Posts Tagged ‘Guns N’ Roses’

GUNS’ N’ ROSES – ” The Marquee Shows ” 30 Years Ago June 22nd 1987

Posted: June 22, 2017 in MUSIC
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As a reunited Guns N’ Roses gather acclaim on their Not In This Lifetime tour, let’s remember that it was on 19th June 1987 that they became the latest names in the distinguished list of artists who cut their teeth internationally at London’s famous Marquee Club. Paying a princely admission fee of £4, early followers of the up-and-coming band went to the celebrated Wardour Street location to see G N’ R’s first-ever gig outside the US.

The show took place in the very week that Guns N’ Roses first flickered on the UK sales charts, but still very much below the radar. The published singles chart was a top 75, so their new release ‘It’s So Easy’ was largely hidden from view as it entered the 20th June listings at No. 84. That turned out to be its peak, with two further showings at 96 and 88.

The band’s debut album Appetite For Destruction also made a slow start, debuting in the UK at No. 68 in early August. It didn’t really hit its stride until well into 1989, but in the meantime, that London visit was helping to fuel the fire.

GNR Marquee

“We did three shows [the second on June 22nd], and they were just awesome,” Slash remembered in an interview with the Sunday Times in 2014. “It was great to be part of that history. We were one of the last rock ‘n’ roll bands to come along and break out of that club. It had a great history, it was sort of London’s equivalent to the Troubadour. Everybody fantastic came to that club, and we had two great nights.

“I’ll never forget that week building up to it,” Slash continued. “We were [in London] rehearsing at John Henry’s and just scrounging around Soho, meeting people, getting drunk and picking up girls, and so on. It culminated in these two night, really sweaty nights, at the Marquee.

“I have a video for one of those evenings, someone was walking around with a camera, and videotaped the entire day, from before soundcheck all the way through the show. I have it on DVD, I don’t even remember who shot it, but someone gave it to me in the last couple of years. I’m sitting there with it, I don’t know what to do with it. It was packed to the rafters, and it was a real proper rock ‘n’ roll kind of thing.”

The Band

Axl Rose (Vocals) Slash (Lead Guitar) Izzy Stradlin (Rhythm Guitar) Duff McKagan (Bass) Steven Adler (Drums)

The Setlist

Shadow Of Your Love
Out Ta Get Me
Anything Goes
It’s So Easy
Mr. Brownstone
Nightrain
My Michelle
Welcome To The Jungle
You’re Crazy
Paradise City
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Move To The City
Nice Boys

Image result for guns n' roses live at the marquee poster

GUNS N’ ROSES ROCKS GREAT CLASSIFIEDS – Bass Player Wanted

Posted: February 26, 2015 in MUSIC
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slash

Bass player needed for band influenced by Aerosmith, Alice Cooper. Call Slash

In his 2007 autobiography, Slash recalls getting a few calls answering the ad he and drummer Steve Adler placed in “The Recycler”, circa 1983. But the only prospect they wanted to meet was some dude named Duff McKagan who’d recently relocated to Los Angeles from Seattle. Duff “sounded cool on the phone,” so Slash had the bassist meet him and Steve Adler and their girlfriends at Canter’s.

When Duff showed up, neither party was exactly what the other was expecting, looks-wise. Duff skewed punk, Slash blues-metal. But Slash and Duff vibed together. “The five of us went upstairs, piled into the bathroom, and broke out the vodka,” Slash wrote in his book. The trio of musicians immediately formed a band. They named it Road Crew, after the excellent Motorhead track “(We Are) The Road Crew.” Slash, Duff and Adler spent the next month or so looking for a frontman — but couldn’t find the right fit and soon went their separate ways. At least for the time being. Still, Slash’s ad connected three-fifths of what eventually formed Guns N’ Roses’ quintessential lineup, once they joined forces with the Janis-Joplin-caught-in-a-meat-grinder-voiced singer Axl Rose and Keef-esque guitarist Izzy Stradlin. During the Road Crew period, Slash and co. also created the main riff for the now-classic Guns track “Rocket Queen.”