Guns N' Roses Concerts Setlist

Guns N’ Roses is an American hard rock band. They were founded in 1985 in Los Angeles, California. The founding members were rhythm guitarist and vocalist Izzy Stradlin (born in 1962 in Lafayette, Indiana), lead guitarist Tracii Guns (1966, Los Angeles, California), lead singer Axl Rose (1962, Lafayette, Indiana), drummer Rob Gardner (1965, New York City, New York), and bassist Ole Beich (1955, Esbjerg, Denmark).

At the time of the band’s formation, Stradlin, Rose, and Guns were all roommates, but were playing for three different groups. According to a 2019 interview with Guns, Axl Rose was fired by his manager which prompted him and Stradlin to invite him to be the vocalist for their new band Guns N’ Roses in 1985. The original bassist, Beich from Denmark, was fired after just two rehearsals. He was replaced by Duff McKagan.

They booked their first live Guns N' Roses concert show at the famous Troubadour nightclub in West Hollywood in March 1985. Local radio also went out to cover the event. During the interview with the new band, 3 of their already recorded songs were played, including “Don't Cry”.

The freshly founded rock band kept touring the West Coast, giving huge live Guns N' Roses concert shows. Soon enough, they were noticed by major music labels. They were eventually signed by Geffen Records.

They released their debut album, “Appetite for Destruction”, in July 1987. At that point, the band had what their fans dubbed “the classic lineup”: Axl Rose as the lead vocalist, Slash on the lead guitar, Izzy Stradlin on the rhythm guitar, Steven Adler on the drums, and Duff "Rose" McKagan on the bass. The album became a massive success, topping the famous Billboard 200 chart upon its release. It also broke the record for the best selling debut album in American music history.

Since then, Guns N’ Roses has released 5 more studio albums, thus they have 6 in total. The best selling among them has remained their debut album with over 30 million copies sold worldwide. Meanwhile, the latest new Guns N' Roses album is “Chinese Democracy”, which came out in November 2008.

The California-based rock band’s biggest hits to date are “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1987), “Welcome to the Jungle” (1987), “Paradise City” (also 1987), and “November Rain” (1991).

Their current lineup has deviated from the classic one. Now, the band consists of lead vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, bassist McKagan, guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, and second keyboardist Melissa Reese. They also have the peculiar distinction of being one of the most successful musical acts of all time, yet never winning a Grammy Award ever.