They shot to fame, and then they shot off the rails. Welcome to a year in the life of GUNS N’ ROSES.
If 1988 was the year Guns N' Roses became superstars, then 1989 saw them flying off the rails. From the controversy of GNR Lies to their onstage meltdown with The Rolling Stones, this is the story of 12 insane months with The World's Most Dangerous Band
From their earliest days as the brat-princes of Sunset Strip onwards, Guns N' Roses thrived on chaos. The spark of volatility that coursed through their veins defined their music never more so than onAppetite Fvr Destruction, the feral debut album that would turn them from messy hopefuls into the biggest rock'n'roll band on the planet. The success of Appetite masked the fact that it had been slow out of the blocks. Released in July 1987, it took a year to properly break. Although when it finally did, in the summer of 1988, there was nothing and no one that could stop it. But that was just the beginning of their fame and notoriety - and of their problems. The road to success was littered with insanity and carnage, but it had nothing on what would follow. With Appetite For Destruction an unstoppable tsunami, Guns N' Roses were about to enter the craziest period of an already crazy career. Between the end of 1988 and the end of 1989 they'd become the most talked about, celebrated and controversial band around all on the back of just one stopgap album and a handful of live appearances. That this period would push them to the brink of extinction in the most public manner imaginable wasn't the most surprising thing about those 12 months. The fact that they all made it out alive was. Not for nothing did Guns N' Roses start billing themselves as The World' ost Dangerous Band. And it was a reputation they more than lived up to. "Being involved with Guns N' Roses at that point was insane',' says Tom Zutaut, the A&R man who signed the band to Geffen Records and remained at their side as their success escalated. ' hey were the biggest band in the world a d they were out of control. That was extremely stressful. I woke up every day listening to the radio, fully expecting to hear that Slash as dead. But there are just certain bands that nothing can stop - no amount of alcohol, o amount of drugs. Guns were one of those."