Guns n’ Roses Mike Muir
Guns n‟ Roses was one of the most popular heavy metal bands in the 1980‟s.
The founders of the band were Axel Rose, and Izzy Stradlin. The two founders
eventually made one of the most popular heavy metal bands in history. They sold
many albums which entertained the public and made money. They were hated by
some but honored by most. The band was not perfect but it was successful.
Axel Rose was the vocalist of the band. He was seen as a role model to some
and the devil to others. Many people believed he was a homophobe but he denied
what the public thought of him. Axel Rose was really named William Bruce Rose. He
had changed his name several times throughout the year. He was born on February
6th, 1962 in Indiana. He suffered sexual abuse from his biological father at a young
age. When he was removed from his home, he suffered physical abuse from his
stepfather. Rose changed his name to William Bailey after his mother remarried. Rose
didn‟t enjoy his life at school. He didn‟t fit in because he was different which led to
him being bullied throughout grade/high school. He was able to fit in by singing with
his school and church choir. Eventually he moved onto rock music which was his
main interest. Jeff Isbell shared the same interests as Rose and changed his name to
Izzy Stradlin when Rose changed his name to Axel Rose.
Axel Rose Izzy Stradlin Jeff Isbell
Punk and heavy metal music was popular in Los Angelis during the 1980‟s.
Guns n‟ Roses released several albums during this time which entertained the public.
Axel Rose wanted to make a band that was both heavy and punk. After several public
performances, Guns n‟ Roses signed a contract with Geffen Records. Their first full
length album was called Appetite for Destruction which was released in 1986. The
album didn‟t start selling until a year later when MTV starting showing their music
videos. The most popular song from the album was “Sweet Child o‟ Mine”. Even by
1988, Guns n‟ Roses was becoming one of the top rock bands. By the end of 1988,
they released “G N‟ R Lies” which contained 4 popular acoustic songs. Axel seemed
to show his prejudice hatred in most of his songs. This caused a portion of the public
to hate him but most didn‟t really care. Guns n‟ Roses began to enhance their album,
Appetite for Destruction, in 1990. In October of that year, the band fired one of their
members. Adler was playing poorly due to his drug addiction and was replaced by
Matt Sorum and the Cult. Dizzy Reed was also hired to play the keyboard. The
release of their album was delayed several times. In September of 1991, two albums
were finally released which were known as Use Your Illusion I, and II. The albums
that they released were successful and eventually became popular. Heavy metal and
punk music continued to be the trend during the 1990‟s with the rise of this new band.
Appetite for Destruction Use your Illusion I
The band had a lot of competition during the 1900‟s which led to their
downfall. Nirvana‟s album “Never mind”, was released in 1992 and made Guns n‟
Roses unpopular. Their jokes, videos, illusions and models seemed bad to the
population. Nirvana made the band leader, Axel Rose, jealous and he picked a fight
with Kurt Cobain backstage during the MTV music video awards. During their
downfall, the band got into several fights. Drug abuse and alcohol led to the band
losing money and not showing up for several tours. It is said that the band broke up at
one point during 1992. The band lost their songwriter during the chaos, Stradlin. He
was replaced in 1993 by Gilby Clarke. As time progressed, hard rock became popular.
The band released a new album entitled “The Spaghetti Incident” in 1993. After
further releasing of other albums were delayed, two members of the group were
dismissed by Rose. Slash and McKagan were only interested in drug abuse and
alcohol so Rose thought it was necessary to dismiss them from their job. Slash
pursued his own career in 1995 and released several songs. With most of the band
dismissed or gone, the band began to breakup in 1994 however good news kept the
members of the band happy. Rose was given full permission to use his band name at
the end of 1994. By 1994 almost all of the older band members had quit or been
dismissed. Guns „n Roses was not a successful band during the early 1900‟s with the
rise of competition and the demand for hard rock music.
These are some of the many problems Guns n‟ Roses faced during the 1900‟s.
Axel Rose continued to lead to band and worked independently during the late
1900‟s. He refused to attend any interviews from 1994-1999, as the band had
problems. In 1999, GNR released their first song in nearly 8 years called “Oh my
God”. The band also released a two disc live Era with music from 1987-1993. GNR
became popular again after their live performance on New Years Eve of 2000. A new
album was also announced for the summer of 2001 but never arrived. GNR seemed
dead in 2002. Rose fired his producer, Roy Thomas Baker, for his interest in a
different band made by his old members. Izzy Stradlin had made his own band that
most of Axel‟s former members joined. It is rumored that the band released several
albums during 2002. Axel continued to delay his album and set the release date to fall
of 2002. During the MTV Music Video Awards, he stated that he would not be
releasing anymore albums at the time being. During the summer of 2003, the band
started their first tour in more than 9 years. They were able to amuse people in Asia
and Europe but started a riot in Vancouver when they didn‟t show up for their North
America tour. The band wasn‟t responsible which led to major companies cutting
their ties with them. Several companies such as CKY verbally assaulted the band on
their website and in interviews. The band not showing up for shows also resulted in
the loss of money for the music industry. Several of Axel‟s old members started the
search for a new Axel free band. Axel went from working as a team, to working by
himself. With less then 3 band members remaining, he was unable to keep up with his
own work and competition in the music industry. He refused to release any further
albums as of 2002. He also didn‟t show up for many tours which led to people hating
him and the music industry losing money. With no reputation and no band, Guns n‟
Roses had practically come to an end.
Axel Rose left the music industry, giving the public mixed opinions. His bands
music still remains a legend and is honoured by the public to this day. The future of
the 5 old band members and Axel Rose is unclear but they still remain celebrities
despite their lack of sales. They were the most popular band in the 1980‟s and
introduced heavy metal and punk rock into society. Axel rose has taken a rest from
the music industry along with his old band members, but their music is still sold in
stores to this day.
Guns n‟ Roses used to be the most popular band during the 1980‟s. Axel Rose
and Izzy Stradlin led the band to its downfall. They introduced heavy metal rock and
punk rock when they released several albums in 1988 and 1989 which made them
celebrities. The band eventually started to lose business with the demand for hard
rock and increased competition. Less business led to the band abusing alcohol/drugs
and eventually quitting their positions. The leader of the band, Axel Rose, worked
independently while his older members continued their business in the music
industry. Rose failed to attend tours and release further albums which made the public
and music industry displeased. His lack of responsibility stopped the production of
new albums during the 20th century. The members of the band including Rose, still
remain celebrities to this day. His music and videos are sold in stores and honoured
by many. Guns n‟ Roses will always be remembered as the first heavy metal and punk
band to be successful in the 1980‟s.