I was always in passing.

0:12:09 > 0:12:11So, he started calling me Slash.

0:12:11 > 0:12:13I brought him to my grandmother's house.

0:12:13 > 0:12:17And he had a cheap stereo and a cheap little, like,

0:12:17 > 0:12:20Sears electric guitar and an amp that went with it.

0:12:20 > 0:12:22We'd ditch school and go to his house

0:12:22 > 0:12:24and he'd just crank the stereo all the way up.

0:12:24 > 0:12:27I think it was Kiss Alive,

0:12:27 > 0:12:29and jump up and down on the bed with the electric guitar

0:12:29 > 0:12:32and just bang on it with the amp turned all the way up.

0:12:32 > 0:12:33And that turned me on.

0:12:33 > 0:12:37Within a couple of days, he had that guitar and within a week

0:12:37 > 0:12:39his grandmother bought him an acoustic guitar.

0:12:39 > 0:12:43Literally, within two weeks, he was playing it.

0:12:43 > 0:12:47Within three weeks, he actually wrote his first song.

0:12:47 > 0:12:49I didn't have any defined heroes,

0:12:49 > 0:12:52but I definitely had bands that I liked.

0:12:52 > 0:12:55I liked Zeppelin, I liked David Bowie and I liked, you know,

0:12:55 > 0:12:57the Stones and The Beatles and everything that was going.

0:12:57 > 0:13:02Other stuff. Stevie Wonder. A really wide range of music that I liked.

0:13:02 > 0:13:05He told me that he was in a band and I should come check it out.

0:13:05 > 0:13:09So I came to the rehearsal and it was Tidus Sloan at that time.

0:13:09 > 0:13:13Right away, I saw the same talents I saw from his drawing,

0:13:13 > 0:13:15and his bike riding - into his music.

0:13:18 > 0:13:22A lot hadn't happened since the punk thing in London.

0:13:22 > 0:13:26The Stray Cats, of course, had been a happening thing, which was great.

0:13:26 > 0:13:30But then... After that, it was the post-punk period.

0:13:30 > 0:13:34It wound up from what you've just said to more or less rock and roll

0:13:34 > 0:13:40and then you've got glam rock and so many different types of music.

0:13:40 > 0:13:42A lot of it good, a lot of it was nothing...

0:13:42 > 0:13:47I came to LA and I saw all these people trying to be Eddie Van Halen

0:13:47 > 0:13:50and it took five years to find somebody

0:13:50 > 0:13:52who could play more from the heart

0:13:52 > 0:13:55rather than trying to be the fastest and this and that,

0:13:55 > 0:13:57to be a big rock star.

0:13:57 > 0:14:00I kept on seeing these guys walk up the hill with black hair

0:14:00 > 0:14:02and a blond one.

0:14:02 > 0:14:06During that time period, it was 81, punk rock was huge in LA.

0:14:06 > 0:14:11Here were these long-haired freaks and it turned out to be Motley Crue.

0:14:11 > 0:14:16It wasn't unusual to walk out and see two girls in the hallway

0:14:16 > 0:14:20passed out naked with broken bottles and pizza boxes,

0:14:20 > 0:14:24and Tommy is like having sex with some girl

0:14:24 > 0:14:26that just, you know, just threw up.

0:14:26 > 0:14:28You know, it was just like that.

0:14:36 > 0:14:38Motley Crue explodes,

0:14:38 > 0:14:42and then the next thing you know there are ten bands

0:14:42 > 0:14:44that all have teased hair and hairspray

0:14:44 > 0:14:50and look like the boys-next-door version of boys dressed like girls.

0:14:51 > 0:14:53You know, something becomes successful

0:14:53 > 0:14:56and then there's all the copycat bands.

0:14:58 > 0:15:02But it was getting a bit boring and monotonous

0:15:02 > 0:15:06because, you know, hair bands were becoming kind of a generic term.

0:15:06 > 0:15:09So many bands that came up with big hair and posing

0:15:09 > 0:15:12and partying and sex, drugs, rock and roll cliche.

0:15:12 > 0:15:16Everybody was kind of doing the same shtick.

0:15:16 > 0:15:19Bands that played their hairspray cans better than their instruments.

0:15:19 > 0:15:21People were actually getting kind of tired of it.

0:15:21 > 0:15:23The garage bands that Slash was in

0:15:23 > 0:15:26basically played their covers and a few originals

0:15:26 > 0:15:30and they hung out with other bands that were doing similar things

0:15:30 > 0:15:32but none of the other bands became famous,

0:15:32 > 0:15:36other than Tracii Guns... Ended up eventually in LA Guns.

0:15:36 > 0:15:39Road Crew was another one of Slash's bands.

0:15:39 > 0:15:42I grew up playing drums and learning how to play drums

0:15:42 > 0:15:44playing with Slash.

0:15:44 > 0:15:46Steven saw Slash was in that band Road Crew

0:15:46 > 0:15:48and, right away, he wanted in.

0:15:48 > 0:15:51So he auditioned for Slash

0:15:51 > 0:15:55and, right away, Slash was blown away by his double bass drum skills.

0:15:58 > 0:16:01London was a band that everybody had passed through.

0:16:01 > 0:16:04This is like the training school for rock stars.

0:16:04 > 0:16:07We get somebody in the band and as soon as they leave

0:16:07 > 0:16:08they become rock stars.

0:16:08 > 0:16:10So, who else was in the band?

0:16:10 > 0:16:12Couple of dudes from Guns N' Roses,

0:16:12 > 0:16:17a dude from WASP and Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue.

0:16:17 > 0:16:20Steven and Slash were in it somewhere in 1984.

0:16:20 > 0:16:23Before that, they were in bands that were just basically garage bands.

0:16:23 > 0:16:26You know, they never really played the Sunset Strip

0:16:26 > 0:16:28and London was a band that was on the Sunset Strip.

0:16:28 > 0:16:32At that point, Slash went through an audition for Poison.

0:16:32 > 0:16:34Slash didn't really want to do it

0:16:34 > 0:16:36because they were kind of bubblegum-ish

0:16:36 > 0:16:40and the whole silly string... And it was just like "Ah..."

0:16:40 > 0:16:42I thought a lot of it was very sappy.

0:16:42 > 0:16:44There was a lot of stuff about the image

0:16:44 > 0:16:46that I wasn't necessarily into.

0:16:46 > 0:16:48The whole band having the same haircuts.

0:16:48 > 0:16:50I liked all the harder-edged stuff.

0:16:50 > 0:16:52Back then, they'd hang out at the Rainbow.

0:16:52 > 0:16:55At the Rainbow, you would meet different musicians

0:16:55 > 0:16:58and, you know, if you were looking for a bass player

0:16:58 > 0:17:00you might find one at the Rainbow,

0:17:00 > 0:17:02just because it was a revolving door of musicians.

0:17:02 > 0:17:06Duff - me and Slash put an ad in a Recycler paper

0:17:06 > 0:17:10for a bass player and he was the first person to come meet us.

0:17:10 > 0:17:16Duff brought this sort of punk reckless abandon-ness spirit

0:17:16 > 0:17:18and attitude to the band.

0:17:18 > 0:17:21You know, he's the Slash of bass players.

0:17:21 > 0:17:23Slash said to me, "Me and Steven are going to go up

0:17:23 > 0:17:26"to this band called Rose. There's this really cool guy.

0:17:26 > 0:17:29"He's supposed to be a good singer named Bill, and this guy Izzy,

0:17:29 > 0:17:31"and they're supposed to be cool. They're from Indiana."

0:17:31 > 0:17:34That day, Bill changed his name to Axl, literally.

0:17:34 > 0:17:37Because we thought he was Bill but then, when we met him,

0:17:37 > 0:17:40he said his name was Axl so I never really ever called him Bill.

0:17:40 > 0:17:42It was... From the very first day, he was Axl to me.

0:17:42 > 0:17:45At that time, they were looking for a guitar player

0:17:45 > 0:17:47and Slash was looking for a singer.

0:17:47 > 0:17:51We ran an ad for a heavy metal punk glam guitarist.

0:17:51 > 0:17:56Slash was thinking, you know, to get Axl and Izzy in his band Road Crew,

0:17:56 > 0:18:00and Axl and Izzy... Or Axl, at least, was looking

0:18:00 > 0:18:03to get a guitar player in Hollywood Rose.

0:18:03 > 0:18:06And Slash showed up and we said, "Nah,"

0:18:06 > 0:18:08but he kept popping up everywhere we were at

0:18:08 > 0:18:10and, all of a sudden, we started working together.

0:18:10 > 0:18:13Slash ended up joining, and Steven, Hollywood Rose.

0:18:13 > 0:18:16And Izzy ended up quitting immediately and then joining London,

0:18:16 > 0:18:19a band that Slash and Steven had just left.

0:18:19 > 0:18:20Izzy was just running around

0:18:20 > 0:18:22learning about every fad that there was.

0:18:22 > 0:18:24When we were watching him perform, I said,

0:18:24 > 0:18:29"We get that guitar player and that singer and get Duff in here,

0:18:29 > 0:18:31"we're going to have the greatest band ever."

0:18:31 > 0:18:34They did about five gigs, couple of rehearsals,

0:18:34 > 0:18:37maybe a couple of parties at rehearsal studio

0:18:37 > 0:18:39and then it fell apart.

0:18:39 > 0:18:41They had differences.

0:18:41 > 0:18:43Not necessarily musical differences, I don't think.

0:18:43 > 0:18:45They just didn't get along or whatever.

0:18:45 > 0:18:48Axl joined up with Tracii right around that same time and said,

0:18:48 > 0:18:50"Let's put the band together but this time

0:18:50 > 0:18:52"we're going to change the name.

0:18:52 > 0:18:55"We're Hollywood Rose, you're LA Guns, let's do Guns N' Roses."

0:18:55 > 0:18:57That's why they changed it to Guns N' Roses.

0:18:59 > 0:19:01# Whoa, baby

0:19:02 > 0:19:03# Pretty baby

0:19:05 > 0:19:06# Wild woman... #

0:19:11 > 0:19:15Axl called me when I was a booking agent at Silver Lining Entertainment

0:19:15 > 0:19:18and he said, "You come highly recommended.

0:19:18 > 0:19:20"We'd like you to book some shows for us."

0:19:20 > 0:19:23I said, "Cool, send me a tape."

0:19:29 > 0:19:32Just like, "Can I, like, bring you a tape?"

0:19:32 > 0:19:35And I was like, "Well, I don't really have a stereo here,

0:19:35 > 0:19:37"so can you send it?"

0:19:37 > 0:19:38He's like, "Oh, it's OK.

0:19:38 > 0:19:41"I'll bring a ghetto blaster and play it for you."

0:19:51 > 0:19:55Two hours later, he and Izzy show up, ghetto blaster in hand,

0:19:55 > 0:19:58and, you know, they played me songs

0:19:58 > 0:20:01that were on Appetite For Destruction.

0:20:06 > 0:20:07And I was, like, blown out.

0:20:07 > 0:20:10I was, like... I booked them sight unseen.

0:20:14 > 0:20:17We wouldn't be successful if it wasn't for her.

0:20:22 > 0:20:25She was the one who shopped us around, she did all the work,

0:20:25 > 0:20:27we just played music.

0:20:27 > 0:20:30They had Tracii Guns and Rob Gardner as the drummer

0:20:30 > 0:20:33and Izzy had made it back into the band.

0:20:33 > 0:20:36He'd joined back with Axl and they hired Duff, coincidentally.

0:20:38 > 0:20:41So Duff's now in the band for a gig or two

0:20:41 > 0:20:44and Slash just joins Black Sheep.

0:20:44 > 0:20:47And they had a gig at the Wolf & Rissmiller country club in Reseda.

0:20:47 > 0:20:50Slash's first gig with them.

0:20:50 > 0:20:53Who shows up at the gig? Axl and Izzy.

0:20:53 > 0:20:56Because why? Tracii quits and Rob Gardner quits,

0:20:56 > 0:20:59so they're missing a guitar player and they're missing a drummer.

0:20:59 > 0:21:02They've got a gig in four days, five days, at the Troubadour

0:21:02 > 0:21:04and Duff has booked a tour to Seattle.

0:21:04 > 0:21:10So they said, "Look, Tracii and Rob are out. How about you and Steven?"

0:21:10 > 0:21:13So, of course, Slash quits Black Sheep, he joins Guns N' Roses.

0:21:19 > 0:21:23It's really funny because none of us are from Los Angeles

0:21:23 > 0:21:26and everybody tries to label us an LA band.

0:21:26 > 0:21:28We just all happen to have met there

0:21:28 > 0:21:31and there was nobody else in LA we could have played with

0:21:31 > 0:21:34so it was inevitable that the five of us would get together.

0:21:55 > 0:21:57Then they took off to Seattle

0:21:57 > 0:21:59and on the way up there the car broke down

0:21:59 > 0:22:03and that became what was known now as Hell Tour.

0:22:03 > 0:22:06And they had to hitchhike and they didn't have any money

0:22:06 > 0:22:08and they had to steal vegetables from farms to eat.

0:22:08 > 0:22:11Went out as far as we could up to, I think, Portland.

0:22:11 > 0:22:13Portland, Oregon, we're on the freeway hitchhiking.

0:22:13 > 0:22:16Had the guitars and stick bags.

0:22:16 > 0:22:20And we got a couple of rides with some hippy girls,

0:22:20 > 0:22:23a Mexican guy and his kid...

0:22:23 > 0:22:26And then finally, Duff's friend from Seattle drove down.

0:22:26 > 0:22:29You know, they went through hell to get there and now they get there

0:22:29 > 0:22:30they have another good gig.

0:22:30 > 0:22:32We did the show.

0:22:32 > 0:22:34I'm sure it was terrible.

0:22:36 > 0:22:39We went back to Duff's friend's house.

0:22:39 > 0:22:41I smoked a lot of weed and ate spaghetti

0:22:41 > 0:22:43and we went home the next day.

0:22:44 > 0:22:47They get back to Los Angeles

0:22:47 > 0:22:52and now they're more than just a band of musicians that fit.

0:22:52 > 0:22:53They're kind of blood brothers,

0:22:53 > 0:22:56because they suffered a little bit on the road

0:22:56 > 0:22:59and, you know, they had each other's backs now.

0:22:59 > 0:23:02It was the greatest time because we did it together

0:23:02 > 0:23:08and we figured, if we can hitchhike to Seattle in a day,

0:23:08 > 0:23:10we can do anything.

0:23:10 > 0:23:12So now it's the middle of June

0:23:12 > 0:23:14and they have a gig booked in a couple of weeks.

0:23:14 > 0:23:16They need photos for flyers and they're hungry.

0:23:16 > 0:23:19So they come to Canter's, I feed them their first good meal

0:23:19 > 0:23:20they've had in, you know, two weeks.

0:23:20 > 0:23:23Me and Slash and the other GNR guys,

0:23:23 > 0:23:27I think we were the only people to ever eat for free at Canter's.

0:23:27 > 0:23:31We do a bunch of photos with Jack Lucas. Jack knew what he was doing.

0:23:31 > 0:23:35MUSIC: Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N' Roses

0:23:58 > 0:24:00People are going ape shit.

0:24:00 > 0:24:03Like, "Fuck! Fuck!"

0:24:03 > 0:24:07I could hear them shouting as I was filming! "Yes!" You know?

0:24:20 > 0:24:22They were a perfect fit.

0:24:22 > 0:24:27Axl was the rock and roll, Rolling Stones, Hanoi Rocks kind of a thing

0:24:27 > 0:24:29and Duff was the punk.

0:24:29 > 0:24:31Slash was hard rock and blues.

0:24:40 > 0:24:43Appetite was written under no pressure at all.

0:24:43 > 0:24:46They were living behind Guitar Center in a little garage studio.

0:24:46 > 0:24:48It was meant for rehearsing.

0:24:48 > 0:24:50It was like a shoebox, really.

0:24:50 > 0:24:53While they were there, Izzy said, "Check out what I wrote."

0:24:53 > 0:24:58And he'd show a riff and Slash would hear that and he would funk it out.

0:24:58 > 0:25:01Like My Michelle, you know, it went...

0:25:01 > 0:25:02HE HUMS

0:25:02 > 0:25:05That's all it did and Slash was like, "Uh-uh."

0:25:05 > 0:25:06HE HUMS

0:25:11 > 0:25:13The place we lived was disgusting.

0:25:14 > 0:25:19It smelt, it had no toilet, no sink.

0:25:19 > 0:25:22Thank God we had a lot of girlfriends, you know,

0:25:22 > 0:25:24from strip clubs or biker girls.

0:25:24 > 0:25:26And we were going to their places and taking showers

0:25:26 > 0:25:31and they would bring us food. But it made us stronger

0:25:31 > 0:25:33and even being in that little shithole,

0:25:33 > 0:25:35we were able to create magic.

0:25:36 > 0:25:38And it was a shithole, trust me.

0:25:45 > 0:25:47They were sleeping in it and stuff

0:25:47 > 0:25:51and Axl got in trouble with the law.

0:25:51 > 0:25:55The story is that he had sex with this girl and threw her out

0:25:55 > 0:25:57and then she said that he raped her.

0:25:57 > 0:26:01So then the cops started looking for him.

0:26:01 > 0:26:04And Slash called me and said, "Can Axl sleep on your couch?"

0:26:04 > 0:26:08Only for a couple of days, but what was supposed to be a couple of days

0:26:08 > 0:26:10ended up being six months

0:26:10 > 0:26:12and shortly after Axl moved in,

0:26:12 > 0:26:16they all moved in except for Duff, who lived with his girlfriend.

0:26:16 > 0:26:18I would barricade the bedroom door

0:26:18 > 0:26:20so they couldn't get in.

0:26:20 > 0:26:24She let us live with her. She let us destroy her apartment.

0:26:24 > 0:26:27I guarantee she didn't get her deposit back on that one.

0:26:27 > 0:26:30I introduced them to Ray Brown,

0:26:30 > 0:26:33who was a pretty famous designer at that point in time.

0:26:33 > 0:26:35He made Axl that snakeskin belt

0:26:35 > 0:26:39that you see in all the early Appetite stuff.

0:26:39 > 0:26:41Vicky Hamilton was like Mama Kin.

0:26:41 > 0:26:43She nurtured them

0:26:43 > 0:26:45but she also knew that they were drawing a crowd

0:26:45 > 0:26:47and she knew the music was good

0:26:47 > 0:26:51and she had experience with getting them to the next level.

0:26:51 > 0:26:55I was kind of like a den mother for them and drove them to rehearsals.

0:26:59 > 0:27:01VINYL SCRATCHES

0:27:05 > 0:27:08Steven started doing some bad drugs. He was freebasing.

0:27:08 > 0:27:09Slash was doing dope.

0:27:09 > 0:27:13He wasn't hiding the alcohol but he was hiding the dope.

0:27:13 > 0:27:16Izzy's girlfriend Desi, she got them all hooked on it,

0:27:16 > 0:27:18or not all of them but a lot of them.

0:27:18 > 0:27:21Eventually, I found out about it and I was really pissed about it

0:27:21 > 0:27:23and I stopped buying them food.

0:27:23 > 0:27:25They'd call me and say, "Let's go to Tommy's," you know,

0:27:25 > 0:27:29and I'd go, "No," I said, "Because, if I take you to Tommy's

0:27:29 > 0:27:31"and buy you food, then, when you do get money

0:27:31 > 0:27:34"you're just going to buy some heroin. This way, fuck you."

0:27:34 > 0:27:35I tried to keep them sober

0:27:35 > 0:27:38but they were going up on the roof and doing the drugs and stuff,

0:27:38 > 0:27:41that I wouldn't see them. And at that point in time

0:27:41 > 0:27:42I was kind of a mess too.

0:27:42 > 0:27:45I smoked a lot of pot and I drank the Jack Daniel's with them as well,

0:27:45 > 0:27:46so...

0:27:52 > 0:27:54I remember when Guns N' Roses first got together

0:27:54 > 0:27:56and Slash and Steven joined,

0:27:56 > 0:27:59Izzy's girlfriend Desi was the first one to come out and...

0:27:59 > 0:28:02Not strip but she was wearing next to nothing.

0:28:02 > 0:28:04She would do that for every time they played a gig.

0:28:04 > 0:28:08She'd come out just for that one song, for Jumpin' Jack Flash.

0:28:08 > 0:28:11MUSIC: Jumpin' Jack Flash by Guns N' Roses

0:28:11 > 0:28:13# I was born

0:28:13 > 0:28:16# In a cross-fire hurricane

0:28:16 > 0:28:21# And I howled at my ma in the pouring rain... #

0:28:21 > 0:28:24That went on for, you know, about eight or nine months

0:28:24 > 0:28:28and then, at some point, they got Pam Jackson to do it

0:28:28 > 0:28:31and she was really a stripper

0:28:31 > 0:28:36and she was a good stripper and she really took it to the next level.

0:28:36 > 0:28:38I mean, she didn't get naked

0:28:38 > 0:28:40but she knew how to really, you know, move it around.

0:28:40 > 0:28:45Desi was more of a dancer and Pam was more of the stripper.

0:28:45 > 0:28:48And then after that, they were hanging around strippers constantly

0:28:48 > 0:28:51because strippers liked the band

0:28:51 > 0:28:54and they always had money and the band didn't.

0:28:54 > 0:28:55So the strippers would buy the booze,

0:28:55 > 0:28:59they'd buy them some food, they could sleep in their apartment,

0:28:59 > 0:29:03have sex with them. Basically, the strippers were heaven.

0:29:06 > 0:29:10The strippers coming up on stage was simply going to make the show better

0:29:10 > 0:29:12because sex sells and sex is...

0:29:12 > 0:29:14Everyone likes to see a stripper.

0:29:14 > 0:29:18So now the music's good and there's a stripper so...

0:29:20 > 0:29:23Thank you and good fucking night!

0:29:37 > 0:29:38Thank our lovely dancers!

0:29:41 > 0:29:43Hello, guys. How are you?

0:29:45 > 0:29:47It was only a matter of time before somebody

0:29:47 > 0:29:50was going to find them and sign them

0:29:50 > 0:29:52and get them out there to the world.

0:29:52 > 0:29:58Music Connection did an article, a cover story on Guns N' Roses

0:29:58 > 0:30:01and that kind of wound it up into high gear.

0:30:01 > 0:30:04Tom Zutaut had already heard about them from this guy

0:30:04 > 0:30:07that works at a little record store here at Melrose, Vinyl Fetish.

0:30:07 > 0:30:10They go, "You know, you're the guy that found Motley Crue,

0:30:10 > 0:30:13"you'll love this. You need to check it out."

0:30:13 > 0:30:15And I said, "Well, what's the name of the band?"

0:30:15 > 0:30:18And Joseph said, "They're called Guns N' Roses.

0:30:18 > 0:30:19"Isn't that a cool name?"

0:30:33 > 0:30:36During the time period on the Sunset Strip,

0:30:36 > 0:30:40it was like every record label had a hair band.

0:30:40 > 0:30:42That was like a glam rock band.

0:30:42 > 0:30:45Guns N' Roses was different than the other bands in the pack

0:30:45 > 0:30:49because there was something slightly dangerous about them

0:30:49 > 0:30:52and it was a little more guitar-laden.

0:31:05 > 0:31:10Slash had drawn a poster that was hanging at Fairfax in Sunset,

0:31:10 > 0:31:13of the pistols and the roses.

0:31:13 > 0:31:18I saw that poster, I pulled my Jeep over, I ripped it down.

0:31:18 > 0:31:21This is the coolest poster I think I'd ever seen.

0:31:21 > 0:31:25At the time, I had no idea that Slash drew it.

0:31:25 > 0:31:28I found out what time they were going on and I went to the gig.

0:31:28 > 0:31:32Well, I missed Guns N' Roses because, earlier in that evening,

0:31:32 > 0:31:36Axl had traded slots with Shark Island.

0:31:36 > 0:31:41So I watched Shark Island's set, Axl comes out, does and encore with them

0:31:41 > 0:31:46and I'm like, "Holy shit. This guy is incredible."

0:31:46 > 0:31:53Whatever that animal magnetism, that stare, whatever it is, he's got.

0:31:53 > 0:31:56So then he went to see them at the Troubadour a month later.

0:31:56 > 0:32:00Whenever I would go to see a band, word would get out

0:32:00 > 0:32:02and bidding wars would start just because I was there...

0:32:02 > 0:32:05Because of all the rock bands I'd already had success with.

0:32:05 > 0:32:08I had 16 A&R people at that show.

0:32:08 > 0:32:10Really, I don't even need to see the band.

0:32:10 > 0:32:14If the band is halfway competent... This guy has got something

0:32:14 > 0:32:16that I've never seen before. Lightning in a bottle.

0:32:16 > 0:32:18That was the best show we ever played.

0:32:18 > 0:32:20I went and talked to the band

0:32:20 > 0:32:22and, you know, I gave them my phone number,

0:32:22 > 0:32:25I got their phone numbers and I said, "Guys,"

0:32:25 > 0:32:27I said, "I want you to come to my office."

0:32:31 > 0:32:36It was literally the loudest show I had ever heard.

0:32:39 > 0:32:42It was so loud that I saw people

0:32:42 > 0:32:44pulling out their packs of cigarettes,

0:32:44 > 0:32:47putting, you know, butts in their ears.

0:32:47 > 0:32:48People like this.

0:32:52 > 0:32:56It was ear-splitting, damage-your-brain loud.

0:32:59 > 0:33:02But it was explosive.

0:33:02 > 0:33:05I'd never seen anything like it

0:33:05 > 0:33:11and everyone else in the band was equally as powerful as Axl

0:33:11 > 0:33:13and I was just like...

0:33:13 > 0:33:17"This is going to be the biggest band in the world." I knew it.

0:33:18 > 0:33:22Slash's guitar playing was phenomenal.

0:33:22 > 0:33:25Every generation needs its own guitar hero

0:33:25 > 0:33:27and I really felt that he would be

0:33:27 > 0:33:32the next Jimmy Page, Clapton, Beck or Hendrix.

0:33:36 > 0:33:39After a couple of songs, he saw right away that he wanted them

0:33:39 > 0:33:42but he sort of ducked out of there

0:33:42 > 0:33:45because he saw other A&R people there looking,

0:33:45 > 0:33:46and they all looked up to him.

0:33:52 > 0:33:54And they saw him leaving and he was like...

0:33:54 > 0:33:57"Yeah, they were loud, they sucked." Because he wanted to bluff them.

0:33:59 > 0:34:01So Tom ended up signing them.

0:34:03 > 0:34:06They sign the deal, they get the cheque...

0:34:06 > 0:34:09And that is the story of how the band got signed.

0:34:30 > 0:34:34That was the last gig that they did that was, you know,

0:34:34 > 0:34:38the end of what they were doing before they got signed.

0:34:38 > 0:34:40When they got their advance money from Geffen,

0:34:40 > 0:34:41a lot of that went to tattoos.

0:34:41 > 0:34:44They got, immediately, a lot more tattoos.

0:34:44 > 0:34:47I got this, the cross tattoo here.

0:34:47 > 0:34:51And then Geffen liked it so much, we decided to use it for a cover.

0:34:51 > 0:34:55You see, Slash wanted straight hair so we gave him straight hair.

0:34:55 > 0:34:59- I didn't ask for straight hair. - Yes, you did. You totally did.

0:34:59 > 0:35:01Because I told Bill... I told Bill... I said,

0:35:01 > 0:35:04"You're never going to be able to draw curly hair right."

0:35:04 > 0:35:08You know, it took almost two years

0:35:08 > 0:35:10to get the band, you know, to the point

0:35:10 > 0:35:13where Appetite was a record.

0:35:13 > 0:35:17Tom Zutaut said to me, "We will have to get the band major management."

0:35:17 > 0:35:20Because in their minds I wasn't major management material.

0:35:23 > 0:35:26No-one would manage them. Everybody turned it down.

0:35:26 > 0:35:29So finally I called Alan and I said,

0:35:29 > 0:35:31"Alan, you have to manage this band

0:35:31 > 0:35:34"or I can't even get this record put out."

0:35:35 > 0:35:38This song is called Rocket Queen.

0:35:39 > 0:35:41Rocket Queen was just a song

0:35:41 > 0:35:44that Axl wrote about his friend, Barbie.

0:35:51 > 0:35:54We were actually mixing the record, and Axl looks at me

0:35:54 > 0:35:58and he's like, "We can't mix this song yet, it's not done."

0:35:58 > 0:36:01Axl had always wanted to record a sex act

0:36:01 > 0:36:04and incorporate it somehow.

0:36:04 > 0:36:07Steven hadn't shown up, but his girlfriend, Adriana, was there.

0:36:07 > 0:36:09Adriana Smith was one of the strippers.

0:36:09 > 0:36:12And Axl's like, "How would you like to be a part of

0:36:12 > 0:36:14"rock and roll history?"

0:36:14 > 0:36:16And she goes, "What do I got to do?"

0:36:16 > 0:36:19He goes, "You've just to fuck my brains out for as long as you can."

0:36:19 > 0:36:23She wanted to help them, but she wasn't sure if she should do it.

0:36:23 > 0:36:26And Alan Niven put down a big bottle of Jack Daniels and said,

0:36:26 > 0:36:28"How about now?"

0:36:28 > 0:36:31And I was like, "For the band! Sure, no problem.

0:36:31 > 0:36:33"For the band. And a bottle of Jack Daniel's."

0:36:33 > 0:36:36I was kind of surprised because it was Steven's girlfriend.

0:36:36 > 0:36:39There was no girlfriend in my life.

0:36:39 > 0:36:41My girlfriend was rock and roll.

0:36:41 > 0:36:43They mic'd the floor of this vocal booth

0:36:43 > 0:36:48and dimmed the lights, and we just got busy.

0:36:48 > 0:36:52They just start having outrageous sex and we're rolling tape.

0:36:52 > 0:36:56It concludes, Axl comes in, he listens back and goes,

0:36:56 > 0:36:57"Yeah, this will work.

0:36:57 > 0:37:01"Let's edit this cos we only want to use it here, here and here."

0:37:06 > 0:37:09Anybody can go hear Rocket Queen and they can hear

0:37:09 > 0:37:11the best 36 seconds of it,

0:37:11 > 0:37:14but there's about an hour and a half of it altogether.

0:37:18 > 0:37:22MOANING OVER GUITAR SOLO

0:37:42 > 0:37:47I thought it sounded great. I was like, "Good job, guys."

0:37:47 > 0:37:51Now that you know, next time you hear it, you'll hear it.

0:37:52 > 0:37:55It's for the good of art. It's rock and roll.

0:38:02 > 0:38:05They had enough songs to make a record, they just...

0:38:05 > 0:38:07Tom was just looking for...

0:38:07 > 0:38:10He knew what he wanted. He wanted something else.

0:38:10 > 0:38:15MUSIC: Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses

0:38:24 > 0:38:27When they wrote Sweet Child O' Mine,

0:38:27 > 0:38:29Marc Canter called me and he said,

0:38:29 > 0:38:32"They've got this new song, you're going to love it.

0:38:32 > 0:38:33"It's exactly what they need."

0:38:33 > 0:38:35As soon as he heard Sweet Child he said,

0:38:35 > 0:38:38"OK, now you're done. Let's go into preproduction."

0:38:40 > 0:38:45We were almost finished with Appetite and we put an EP out

0:38:45 > 0:38:49through independent distribution. It was called Live Like A Suicide.

0:38:49 > 0:38:55Geffen funded it, but I was able to carve that money out

0:38:55 > 0:38:58and use it to bring the band to play that marquee show.

0:38:59 > 0:39:01- AXL ROSE:- The marquee, huh?

0:39:03 > 0:39:06How the fuck are you doing?

0:39:08 > 0:39:12We did it and the band exploded. Like, the press went crazy.

0:39:12 > 0:39:15Welcome to the fucking jungle, people.

0:39:15 > 0:39:18I believe that that particular marquee show

0:39:18 > 0:39:21is one of the best shows they ever played,

0:39:21 > 0:39:23but nobody in America wanted to know about them.

0:39:23 > 0:39:27People wanted them to just disappear.

0:39:29 > 0:39:31We put Appetite out.

0:39:31 > 0:39:35Radio stations won't play it, they refused to play it.

0:39:35 > 0:39:38Maybe heavy metal stations like KNAC might have played it, but...

0:39:38 > 0:39:41MTV were pushing really hard that they were never going to play

0:39:41 > 0:39:45Guns N' Roses because John Malone said if we play this band,

0:39:45 > 0:39:48he's going to drop us off his cable systems.

0:39:48 > 0:39:51John Malone deemed them to be a threat to good Christians.

0:39:51 > 0:39:55The only reason why they had sold 200,000 records in a year

0:39:55 > 0:39:59was because they were on tour with The Cult, Alice Cooper, Motley Crue.

0:39:59 > 0:40:03And during that time they would play at arenas, say of 10,000 people,

0:40:03 > 0:40:07and the next day maybe 100 or 200 people

0:40:07 > 0:40:09would go out and buy their record.

0:40:09 > 0:40:13So 200,000 units, and I get a call from Ed Rosenblatt, and he said,

0:40:13 > 0:40:17"Tom, this record's over. We're walking away from this record."

0:40:17 > 0:40:21I said, "This record's going to sell millions and it's only at 200,000.

0:40:21 > 0:40:26So I went upstairs, I saw David, and he's like,

0:40:26 > 0:40:28"Well, what can I do?"

0:40:28 > 0:40:31And I said, "Well, you could call your friends that run MTV

0:40:31 > 0:40:34"and get them to play this video we made.

0:40:34 > 0:40:37"This video is fantastic. Tell them to play it."

0:40:37 > 0:40:40"All right," he goes, "I'll take care of it."

0:40:40 > 0:40:43About an hour later David calls me up. I go up and he says,

0:40:43 > 0:40:45"They're kind of hoping that no-one that knows John Malone

0:40:45 > 0:40:49"will be watching the channel at 4am in New York, 1am in LA,

0:40:49 > 0:40:51"but they're going to play the video one time."

0:40:51 > 0:40:54And he goes, "That's the best I could do."

0:40:54 > 0:40:57So that's it, they're going to play it once.

0:40:57 > 0:41:03So I had to deliver this horrific news to the band,

0:41:03 > 0:41:05and they were like,

0:41:05 > 0:41:09"Well, let's just have a big party."

0:41:09 > 0:41:12And one of the funniest things about this party is that, you know,

0:41:12 > 0:41:15some of the band were shooting heroin in the kitchen.

0:41:15 > 0:41:20The rest of the band was sort of drinking beer and whatever, whiskey.

0:41:20 > 0:41:25I went out and got bucket-loads of cookies and milk.

0:41:25 > 0:41:28You know, people who drink and do drugs still like cookies and milk.

0:41:28 > 0:41:32So before the video comes on. maybe like 11 at night,

0:41:32 > 0:41:35there's a knock on the door and it's the LA County sheriffs,

0:41:35 > 0:41:36and they want to...

0:41:36 > 0:41:39"We've had some complaints about noise."

0:41:39 > 0:41:42And I let them in and I definitely

0:41:42 > 0:41:44gave warning that I was going to let them in.

0:41:44 > 0:41:48And some people were in the toilet flushing things, whatever,

0:41:48 > 0:41:49you know, scrambling.

0:41:49 > 0:41:52So the sheriffs come in, and they see, like,

0:41:52 > 0:41:55some really hot chicks and the guys in the band.

0:41:55 > 0:42:01They're all sitting there with milk-lips and milk-chins

0:42:01 > 0:42:04eating cookies watching MTV.

0:42:04 > 0:42:07And so the sheriffs are like,

0:42:07 > 0:42:11"We have no idea why your neighbours are complaining.

0:42:11 > 0:42:14"You know, you just look like a bunch of kids watching TV

0:42:14 > 0:42:15"and having milk and cookies."

0:42:15 > 0:42:18And they left, and that was the end of it.

0:42:18 > 0:42:23Finally, I wake up around three, and I've got all these messages.

0:42:23 > 0:42:26So I call into the office, and my assistant's like,

0:42:26 > 0:42:28"We think you need to come in."

0:42:28 > 0:42:30I said, "Who made the most phone calls looking for me?"

0:42:30 > 0:42:33And they go, "Al Coury, the head of promotions."

0:42:33 > 0:42:35So I go and see him and he's like...

0:42:35 > 0:42:37SHOUTING GIBBERISH

0:42:37 > 0:42:41You know, he sound like a gremlin on steroids or something.

0:42:41 > 0:42:46Basically he says the MTV switchboard blew up last night.

0:42:46 > 0:42:49Too many phone calls came in, it sparked the thing and it melted.

0:42:49 > 0:42:52MTV's never had so many calls,

0:42:52 > 0:42:56and they continue to be bombarded with phone calls today.

0:42:56 > 0:42:59Every kid in America is calling them requesting this video,

0:42:59 > 0:43:02and they know there's no way we could have paid

0:43:02 > 0:43:04that many people to do it.

0:43:04 > 0:43:05So they're going to add the video.

0:43:05 > 0:43:09The minute MTV started playing Welcome To The Jungle,

0:43:09 > 0:43:10everything changed.

0:43:10 > 0:43:13They were selling a couple of hundred thousand records a week.

0:43:20 > 0:43:22# Welcome to the jungle

0:43:22 > 0:43:24We got funs and games

0:43:24 > 0:43:26# We got everything you want

0:43:26 > 0:43:27# Honey, we know the names

0:43:27 > 0:43:30# We are the people that can find

0:43:30 > 0:43:32# Whatever you may need

0:43:32 > 0:43:34# If you got the money, honey

0:43:34 > 0:43:35# We got your disease

0:43:35 > 0:43:37# In the jungle

0:43:37 > 0:43:38# Welcome to the jungle

0:43:38 > 0:43:40# Watch it bring you to your... #

0:43:40 > 0:43:44We bought actual news footage that had been shown on television

0:43:44 > 0:43:46from NBC and CBS and ABC.

0:43:46 > 0:43:50We've worked really hard to get on MTV...

0:43:50 > 0:43:52By our...

0:43:52 > 0:43:55Without really compromising, by doing what we wanted to do.

0:43:55 > 0:43:57Appetite For Destruction

0:43:57 > 0:43:59is one of the greatest rock and roll records ever.

0:43:59 > 0:44:02And those type of records that have

0:44:02 > 0:44:07the swearing in it and controversial topics don't get that big.

0:44:07 > 0:44:10They're not supposed to, because that's not vanilla.

0:44:10 > 0:44:11But they did.

0:44:11 > 0:44:14As the hot young band on the bill, Guns N' Roses were, of course,

0:44:14 > 0:44:18the object of much fond speculation among their elders.

0:44:18 > 0:44:20It's real easy for a band to go out and buy the image

0:44:20 > 0:44:25and watch other bands performing and mimic it and pick it up,

0:44:25 > 0:44:28but they seem to have it right down to the bone.

0:44:28 > 0:44:30What in the world is this?

0:44:30 > 0:44:32This here from the inner sleeve.

0:44:32 > 0:44:35I love the picture, but I kind of submitted it as a joke

0:44:35 > 0:44:38because it was so outrageous to the band and the manager,

0:44:38 > 0:44:39and everybody loved it.

0:44:39 > 0:44:42And I was like, "You mean you want to use this?

0:44:42 > 0:44:45"This is great." So then we just went for it.

0:44:45 > 0:44:47People thought we were promoting rape or something,

0:44:47 > 0:44:48which is ridiculous,

0:44:48 > 0:44:52but everybody interprets a painting in different ways.

0:45:00 > 0:45:02It just exploded.

0:45:02 > 0:45:05And then I brought up this Sweet Child O' Mine

0:45:05 > 0:45:08and said, "We should shoot a video for this song."

0:45:08 > 0:45:12And it became a number one record at seven minutes long, regardless.

0:45:12 > 0:45:16MUSIC: Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses

0:45:46 > 0:45:48Erin Everly understood Axl better than most

0:45:48 > 0:45:51because she had her own difficult childhood.

0:45:51 > 0:45:54They had this great love affair, this great romance

0:45:54 > 0:45:55and passion for each other,

0:45:55 > 0:45:58and Sweet Child O' Mine is written about her.

0:45:58 > 0:46:01But I think that she truly did and does love Axl

0:46:01 > 0:46:04in a way that almost nobody else probably has,

0:46:04 > 0:46:07and I think she helped him a lot.

0:46:08 > 0:46:10She wanted to see him achieve his dreams

0:46:10 > 0:46:14and she what knew his dreams were, because they were together.

0:46:16 > 0:46:18Sweet Child became, like, a number one single,

0:46:18 > 0:46:21and that was it getting played on pop stations,

0:46:21 > 0:46:24which put them into a whole different ballpark.

0:46:27 > 0:46:30TV PRESENTER: They ripped it up at the Castle Donington show

0:46:30 > 0:46:32in England, where things got so out of hand

0:46:32 > 0:46:34that two people were fatally injured during the set.

0:46:39 > 0:46:41Guns N' Roses released an eight song EP in December

0:46:41 > 0:46:45which included the four tracks from their first indie record in 1986,

0:46:45 > 0:46:48plus, to surprise, some acoustic stuff, too.

0:46:48 > 0:46:49Yeah, the subtitle is,

0:46:49 > 0:46:51the sex, drugs, the violence, the shocking truth.

0:46:51 > 0:46:55Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan provided some

0:46:55 > 0:46:57of the liveliest moments on Monday's American Music Awards Show,

0:46:57 > 0:47:00when they got up on stage and Slash started talking the way

0:47:00 > 0:47:03rock and roll people sometimes actually talk.

0:47:03 > 0:47:05All right, listen. Tom Zutaut for finding us.

0:47:05 > 0:47:08- Alan Niven- BLEEP- for getting us there.

0:47:08 > 0:47:09They were getting into trouble.

0:47:09 > 0:47:10Come on, get real.

0:47:10 > 0:47:14I remember one time where Izzy peed on a plane.

0:47:14 > 0:47:17I guess he was impatient, and whoever was in the bathroom

0:47:17 > 0:47:19didn't come out and he just went in the corner

0:47:19 > 0:47:21and peed, and got arrested.

0:47:21 > 0:47:24And that made news flashes across the country.

0:47:24 > 0:47:25No.

0:47:25 > 0:47:28Sometimes you'll sell records when you make the news.

0:47:28 > 0:47:29Some of the lyrics,

0:47:29 > 0:47:32according to an influential group of American mothers,

0:47:32 > 0:47:34should not be falling on youthful ears.

0:47:34 > 0:47:37The more stickers they put on records, the more records we sell.

0:47:37 > 0:47:39Yeah.

0:47:39 > 0:47:42People are saying that you guys are blowing away the headlining act,

0:47:42 > 0:47:45and a lot of bands don't want you guys on the tour with them.

0:47:45 > 0:47:48They think we drink a lot, they think we slam a lot of drugs,

0:47:48 > 0:47:50they think this, they think that.

0:47:50 > 0:47:54- It's this big- BLEEP - media thing, right?

0:47:54 > 0:47:56It's all you guys' fault.

0:47:56 > 0:47:58Alice Cooper didn't know who they were

0:47:58 > 0:48:01at a gig in Santa Barbara, but that was a

0:48:01 > 0:48:02little bit of a disaster

0:48:02 > 0:48:04and the band kind of wrecked the backstage area.

0:48:04 > 0:48:07I'm sure Alice Cooper probably wished that that band

0:48:07 > 0:48:09was never put on the gig.

0:48:09 > 0:48:12You can only be bad boys during nonworking hours.

0:48:12 > 0:48:14Yeah, I'm psychotic.

0:48:14 > 0:48:18Axl was one of the most intense people I've ever met in my life.

0:48:18 > 0:48:20He was a bad ass, without a doubt.

0:48:20 > 0:48:22He was a guy that I've seen get in street fights.

0:48:24 > 0:48:29Geffen recording artist - Guns N' Roses. Yeah!

0:48:29 > 0:48:34Axl stopped doing dope around probably July of '86.

0:48:34 > 0:48:37How you fucking people doing tonight?

0:48:37 > 0:48:39Cos he saw Izzy and Slash were just going down the drain.

0:48:39 > 0:48:40And Steven.

0:48:40 > 0:48:43Looks like we've got a fucking rowdy turnout.

0:48:43 > 0:48:44Duff wouldn't touch it

0:48:44 > 0:48:46because his girlfriend died in his arms when he was 15.

0:48:46 > 0:48:49So Duff might have done coke or booze or whatever,

0:48:49 > 0:48:51but he wasn't going to touch heroin.

0:48:51 > 0:48:54This next song...

0:48:54 > 0:48:57And that's when Mr Brownstone got written.

0:48:57 > 0:48:59..is a song about doing too much heroin.

0:49:02 > 0:49:06I know. But sometimes things go a little too far.

0:49:06 > 0:49:09A song called Dancing With Mr Brownstone.

0:49:09 > 0:49:11Izzy had written on a pizza box...

0:49:13 > 0:49:16Just, you know, some lyrics.

0:49:16 > 0:49:19And Axl brought it to Izzy and they end up finishing the song

0:49:19 > 0:49:21and making Mr Brownstone.

0:49:21 > 0:49:23# Well, the show usually starts around seven

0:49:23 > 0:49:25# And we go on stage at nine

0:49:25 > 0:49:27# And we get on the bus about 11... #

0:49:27 > 0:49:29Axl got blamed for being this,

0:49:29 > 0:49:32"Guns N' Roses are just a bunch of drug addicts," whatever.

0:49:32 > 0:49:37Axl was not a drug addict after August of 1986.

0:49:37 > 0:49:40Yet Slash, Steven and Izzy were.

0:49:40 > 0:49:43It appeared to me that the band was a wreck.

0:49:43 > 0:49:47Everyone had some form of substance abuse.

0:49:52 > 0:49:53Izzy didn't clean up until '89.

0:49:56 > 0:49:58And Slash until, what, five or six years ago.

0:49:58 > 0:50:01That's just something you can't really help right now, you know?

0:50:01 > 0:50:02You use the drugs,

0:50:02 > 0:50:04but once the drugs start using you,

0:50:04 > 0:50:06then you're in trouble.

0:50:06 > 0:50:10Axl was really starting to get deeply worried that

0:50:10 > 0:50:13the band was going to implode around him from drugs.

0:50:13 > 0:50:17I mean, certain members of the band had serious substance abuses,

0:50:17 > 0:50:21and they were mixing different things. Any of which could kill you.

0:50:23 > 0:50:26So he made a public statement about it,

0:50:26 > 0:50:32onstage, at the LA Coliseum, opening for The Stones.

0:50:32 > 0:50:35I hate to do this on stage,

0:50:35 > 0:50:39but I've tried every other fucking way.

0:50:41 > 0:50:45And unless certain people in this band get their shit together

0:50:45 > 0:50:47these will be the last Guns N' Roses shows

0:50:47 > 0:50:49that you will fucking ever see.

0:50:51 > 0:50:55Because I am tired of too many people in this organisation

0:50:55 > 0:51:00dancing with Mr goddamn Brownstone.

0:51:03 > 0:51:05When they looked at Axl and Slash,

0:51:05 > 0:51:11Jagger and Richards saw themselves back in the '60s and '70s.

0:51:11 > 0:51:15You know, "We've been the bad boys of rock since the '60s,

0:51:15 > 0:51:18"and now we're not the most dangerous band in the world,

0:51:18 > 0:51:21"so I want that band to open for us."

0:51:21 > 0:51:24It was great playing with them, it was a definite dream.

0:51:24 > 0:51:26I mean, it was something that we told people we were going to do,

0:51:26 > 0:51:28and people were going, "No, they're broke up."

0:51:28 > 0:51:31I don't care. We're going to open for The Stones. You wait.

0:51:31 > 0:51:33We're going to do this. I don't know how, but we're going to do this.

0:51:33 > 0:51:36So then I told Keith Richards that and he was like,

0:51:36 > 0:51:39- IMITATES RICHARDS:- "Well, you made it, mate. Let me have a cigarette."

0:51:39 > 0:51:41# Stuck it in the middle

0:51:41 > 0:51:42# And I shot it in the middle

0:51:42 > 0:51:44# And it drove me out of my mind

0:51:44 > 0:51:45# And it drove me out of my mind

0:51:45 > 0:51:47# Said I wish I never met her... #

0:51:47 > 0:51:49How come Steven left the band at this critical juncture?

0:51:49 > 0:51:52Steven was fired. He couldn't leave his drugs.

0:51:53 > 0:51:57All right, we've got some assholes out here.

0:51:57 > 0:52:00I just got hit with a fucking bottle.

0:52:03 > 0:52:05I'd like to thank the people in the front row

0:52:05 > 0:52:07who got a little crazy with the water.

0:52:07 > 0:52:09You dumped water on the electrical cables.

0:52:09 > 0:52:10The show's over.

0:52:10 > 0:52:12And you, fuck you.

0:52:15 > 0:52:18Well, when Steven Adler lost his job in Guns N' Roses

0:52:18 > 0:52:20it was a dark time for him,

0:52:20 > 0:52:25and they were getting ready to record Use Your Illusions,

0:52:25 > 0:52:27and he just wasn't there,

0:52:27 > 0:52:31and if he was there, he wasn't capable of keeping time.

0:52:31 > 0:52:34They didn't just fire, the brought in Matt to work a little bit

0:52:34 > 0:52:36and they thought, OK, Matt will do a little bit

0:52:36 > 0:52:38and then we'll bring Steven back.

0:52:38 > 0:52:40We gave him every ultimatum.

0:52:40 > 0:52:42We tried working with other drummers.

0:52:42 > 0:52:44We had Steven sign a contract

0:52:44 > 0:52:46saying if he went back to drugs then he was out.

0:52:46 > 0:52:49Slash and Duff saw me play drums, I thought I'd be a good fit,

0:52:49 > 0:52:53and they were already thinking about making the move on drummers,

0:52:53 > 0:52:56so, yeah.

0:52:56 > 0:53:00They kicked me out the band because I was doing drugs WITH THEM,

0:53:00 > 0:53:02and then they just brought Matt in

0:53:02 > 0:53:04to do drugs with them too.

0:53:04 > 0:53:08It wasn't like Matt was sober, he was doing drugs with them.

0:53:10 > 0:53:13Excuse us, please.

0:53:13 > 0:53:17Axl, were you surprised that Steven quit and filed a lawsuit?

0:53:17 > 0:53:20Axl?

0:53:20 > 0:53:23That was such a terrible time in my life.

0:53:23 > 0:53:27Man, just like being in a courtroom, and you've got these lawyers

0:53:27 > 0:53:30and they're saying this shit, your bandmates,

0:53:30 > 0:53:33the people you grew up with are saying shit about you.

0:53:33 > 0:53:36And then you have to say this about them.

0:53:36 > 0:53:39It was just so hard.

0:53:39 > 0:53:43I would bring heroin on a foil to court with me.

0:53:43 > 0:53:45Every chance I get, I go in a bathroom and smoke.

0:53:45 > 0:53:47I go, "I can't do this any more."

0:53:47 > 0:53:51I mean, I think I cried for a year straight.

0:53:51 > 0:53:54You knew, however, that the possibility existed

0:53:54 > 0:53:56that he might not be able to get off drugs,

0:53:56 > 0:53:59and that if he didn't he was going to flunk out and be gone, correct?

0:53:59 > 0:54:02Well, if he didn't meet the requirements of the probation,

0:54:02 > 0:54:06- it was going to remove him from Guns N' Roses.- OK.

0:54:13 > 0:54:15Hey, take that. Take that.

0:54:15 > 0:54:17Get that guy and take that.

0:54:20 > 0:54:22I'll take it, goddammit.

0:54:28 > 0:54:31If he sees something in the crowd he doesn't like

0:54:31 > 0:54:33he's going to act on it.

0:54:34 > 0:54:38After that he didn't want to play the show any more

0:54:38 > 0:54:40and they tore the place up.

0:54:40 > 0:54:44There would have been no destroying of the place if I was there.

0:54:44 > 0:54:47Cos if Axl left and they started getting crazy

0:54:47 > 0:54:49I would have started playing my drums,

0:54:49 > 0:54:51and I would have got them excited.

0:54:51 > 0:54:53I would have done something to stop that.

0:54:55 > 0:54:57We were all headed out and there was a lot of violence,

0:54:57 > 0:55:00there was the riot squad coming in, helicopters, tear gas,

0:55:00 > 0:55:03the whole thing. It was a full-on riot.

0:55:05 > 0:55:06It was pretty serious.

0:55:06 > 0:55:10We knew we were either going to be arrested for the situation or...

0:55:10 > 0:55:11Inciting a riot.

0:55:13 > 0:55:15We were, like, running from the law.

0:55:15 > 0:55:19It was pretty awesome. So we went in this van.

0:55:19 > 0:55:21I'll never forget it, cos we were going through the crowd

0:55:21 > 0:55:24and people were banging on the van, and Slash and his top hat on.

0:55:24 > 0:55:26I remember reaching over and going, "Take your hat off.

0:55:26 > 0:55:28"It's obvious that it's you," you know?

0:55:31 > 0:55:35We stopped at a waffle house. Axl was still in his skirt.

0:55:35 > 0:55:36It was like...

0:55:36 > 0:55:40We went in, people just looked over... "Holy shit." You know?

0:55:40 > 0:55:44We got up to Chicago and... Everything was on the news.

0:55:44 > 0:55:50These riots, huge fires and 600 people injured.

0:55:50 > 0:55:52Holy shit, right?

0:55:52 > 0:55:56Record sales are going through the roof. It was...amazing.

0:55:56 > 0:55:59So the next day it comes on the news that they're going to extradite Axl.

0:55:59 > 0:56:02They're going to arrest him for inciting a riot.

0:56:02 > 0:56:05We sent two decoys out of the hotel.

0:56:05 > 0:56:08We dressed them like Axl, and we had this other guy named Ronnie that

0:56:08 > 0:56:12worked for Slash. He had really curly hair like Slash.

0:56:12 > 0:56:14So we dressed him up like Slash.

0:56:14 > 0:56:16And the cops were coming in the front,

0:56:16 > 0:56:18and Axl went out the kitchen.

0:56:19 > 0:56:23And they arrested those guys, thinking they were Axl and Slash.

0:56:23 > 0:56:29The plaintiff's case has been about dirty, nasty vulgar language...

0:56:33 > 0:56:34You jumped out at Billy...

0:56:36 > 0:56:38..you attacked Billy...

0:56:38 > 0:56:39and Billy was injured.

0:56:41 > 0:56:43They have both compromised

0:56:43 > 0:56:46and they have both reached an agreement between each other.

0:56:46 > 0:56:49Steven suffered back, knee and ear injuries,

0:56:49 > 0:56:51which should be at least partly soothed

0:56:51 > 0:56:52by the undisclosed cash settlement.

0:56:52 > 0:56:55We originally asked for 2.8 million

0:56:55 > 0:56:57and we settled at a very minimal figure.

0:57:09 > 0:57:12GLASS SHATTERING

0:57:17 > 0:57:19POLICE SIREN BLARES

0:58:16 > 0:58:19The band was on top of the world, you know?

0:58:19 > 0:58:25I remember when it came time to do the jet, to rent the jet.

0:58:25 > 0:58:31So we rented the 727, the MGM Grand, and it had four bedrooms.

0:58:31 > 0:58:33We had a bar in the middle of the plane

0:58:33 > 0:58:36and we were able to pick our own stewardesses.

0:58:36 > 0:58:38There was a lot of drinking going on,

0:58:38 > 0:58:40and obviously we were in South America,

0:58:40 > 0:58:42where you could score grams of cocaine for 3.

0:58:42 > 0:58:44You know? I'll take 10!

0:58:46 > 0:58:48We are totally sold out.

0:58:48 > 0:58:50If you don't have tickets,

0:58:50 > 0:58:53please move aside on the street, or down the block!

0:58:53 > 0:58:56You know, we did four or five laps around the world.

0:59:09 > 0:59:13Devoted fans lined up to buy the new Guns N' Roses albums

0:59:13 > 0:59:16just after midnight, Tuesday, in various cities,

0:59:16 > 0:59:19where stores remained open to accommodate the demand.

0:59:19 > 0:59:21We want to go home tonight and listen to everything

0:59:21 > 0:59:24and be the first ones to hear it. It's awesome.

0:59:24 > 0:59:26The band's two new albums, both called Use Your Illusion

0:59:26 > 0:59:29and featuring two songs sung by guitarist Izzy Stradlin,

0:59:29 > 0:59:31a tune called You Could Be Mine,

0:59:31 > 0:59:33the soundtrack to the upcoming Terminator 2.

0:59:40 > 0:59:44- We hung out with Arnold! Yeah... - What's he like?- He's great, man.

0:59:44 > 0:59:46He comes after us in his Terminator gear.

0:59:59 > 1:00:02They had security on us with fucking walkie-talkies and shit.

1:00:02 > 1:00:05We found a way around it. We had those guys. We had...

1:00:05 > 1:00:08Matt's asleep, you know, I've got...

1:00:08 > 1:00:11HE MIMICS RADIO STATIC I'd hear that outside my door

1:00:11 > 1:00:14and then I'd go out the fucking balcony, over the next balcony...

1:00:14 > 1:00:18In Texas one time, I got in a cab and I paid the cab.

1:00:18 > 1:00:23She said, "Oh, great show tonight." I said, "You didn't see me."

1:00:23 > 1:00:28"I'm not in this car." I said, "Take me to the closest hotel."

1:00:28 > 1:00:30I made sure it was a hotel with a minibar,

1:00:30 > 1:00:34so I went up there and I drank, passed out on the bed.

1:00:34 > 1:00:39Woke up with Doug and John standing in front of my bed.

1:00:39 > 1:00:41"Where do you think you're going?"

1:00:42 > 1:00:44"How did you find me?"

1:00:44 > 1:00:47"We paid them more than you paid them."

1:00:47 > 1:00:48And I'm like, "Holy fuck."

1:00:48 > 1:00:51I mean, it was all the way across Dallas, Texas.

1:00:51 > 1:00:55Guns N' Roses was apparently too controversial for the Kmart

1:00:55 > 1:00:56and Walmart chains.

1:00:56 > 1:01:00The two new albums, titled Use Your Illusion 1 and 2,

1:01:00 > 1:01:05will not be sold in those stores due to objectionable lyrics.

1:01:05 > 1:01:10But other retailers have ordered a record four million copies.

1:01:10 > 1:01:12In Los Angeles, customers parted with their money

1:01:12 > 1:01:15in a more orderly fashion than in New York City.

1:01:16 > 1:01:19Not everyone here was a fan of Guns N' Roses.

1:01:19 > 1:01:21I hope that album fails,

1:01:21 > 1:01:23because I'm just so sick of his attitude, you know?

1:01:23 > 1:01:25And he acts like a jerk.

1:01:25 > 1:01:28Thanks to the lame-ass security, I'm going home!

1:01:28 > 1:01:32It was very frustrating for the other members, to watch these riots

1:01:32 > 1:01:36happen, because of sound problems because Axl wasn't at sound check.

1:01:36 > 1:01:38BOOING

1:01:50 > 1:01:52'This isn't working for me any more.'

1:01:53 > 1:01:57# If I could see tomorrow

1:01:57 > 1:02:01# What are your plans? #

1:02:01 > 1:02:02Hi, I'm Izzy.

1:02:02 > 1:02:05'In 1990-91, I had three years of sobriety

1:02:05 > 1:02:08'three years of still being in Guns N' Roses,

1:02:08 > 1:02:10'we were doing Use Your Illusions.

1:02:10 > 1:02:12'We'd go out on the road completely sober.

1:02:12 > 1:02:15'There was a point in '91 when I was just like...

1:02:15 > 1:02:18'You know, it's time to change, man.

1:02:18 > 1:02:20'I'm pulling out of this thing.'

1:02:20 > 1:02:22You know, why not?

1:02:22 > 1:02:26'I'd had enough. It was absolutely out of control.'

1:02:26 > 1:02:28Izzy quit cos he didn't want to spend the money on the videos.

1:02:28 > 1:02:30They had spent some money.

1:02:30 > 1:02:32He was paranoid about the riots and lawsuits coming,

1:02:32 > 1:02:35so he just didn't want to... He just, like, took off.

1:02:35 > 1:02:40Am I going to carry on like this, or am I not? You know, I said I'm not.

1:02:40 > 1:02:42Plus, he's a bit flaky to begin with.

1:02:42 > 1:02:47That was shocking, because Izzy and Axl were childhood friends.

1:02:47 > 1:02:52I think that Izzy was probably the most underrated person in that band.

1:02:52 > 1:02:53He's a great songwriter,

1:02:53 > 1:02:58and I think that he was sort of the guy that kept things together.

1:02:58 > 1:03:02But when it eventually came time to write, there was no Izzy,

1:03:02 > 1:03:04and Izzy was the neutral figure between Slash and Axl.

1:03:04 > 1:03:06He was the missing piece of the puzzle.

1:03:06 > 1:03:08Ladies and gentlemen...

1:03:08 > 1:03:09Mr Izzy Stradlin.

1:03:18 > 1:03:22# She loved him yesterday

1:03:22 > 1:03:24# Yesterday's over

1:03:24 > 1:03:26# I said OK

1:03:27 > 1:03:29# That's all right

1:03:33 > 1:03:36# Time moves on That's the way

1:03:36 > 1:03:39# We live in hope... #

1:03:39 > 1:03:43The beginning of the end for him was that he was starting to get

1:03:43 > 1:03:46ticked off about Axl being late for shows.

1:03:46 > 1:03:50He started realising that Axl's tardiness

1:03:50 > 1:03:52was costing the band millions of dollars.

1:03:52 > 1:03:54Izzy got cleaned up and got his own bus

1:03:54 > 1:03:56and he didn't want to, like, be anywhere near us.

1:03:56 > 1:03:58He wanted to ride away from the band.

1:03:58 > 1:04:00Duff was a train wreck with his drinking

1:04:00 > 1:04:03and Slash was, you know, Slash his dope buddy,

1:04:03 > 1:04:05and Slash was still doing that,

1:04:05 > 1:04:07so he didn't want to be near Slash.

1:04:07 > 1:04:10And then, you know, Axl wasn't ready to go on or whatever

1:04:10 > 1:04:13and they'd be backstage getting drunk all night.

1:04:13 > 1:04:14And Izzy just couldn't take it.

1:04:14 > 1:04:19Over time, Izzy just had had it in every possible way.

1:04:19 > 1:04:21I would see him and he had his dog.

1:04:21 > 1:04:24You know, he had a chef on the bus and they were eating really well.

1:04:25 > 1:04:28He rode his motorcycle. He had a couple of motorcycles.

1:04:30 > 1:04:32Izzy called me up, he called Duff and everybody

1:04:32 > 1:04:34and said he was quitting the band.

1:04:34 > 1:04:36I said, "Well, can you at least finish the tour?

1:04:36 > 1:04:39"We've only got one more gig. It's Wembley Stadium.

1:04:39 > 1:04:41"It's sold out, 17,000 people."

1:04:41 > 1:04:44And Izzy played and then he... That was it. He left.

1:04:47 > 1:04:53We flew back to America, got back to LA and within two weeks,

1:04:53 > 1:04:55we were back on the road with Gilby Clark.

1:04:55 > 1:04:59# Knock, knock, knocking on Heaven's door... #

1:04:59 > 1:05:01I think that any of the members of Guns N' Roses,

1:05:01 > 1:05:04if anyone asked them what one of the greatest concerts

1:05:04 > 1:05:09they've played at, they would bring up the Freddie Mercury tribute.

1:05:09 > 1:05:13It was sort of like a crowning moment for Guns N' Roses,

1:05:13 > 1:05:16to be accepted by their peers,

1:05:16 > 1:05:19of the most successful rock bands in the world.

1:05:49 > 1:05:51# Buddy, you're a boy Make a big noise

1:05:51 > 1:05:54# Playing in the street Gonna be a big man some day

1:05:54 > 1:05:56# You got mud on yo' face

1:05:56 > 1:05:57# Big disgrace

1:05:57 > 1:06:00# Kickin' your can all over the place

1:06:00 > 1:06:04# Singin' we will, we will rock you! We will, we will rock you... #

1:06:04 > 1:06:06Sing it!

1:06:06 > 1:06:10AUDIENCE: # We will, we will rock you! #

1:06:14 > 1:06:17We played Santiago.

1:06:17 > 1:06:20And I remember we played it where they had Amnesty International.

1:06:20 > 1:06:23During the military coup in 1985,

1:06:23 > 1:06:26about 20,000 people were murdered in that stadium.

1:06:26 > 1:06:28We're playing to that same stadium

1:06:28 > 1:06:31where those people are actually buried in and around that stadium...

1:06:31 > 1:06:33In the ground there.

1:06:33 > 1:06:36So no-one had told Axl that piece of information,

1:06:36 > 1:06:39and I remember him going, "I don't want to fucking play here."

1:06:39 > 1:06:43And then the military... There was security there.

1:06:43 > 1:06:47The chief of police, or whoever he was, said "We will use force

1:06:47 > 1:06:51"if you don't do the show." We said, "What kind of force?"

1:06:52 > 1:06:56"We will have to shoot and kill the singer."

1:06:56 > 1:07:00He said it in Spanish. Maybe he fucked up the way it came out.

1:07:00 > 1:07:02Got to play the show, finish the show.

1:07:03 > 1:07:07And he did a great show that night. It was fucking perfect.

1:07:07 > 1:07:10I said, "Doug, you need to tell Axl that part,

1:07:10 > 1:07:12"because he needs to know."

1:07:14 > 1:07:15Yeah...

1:07:15 > 1:07:18# Say live and let die

1:07:22 > 1:07:26# Live and let die

1:07:27 > 1:07:31# Oh-oh-oh-oh, yeah! #

1:07:37 > 1:07:40Guns N' Roses and Metallica were co-headlining a tour

1:07:40 > 1:07:43of the Canadian provincial capital of Montreal last Saturday night

1:07:43 > 1:07:44for a show that ended in a riot

1:07:44 > 1:07:46after Metallica frontman James Hetfield

1:07:46 > 1:07:48was sent to hospital with pyrotechnic injuries.

1:07:48 > 1:07:50When Guns N' Roses took the stage,

1:07:50 > 1:07:52about two hours and 15 minutes later,

1:07:52 > 1:07:55the band played about six songs before Axl Rose told the audience,

1:07:55 > 1:07:59quote, "We got it together in Europe only to have it come apart here.

1:07:59 > 1:08:01"In case anyone is interested,

1:08:01 > 1:08:03"this is going to be our last show for a long time."

1:08:03 > 1:08:07Axl's taking a lot of heat for being late on stage,

1:08:07 > 1:08:13and it's not his intention to keep people waiting.

1:08:13 > 1:08:16Axl is someone who has no real perception of time sometimes

1:08:16 > 1:08:20when he's, you know, in his creative mode, or finding his mojo

1:08:20 > 1:08:24to get up on stage and do that amazing thing that he does.

1:08:24 > 1:08:26People who bring us great art,

1:08:26 > 1:08:29they are not the most organised people in the world

1:08:29 > 1:08:33and they are not always obsessive-compulsively on time.

1:08:33 > 1:08:38The only thing that started cutting down the late times

1:08:38 > 1:08:42was when I realised it was really being hard on the crew.

1:08:42 > 1:08:46The band didn't care about me, so my head wasn't about them.

1:08:56 > 1:08:59During the making of Use Your Illusions, you know,

1:08:59 > 1:09:03they'd been after Axl for a really long time

1:09:03 > 1:09:06to do another cover story and...

1:09:06 > 1:09:09We're doing some vocals and I went to studio.

1:09:09 > 1:09:11Axl was sort of, you know,

1:09:11 > 1:09:14sitting on the floor eating some hamburgers and stuff,

1:09:14 > 1:09:16and he looked at me just out of the blue when I got there and said,

1:09:16 > 1:09:22"I know I said no, but I wanted to do this Rolling Stone interview.

1:09:22 > 1:09:27"I want to expose my stepfather for the monster that he is and was."

1:09:27 > 1:09:32# Some of them want to abuse you... #

1:09:32 > 1:09:38And he said, you know, "He used to take me to an air force museum

1:09:38 > 1:09:42"and rape me in the toilets there. In the toilet stalls."

1:09:42 > 1:09:46And he said, "You know, my mom wouldn't believe me

1:09:46 > 1:09:51"and I used to get beaten for making up lies."

1:09:51 > 1:09:55And he said, "I want to use Rolling Stone,

1:09:55 > 1:09:58"because they have been bugging me to do this article for so long,

1:09:58 > 1:10:03"but I don't want them to, you know, put a whitewash on the story.

1:10:03 > 1:10:05"I want it to come out."

1:10:05 > 1:10:06As ugly and harsh as it is,

1:10:06 > 1:10:10because it was happening to his sister as well.

1:10:10 > 1:10:14So if even one kid will read this interview

1:10:14 > 1:10:19and it spares them this pain, I want to help 'em.

1:10:25 > 1:10:27Axl had fired Alan Niven.

1:10:28 > 1:10:31They think it had something to do with Alan booking

1:10:31 > 1:10:33the Use Your Illusion tour

1:10:33 > 1:10:35before the record was actually ready.

1:10:35 > 1:10:37Axl doesn't know that the tour is booked,

1:10:37 > 1:10:39even though everyone believes he knows.

1:10:39 > 1:10:44He was also telling me that if Slash dies of heroin or whatever,

1:10:44 > 1:10:47it's my fault, and Slash pushing me,

1:10:47 > 1:10:49and I should not have agreed to that tour

1:10:49 > 1:10:52but I didn't know how to get out of it after it was booked.

1:10:52 > 1:10:55And Doug Goldstein, who was the Jedi of this all,

1:10:55 > 1:10:59he was their road manager and he was just on top of everything.

1:10:59 > 1:11:02If somebody eight miles away had a camera with a telephoto lens

1:11:02 > 1:11:03he would snap...he would grab you.

1:11:03 > 1:11:06I mean, Doug was... If someone threw a bottle on the stage

1:11:06 > 1:11:08he'd be the roadie that ran out and grabbed the bottle.

1:11:08 > 1:11:10He was an ace at what he did.

1:11:10 > 1:11:13So I guess Axl just figured, if he's an ace there,

1:11:13 > 1:11:14might as well make him manager.

1:11:14 > 1:11:17But eventually that helped tear the band apart,

1:11:17 > 1:11:20because he was...yessing Axl,

1:11:20 > 1:11:23and Slash and Duff sort of got the raw end of that stick

1:11:23 > 1:11:27and got tricked into signing things they probably shouldn't have signed.

1:11:27 > 1:11:30Basically Axl issued an ultimatum.

1:11:30 > 1:11:33That whole concept was dreamed up by Peter Paterno,

1:11:33 > 1:11:36who's still the band's attorney.

1:11:36 > 1:11:38And it was written in a way

1:11:38 > 1:11:42where no-one ever thought the band would break up,

1:11:42 > 1:11:46because if the band broke up Axl would keep the name,

1:11:46 > 1:11:51but Axl would lose his say-so

1:11:51 > 1:11:55on the board of directors of original Guns N' Roses Incorporated.

1:11:55 > 1:11:58Peter Paterno told me he wrote it that way

1:11:58 > 1:12:00because he thought it would keep the band from ever breaking up,

1:12:00 > 1:12:04because he never believed that Axl would give up control

1:12:04 > 1:12:07of anything to do with Guns N' Roses

1:12:07 > 1:12:09and it would keep the band together.

1:12:09 > 1:12:12But in spite of that, the band broke up anyway.

1:12:26 > 1:12:29REPORTER: Being on the road for the past year hasn't stopped the members

1:12:29 > 1:12:34of Guns N' Roses from turning their talents towards outside projects.

1:12:34 > 1:12:37# I took my baby on a Saturday date

1:12:37 > 1:12:41# "Boy, is that girl with you?" Yes, we're one and the same... #

1:12:41 > 1:12:46If Axl would take his greatest press visibility of his career

1:12:46 > 1:12:50and he would use that to try and save one child's life

1:12:50 > 1:12:52from sexual abuse,

1:12:52 > 1:12:54how do you think he would feel about his guitar player

1:12:54 > 1:12:57playing with a guy who admitted in court documents

1:12:57 > 1:13:00that he drove to some ten-year-old boy's house

1:13:00 > 1:13:03and slept with him in the ten-year-old's bed

1:13:03 > 1:13:06in the room next door to the mom for 168 days in a row?

1:13:11 > 1:13:16Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only...Slash!

1:13:16 > 1:13:19SLASH PLAYS 'SWEET CHILD O' MINE'

1:13:23 > 1:13:25- REPORTER:- Duff has recorded a solo album

1:13:25 > 1:13:27with some help from his bandmates, Lenny Kravitz

1:13:27 > 1:13:30and Skid Row's Sebastian Bach and Dave "the Snake" Sabo.

1:13:30 > 1:13:33On the upcoming album he shows that he's more than just a bass player.

1:13:33 > 1:13:36I played drums on most of the tracks.

1:13:36 > 1:13:39Matt played on one of the tracks,

1:13:39 > 1:13:44and I played bass, obviously, and I played guitar.

1:13:44 > 1:13:47Axl was looking for something, you know,

1:13:47 > 1:13:50way above what they already did, he was looking to take a leap.

1:13:50 > 1:13:53Slash was almost heading back towards Appetite.

1:13:53 > 1:13:56HE PLAYS BLUESY LICK

1:13:59 > 1:14:01He thought he could do it on his own.

1:14:01 > 1:14:03He didn't just quit and do Snakepit.

1:14:03 > 1:14:06He did Snakepit while he was still in the band.

1:14:06 > 1:14:09Slash was done with what he considered the bullshit.

1:14:09 > 1:14:16He had had it with what he thought were compromises to keep Axl happy.

1:14:16 > 1:14:19He wasn't willing to conform, so he eventually just quit.

1:14:19 > 1:14:22- SLASH:- I left the band in 1996, so we're talking...

1:14:22 > 1:14:25- When was the last time you actually spoke, you two?- It was 1996.

1:14:25 > 1:14:28- Do you remember the last words? - Basically it was just that I...

1:14:28 > 1:14:31- You know, "I'm done." I think that was...- Who said that?- I did.

1:14:31 > 1:14:34And it really... It wasn't even me necessarily leaving the band,

1:14:34 > 1:14:38it was not continuing on with the new band that Axl put together

1:14:38 > 1:14:40that he was now at the helm of.

1:14:40 > 1:14:42REPORTER: Singer Axl Rose announced that guitarist Slash

1:14:42 > 1:14:45is out of the group and has been since the end of last year.

1:14:45 > 1:14:49What we've got here is failure to communicate.

1:14:49 > 1:14:53In a statement sent to MTV News on Wednesday, Slash said, quote,

1:14:53 > 1:14:56"Axl and I have not been capable of seeing eye to eye

1:14:56 > 1:14:58"on Guns N' Roses for some time."

1:14:59 > 1:15:04I got my first sort of insight on the mind of Axl Rose.

1:15:04 > 1:15:11He was talking about he was really into buying an army in Guatemala.

1:15:11 > 1:15:13He wanted to fund...

1:15:13 > 1:15:15- an army. - HE LAUGHS

1:15:15 > 1:15:18If you ask Slash the ten things why he's upset with Axl

1:15:18 > 1:15:21and you ask Axl the ten things, they're not even going to match.

1:15:21 > 1:15:23They're not even going to be on the same list,

1:15:23 > 1:15:25they're mad at each other for different things.

1:15:25 > 1:15:31I don't know that anyone can point to any one incident, you know,

1:15:31 > 1:15:34when you're dealing with a person

1:15:34 > 1:15:37who rides the fine line between genius and insanity.

1:15:40 > 1:15:45MUSIC: Mean Bone by Slash's Snakepit

1:15:45 > 1:15:46- WOMAN:- Hey, baby.

1:15:46 > 1:15:49It just got to be nasty.

1:15:49 > 1:15:50It was just like a bad divorce

1:15:50 > 1:15:53and things were said and "he said, she said",

1:15:53 > 1:15:56and it just became this horrible thing that I thought

1:15:56 > 1:15:59would only last for a year or two.

1:15:59 > 1:16:02MUSIC: November Rain by Guns N' Roses

1:16:37 > 1:16:41You know, the whole thing was crashing down and Slash was gone

1:16:41 > 1:16:45and Duff had his very own difficult journey, you know.

1:16:45 > 1:16:49I mean, drugs and alcohol... nearly killed him.

1:16:49 > 1:16:52I think that he just got to a place where, you know,

1:16:52 > 1:16:55his personal growth was more important

1:16:55 > 1:16:58than this disintegrating, imploding band

1:16:58 > 1:17:02where none of the original members were left.

1:17:02 > 1:17:04And then Matt was fired from the band

1:17:04 > 1:17:07and he and Duff both left around the same time.

1:17:10 > 1:17:12Slash is doin' fine on his own.

1:17:12 > 1:17:15Axl's got his...the Guns N' Roses name and he's got the band.

1:17:15 > 1:17:19As far as them working together, like I said, it would have to be...

1:17:21 > 1:17:22..a counsellor in between,

1:17:22 > 1:17:26getting them to realise that their differences aren't that...that much.

1:17:30 > 1:17:33- REPORTER:- It's August 2002.

1:17:33 > 1:17:37In seven years after the implosion of the world's most dangerous band,

1:17:37 > 1:17:41the reclusive Axl Rose finally emerges with Guns N' Roses

1:17:41 > 1:17:43at the MTV Video Music Awards.

1:17:43 > 1:17:46The band's name was familiar but the faces were not.

1:17:46 > 1:17:49A lot of people think it's almost sacrilege!

1:17:49 > 1:17:52- You know, to do it that way. But he doesn't give a hot- BLEEP.

1:17:52 > 1:17:56# It's gonna bring you down! #

1:18:00 > 1:18:03- Duff McKagan, welcome to HARDtalk. - Thanks for having me here.

1:18:03 > 1:18:05Now, tell us about that moment -

1:18:05 > 1:18:08and I suppose it was the moment that in a sense saved you -

1:18:08 > 1:18:09when your pancreas just gave up.

1:18:09 > 1:18:12It expanded and burst.

1:18:12 > 1:18:14I knew about the warm effects of opiates,

1:18:14 > 1:18:17and when they had the morphine in me

1:18:17 > 1:18:20and the pain didn't go away, that's when I knew I was in real trouble,

1:18:20 > 1:18:22and that's when I asked, I said, "just kill me,"

1:18:22 > 1:18:25the pain was so bad, the morphine was doing nothing for me.

1:18:25 > 1:18:29I tried to kill myself every day for 25 years.

1:18:29 > 1:18:32You moved onto wine, ten bottles of wine a day.

1:18:32 > 1:18:34I went from a gallon of vodka, you know, a day

1:18:34 > 1:18:37to, "I'll go to wine, I'll try to taper off."

1:18:37 > 1:18:40But I was drinking, yeah, ten bottles of wine a day.

1:18:40 > 1:18:43And this is all during the time you're in Guns N' Roses.

1:18:43 > 1:18:47I felt hopeless, I was doing, er, drugs that were depressants,

1:18:47 > 1:18:50I was doing alcohol, which is a depressant.

1:18:50 > 1:18:52How much were you drinking when this problem came on?

1:18:52 > 1:18:55It was a good half-gallon of vodka a day plus...

1:18:55 > 1:18:58- Half-gallon of vodka a DAY?- That was at home. Then I would go out.

1:18:58 > 1:19:00- Uh-huh.- And this went on for about ten years.

1:19:00 > 1:19:05# Roll, roll, roll the joint twist it at the end

1:19:05 > 1:19:10- # Spark it up and get- BLEEP- up and pass it to a friend... #

1:19:10 > 1:19:14They told me I had six days to six weeks to live.

1:19:14 > 1:19:16Puff, puff...

1:19:16 > 1:19:19pass, pass.

1:19:19 > 1:19:20Rock and roll, man.

1:19:22 > 1:19:24Let's see what happens.

1:19:24 > 1:19:29You can put people in rehab...but they just keep going back to rehab.

1:19:33 > 1:19:36- 911, do you have an emergency? - Yes, I do.

1:19:36 > 1:19:38Um, I'm running a sober living house

1:19:38 > 1:19:41and there's a male here who's in possession of heroin

1:19:41 > 1:19:46and I believe has been using it and he's acting out and being violent.

1:19:55 > 1:19:59Eventually, some sooner than others... I mean, it...

1:19:59 > 1:20:02At today, what, 7/7/15?

1:20:02 > 1:20:06I have 18 months I'm not doing drugs or drinking, today.

1:20:06 > 1:20:09On 7/7/15. So...

1:20:09 > 1:20:13You know, it took... Like, Slash, I think he has 11 years.

1:20:13 > 1:20:18I think Izzy has 27 years. So everybody eventually got it.

1:20:18 > 1:20:20The conventional route is via rehab,

1:20:20 > 1:20:22and you didn't do that. I mean, you...

1:20:22 > 1:20:26- It was mountain biking, in a sense, that first saved you.- Yeah. Yeah.

1:20:26 > 1:20:31Duff really got better, started exercising and working out

1:20:31 > 1:20:35and just bike riding and just, you know, 100% healthy,

1:20:35 > 1:20:38just cut out bad foods and just became...

1:20:38 > 1:20:40You know, went back to school and got his degree

1:20:40 > 1:20:42and totally turned his life around.

1:20:42 > 1:20:46MUSIC: Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses

1:20:52 > 1:20:55I remember somewhere on the Use Your Illusion tour

1:20:55 > 1:20:57where Slash actually...

1:20:57 > 1:21:01they found him dead near an elevator in a hotel somewhere.

1:21:02 > 1:21:05They called 911 and, you know,

1:21:05 > 1:21:08I don't know how long it took for an ambulance to come, but...

1:21:08 > 1:21:12he was blue for a long time, and they got him back.

1:21:17 > 1:21:20Well, that's well documented, he'd say it to you before.

1:21:20 > 1:21:22"Not a big deal. I've died three times."

1:21:22 > 1:21:24HE CHUCKLES

1:21:24 > 1:21:27But, yeah, he was found in a lobby in San Francisco

1:21:27 > 1:21:29and his heart wasn't beating.

1:21:31 > 1:21:36- Do I believe it?- That Slash died, that he flew away as a crow.

1:21:38 > 1:21:39Mm-mm.

1:21:39 > 1:21:41Not going there!

1:21:43 > 1:21:44No.

1:21:44 > 1:21:47I... I'm not even going to go there.

1:21:51 > 1:21:53I think Axl genuinely believes

1:21:53 > 1:21:59that the soul of Saul Hudson left that body when Slash OD'd

1:21:59 > 1:22:02and that there's a replacement soul

1:22:02 > 1:22:05that has taken over Slash's body...

1:22:05 > 1:22:09and...Axl truly does believe that.

1:22:11 > 1:22:13And I think that's the greatest stumbling block

1:22:13 > 1:22:16to getting the band back together.

1:22:17 > 1:22:22It could have been just the luck of the timing of that moment.

1:22:22 > 1:22:26That Axl perceived that Slash had died

1:22:26 > 1:22:30and a replacement soul had taken over Saul Hudson's body

1:22:30 > 1:22:35and Saul had gone off into... the next world.

1:22:35 > 1:22:38Who's-ever in Saul Hudson's body right now,

1:22:38 > 1:22:41it seems like Slash to me.

1:22:41 > 1:22:45# Here I am, your rocket queen Oh, yeah

1:22:45 > 1:22:49# I might be too much but, honey you're a bit obscene... #

1:23:18 > 1:23:20# If they were missionaries

1:23:22 > 1:23:25# Real-time visionaries

1:23:25 > 1:23:27# Sitting in a Chinese stew

1:23:27 > 1:23:31# To view my disinfatuation... #

1:23:31 > 1:23:37# My baby ran away to Vietnam And my dog just salivates

1:23:37 > 1:23:40# She told me "Laters, and I sure am mad"

1:23:40 > 1:23:43# No return date... #

1:23:57 > 1:23:58If where you are in your life

1:23:58 > 1:24:01is what your music is going to sound like,

1:24:01 > 1:24:03then... They've gone far away.

1:24:03 > 1:24:06Now, would people like to see them do a reunion

1:24:06 > 1:24:08just so they can have the same reunions

1:24:08 > 1:24:11that you see out of the Eagles and Van Halen

1:24:11 > 1:24:13and all these other bands that are doing it?

1:24:13 > 1:24:16Of course, because they put together music that's...timeless

1:24:16 > 1:24:19and that will be relevant even 300 years from now.

1:24:19 > 1:24:21Ladies and gentlemen, Guns N' Roses.

1:24:30 > 1:24:33Axl made the decision not to come.

1:24:33 > 1:24:37In typical Axl style he decided to just do it at the last minute.

1:24:37 > 1:24:39And all hell broke loose with the lawyers

1:24:39 > 1:24:41and shit like that was going on,

1:24:41 > 1:24:44because, you know, we were going under the name Guns N' Roses.

1:24:44 > 1:24:47It wasn't our name. It's not our name any more. It's Axl's thing.

1:24:47 > 1:24:50I think the band should get back together,

1:24:50 > 1:24:53because they were the last rock band...

1:24:53 > 1:24:57to come from nothing and sell out stadiums.

1:24:57 > 1:24:59Um, is there any chance?

1:24:59 > 1:25:02There's always a chance of anything in this life.

1:25:02 > 1:25:05I don't know. It's hard to say. I mean, they're doing their own thing.

1:25:05 > 1:25:08I... I... I don't know.

1:25:08 > 1:25:12I think having Duff now on talking terms with Axl...

1:25:12 > 1:25:14is a big middleman.

1:25:14 > 1:25:15So, who knows?

1:25:15 > 1:25:19You know, I know in this life you don't know what's going to happen.

1:25:19 > 1:25:21I don't know what's going to happen next month in my life.

1:25:21 > 1:25:24I think it will be kind of unnatural for them to get together now,

1:25:24 > 1:25:26because obviously they're not getting along.

1:25:26 > 1:25:28I've heard you made friends with Axl Rose.

1:25:28 > 1:25:30How was that possible after all those years?

1:25:30 > 1:25:32It was probably way overdue, you know,

1:25:32 > 1:25:34but it's very cool at this point.

1:25:34 > 1:25:38A lot of the tension that you were talking about has dissipated.

1:25:38 > 1:25:41We don't have all those issues any more, it's not a lot of controversy.

1:25:41 > 1:25:44It's more perpetuated by the media than anything, but...

1:25:44 > 1:25:46Would you want a reunion?

1:25:46 > 1:25:49If everybody wanted to do it and do it for the right reasons then,

1:25:49 > 1:25:51you know, I think the fans would love it,

1:25:51 > 1:25:53and I think it might be fun, you know,

1:25:53 > 1:25:55at some point to try and do that.

1:25:55 > 1:25:57If it ever happens again, cool.

1:25:59 > 1:26:01But...

1:26:01 > 1:26:04It's a fucking...great movie in my mind

1:26:04 > 1:26:07when I want to turn it on, like right now.

1:26:07 > 1:26:11For five guys to have such magic and be able to create...

1:26:11 > 1:26:17magic so effortlessly...that it's a shame that we haven't been doing it,

1:26:17 > 1:26:21and whatever we haven't been doing, it's over...um...

1:26:21 > 1:26:24we only have today, and hopefully tomorrow,

1:26:24 > 1:26:26so I think we should do something.

1:26:26 > 1:26:28Axl, Slash...

1:26:30 > 1:26:31..talkin' to you.

1:26:34 > 1:26:36HE LAUGHS

1:26:36 > 1:26:40MUSIC: Paradise City by Guns N' Roses

1:26:48 > 1:26:50# Take me down to the paradise city

1:26:50 > 1:26:53# Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty

1:26:53 > 1:26:58# Oh, won't you please take me home?

1:26:58 > 1:27:00# Take me down to the paradise city

1:27:00 > 1:27:03# Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty

1:27:03 > 1:27:08# Oh, won't you please take me home? #

1:27:44 > 1:27:46WHISTLE BLOWS

1:27:56 > 1:27:58# Just an urchin livin' under the street

1:27:58 > 1:28:00# I'm a hard case that's tough to beat

1:28:00 > 1:28:03# I'm your charity case so buy me somethin' to eat

1:28:03 > 1:28:06# I'll pay you at another time

1:28:06 > 1:28:10# Take it to the end of the line Yeah... #

1:28:20 > 1:28:22Was it just a dream?

1:28:32 > 1:28:34# Take me down to the paradise city

1:28:34 > 1:28:37# Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty

1:28:37 > 1:28:41# Oh, won't you please take me home?

1:28:41 > 1:28:44# Take me down to the paradise city

1:28:44 > 1:28:46# Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty

1:28:46 > 1:28:50# Oh, won't you please take me home?

1:28:50 > 1:28:53# Take me down Oh, yeah

1:28:53 > 1:28:55# Bring me round

1:28:55 > 1:28:58# Oh, won't you please take me home?

1:29:04 > 1:29:08# Oh, won't you please take me home?

1:29:17 > 1:29:19# I wanna see

1:29:19 > 1:29:22# I've gotta be me

1:29:22 > 1:29:26# Oh, won't you take me home?

1:29:26 > 1:29:28# Take me down to the paradise city

1:29:28 > 1:29:30# Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty

1:29:30 > 1:29:35# Oh, won't you please take me home?

1:29:35 > 1:29:38# I wanna go

1:29:38 > 1:29:39# I wanna go

1:29:39 > 1:29:47# Oh, won't you please take me home?

1:29:48 > 1:29:50# Yeah!

1:29:50 > 1:29:52# Baby... #