1991.09.04 - Geffen press release about the upcoming Use Your Illusion albums

Many thanks to @troccoli for sharing this with us, and for the amazing collection of GN'R memorabilia he has made available on his site. The original images of the press release can be found here:
http://www.troccolitm.com/UYIPressKitDiff.html

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GEFFEN RECORDS
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 1991
 
RETAILERS EXPECT GUNS N’ ROSES ALBUMS TO MAKE ROCK N’ ROLL HISTORY SEPT. 17
 
On Tuesday, September 17, 1991, one of the most anticipated album releases in the annals of popular music will take place with the premiere of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II from Guns N’ Roses. The occasion also marks the first time a major contemporary recording act will release two separate albums simultaneously.
 
So anxious are fans that approximately 1000 record stores around the country plan to open their doors at one minute past midnight to accommodate the Guns N’ Roses phenomenon. Radio stations nationwide are also slated to broadcast live from many of those stores at midnight and the entire day of the 17^th.
 
Four years after the band’s debut studio effort, the 14 million-selling Appetite For Destruction, and three years after the six-million-selling EP G N’ R Lies, record stores from mom-and-pop operations to huge chains, are preparing for what they predict will be a rock ‘n’ roll event. Most retailers have already logged in with their largest pre-release orders ever. Geffen Records initially plans to ship each album double platinum (two million copies apiece) in the U.S. alone, but, says Geffen president Ed Rosenblatt, “If they take off, as we believe they will, in the next few months we’ll have albums of Thriller proportions” (referring to the Michael Jackson album which sold more than 20 million units).
 
“There are moments in time when the record industry takes a giant step forward,” adds Geffen’s marketing executive Robert Smith. “The rock ‘n’ roll economy has been very soft this past year but the excitement in the marketplace for these albums is astonishing. The entire industry expects Guns N’ Roses to spark a huge resurgence of passion for music among rock fans. Business is always great when you’re offering something great – and the Use Your Illusions offers the musical depth and breadth that has marked some of the greatest rock records of all time.”
 
Each Use Your Illusion album contains 75 minutes of music (usually the length of two regular albums), for a total of 2-1/2 hours and 30 songs.
 
“The impact is expected to be so strong retail outlets approached us with the idea of midnight store openings,” explains Eddie Gilreath, Geffen’s head of sales. “The album cannot be sold prior to the street date of September 17^th, but based on the enthusiasm the stores were hearing from their customers they’re going through the expense of re-opening at 12:01 Tuesday morning instead of waiting until regular store hours. Frankly, I’ve never seen anything like this in the 25 years I’ve been in this business. Retail is expecting an explosive day.”
 
On Tuesday, September 3, the albums were advanced by a single, “Don’t Cry,” from Use Your Illusion I. It followed “You Could Be Mine” (from Use Your Illusion II), which was featured in the summer blockbuster film Terminator 2: Judgement Day and sold 1.5 million singles within the first 30 days.
 
On Saturday, September 14, the music trade publication Album Network will sponsor a satellite radio broadcast to 220-plus radio stations of a three-hour introduction to the albums beginning at 7 p.m. PST/10 p.m. EST. The broadcast will include Use Your Illusion music as well as personal commentary from the bandmembers to be recorded a couple of days earlier at the infamous Mustang Ranch near Reno, Nevada. The well-known brothel will no doubt entertain and distract the band following its return from a concert swing through Europe.
 
The Guns N’ Roses 1991-92 world tour will continue following the Use Your Illusion releases, hitting the U.S., Canada and Europe again, plus Japan and Australia.
 
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
                                Bryn Bridenthal
                              Roxanne Youssef
                                    Susan Watts