Top 10 Secrets You Don’t Know About GUN N’ ROSES rock band

It is difficult to talk about the history of Rock n’ Roll without mentioning GUN N’ ROSES.   They were blessed with talent and passion for music.  Their songs are full of emotions, revolt, peacocky attitude and power which turned them into one of the best selling music group in America.

By the end of 2008 it has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.  Many fans consider “Appetite For Destruction” (1987) their best album but I think they released even better ones like “Use Your Illusion 1″ (1991), “Use your illusion 2″ (1991).  There are so many rumors around this band that you can hardly believe them all.

Now let’s have a look at top 10 secrets of GUN N’ ROSES:

10) Slash did not play on the record “Appetite for Destruction”

It is believed that the member, who did not play on this album was their lead guitarist Slash.  In fact Matt Sorum (The Cult) played drums and Duff McKagen played bass guitar while Slash was busy with another project Snakepit.   According to some sources, he only appeared in the cover photo but others say he also appeared in a few promotional videos before releasing their debut album.

9) Axl Rose wrote part of “Rocket Queen” when he was sixteen years old!

Axl Rose started writing songs for his band when he was only 16.  That was quite young and we know that most of the successful musicians had talent even as kids.   According to Slash, Axl wrote a few tunes but only “Rocket Queen” and “You’re Crazy” made it onto their first album.  The song “Rocket Queen” is one of the greatest epics according to various polls made by rock fans.

8) Izzy Stradlin is not on the cover of “Appetite For Destruction”

It has been stated many times that GUN N’ ROSES guitarist Izzy Stradlin did not appear on their debut album although he co-wrote almost all songs from this record with Axl Rose and Slash.  Even though he did not appear on the cover, Izzy was a member of the band from its birth until 1990 when it gradually fell apart.

7) “Appetite For Destruction” is one of the most censored albums ever

This album has been censored many times because of profanity and obscene lyrics included in some songs. This is unusual for a rock record but they were young at that time and probably that album contains the essence of their past.   Additionally this record also has a lot to do with mythology which was quite popular in Rock music at that time.

6) Use Your Illusion I & II have been released on the same day

In 1991 both “Use Your Illusion I &II” were released on the same day.  They wanted to avoid competition between both albums and therefore they chose to release them on the same day.

5) Axl Rose never played with his band in South America

Due to some reasons, GUN N’ ROSES have not visited South America since 1991 even though many fans are waiting for them there.  Axl Rose has given some interviews saying that he does not want to go back there until all members of the band are ready with their commitments.

4) Use Your Illusion broke all sales records in just one week

“Use Your Illusion I & II” sold almost 2 million copies in just one week which was an amazing record at that time!   Additionally those records sold more than 7 million copies in USA only and many critics declared that those albums will be remembered as one of the best from Rock music scene.

3) Slash wrote two songs for Michael Jackson

Slash has a genius inside him and he could not resist to write some songs even for Michael Jackson!  He wrote “Give In To Me” and “Black Or White”.   He played all instruments but used different singers for both tracks including Steve Stevens, Kevin Dorsey, Paul Stanley, George Clinton & Sheila E.

2) They have changed their band name twice

First they were called “Avalon” then they renamed themselves to “Rose” before changing it to GUN N’ ROSES.  “Avalon” was a pre-GUN N’ ROSES band name and it can be found in some old records released by Geffen.

1) “Sweet Child O Mine” is dedicated to Slash’s girlfriend

Slash wrote this song for his girlfriend at that time, Sally.  It appeared on their debut album but there were some rumors outside saying that they did not play their instruments correctly.  However, producer Mike Clink has stated many times that everything was done properly!

These are 10 secrets about GUN N’ ROSES rock band, hope you enjoyed reading them!