13. JULY-NOVEMBER 1991: USE YOUR ILLUSIONS ARE OUT, SO IS IZZY

In the 1990s Alice Cooper would feature on the song 'The Garden' off 'Use Your Illusion I" while Slash would play a solo on Cooper's song 'Hey Stoopid' from the album Hey Stoopid which was released on July 2, 1991 [Guitar Player, December 1991].





Slash was not enthusiastic about the latest collaboration:



Cooper would describe Guns N' Roses this way:







Slash, on his side, would describe Cooper as a "sweetheart" [Q Magazine, July 1991].

On July 19, 1991, Steven filed a lawsuit against the band, claiming members of the group forced him to use heroin, then made him quit the band while he was trying to kick the habit. In the lawsuit he asked to have the agreement he signed on March 28, 1990, that led to him being fired, annulled. Furthermore, according to the suit, the band "continually strove to live up to its wild reputation. In doing so, the other members of the band introduced Adler to hard drugs and provided them to him." The suit sought unspecified damages and a breakup of the band so assets could be doled out to members [AP/Vidette Messenger, July 1991].

As a result of the lawsuit, Axl would repeatedly bash Steven from stage on shows in July and August.

In October 1991, Circus Magazine would publish a highly contentious interview with Steven. In the interview, Steven would claim that he was fired as a scape-goat when the other band members couldn't finish the follow-up to 'Appetite', but that in reality it was the other band members who were the problem:



Furthermore, he would claim that the other band members were so afraid of Axl that they didn't dare not take his side:



And that he got on Axl's side for daring to speak up:



Quite outrageously, Steven would also claim he was instrumental in the foundation of Guns N' Roses:



[Guns N' Roses was already formed when Steven entered the band, and Duff was already the bassist; see previous chapters.]

In the interview it is then claimed that Duff was summoned to the band later through an ad in Recycler. In reality, Axl and Tracii formed the band first, and recruited Duff when Ole Beich was fired. Duff was recruited through Izzy, who knew him. Duff had been recruited through an ad, but that was for Steven and Slash's band Roadcrew earlier. After Tracii and Rob Schneider left the early GN'R, Axl recruited Slash and Steven was, a bit reluctantly, brought along [this is detailed in previous chapters].

Steven would also imply he had been important in the writing of the band's songs, including that he was part of writing 'Don't Cry':



That "someone else" is Matt, whom Steven would refer to as "old, fat, bald, ugly" and one "who doesn't fit in" the band [Circus Magazine, October 1991]. Whereas it is true Steven likely came up with the drum parts to 'Don't Cry' that Matt played on the records, the song was written by Izzy and Axl before Steven joined Guns N' Roses.

In his suit against the band it was claimed his reputation had been damaged. In the October interview he would argue that was an understatement and that comments Axl had made to MTV after the suit resulted in him losing a drumming job with AC/DC:



At some point in 1991 Steven would also make a long comment on what happened to him, which was published in an unknown magazine:



The issue for Steven was the agreement, the probation contract, he signed which led to the band firing him. According to Steven lawyer, Elliot Abelson:



But more so, Steven claims he was forced into signing the agreement:




In August 1991, Melody maker would report that the band's "management are refusing to comment on the content of former drummer Steve Adler's lawsuit against the band because "they have not received all the paperwork yet'" [Melody Maker, August 10, 1991]. A little while later, Circus Magazine would fax the band asking for comments to Steven's allegations and to which Bryn Bridenthal would fax them a reply:



And in February 1992, Bridenthal would say:



In November 1991, Axl commented on the lawsuit:



In early 1992 Slash would finally comment on the lawsuit and also indicate that someone was influencing Steven:




Slash would later again indicate that someone else pushed Steven to file the lawsuit:



This "someone else" could be Steven's mother, because Axl would later refer to her as one of the reasons he didn't want to reunite with Steven:



And Brent Muscat, who would later play in Adler's Appetite with Steven, would suggest Steven's mother was Steven's legal guardian:



Slash would also be very clear about his feelings towards Steven, as when he was asked if he was still in contact with him:



In late 1992, after he had left the band, Izzy would deny Steven's allegations:



In 2005, Steven would discuss the suit:

The St. Louis riot resulted in the band having to cancel the shows on July 4 at the World Music Theatre in Chicago [Los Angeles Times, July 1991; Chicago Tribune, July 1991] and the July 6 show in Bonner Springs, Kansas [USA Today, July 1991].

At the first show after the St. Louis riot, at the Starplex Amphitheatre in Dallas on July 8, Axl was two hours late [The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 1991]. The band would claim the late start was due to damaged equipment from the St. Louis riot [Geffen Press Release, July 1991], but media would report that Axl was missing before the show and arrived late, just minutes before Guns N' Roses took the stage [Pittsburg Press, July 1991; Press-Telegram Wire Service, July 1991].



The long wait resulted in numerous concert-goers leaving the arena in "disgust" [MTV News, July 1991].

Axl would also go on a longer rant where he likely had a July 4 article written by Jim Mosley in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in mind [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 4, 1991].



Due to a curfew, the concert on July 8 was shorter than usual, only about an hour in total.





During the second show (July 9), also at the Starplex Amphitheatre in Dallas, Axl would admonish the audience for throwing bottles at the band, stopping the show at one time and making sure a bottle thrower was removed from the theatre [Geffen Press Release, July 1991].



Matt would later talk about sneaking away from the crew to drink at a nearby hotel, and this possibly happened when the band was visiting Dallas in 1991:





During the band's two shows in Dallas, one of the band's assistants needed medical help and they hastily brought in the young chiropractor Steve Thaxton [Anaheim Bulletin, October 10, 1991], or the "Rock Doc" as the band would call him [Bluefield Daily Telegraph, October 10, 1991]. The next night Thaxton treated members of the band and a few weeks later began travelling with the band on their plane [Anaheim Bulletin, October 10, 1991; Bluefield Daily Telegraph, October 10, 1991]. In September 1991, he had been asked to stay with the band for two years [Anaheim Bulletin, October 10, 1991].



Thaxton would be listed in the official tour program for 1992 [Use Your Illusion Tour program, 1992].

In 2019, Thaxton would tell his story in more detail and mention he was still a student at the time when he started working for the band:



Explaining how it happened:



Eventually he would treat Axl and explain that he was "setting his life force free", which seemed to have sealed the deal:



Talking about how it was to tour with the band:

After Dallas the band travelled to the McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, USA (July 11) and Starplex Amphitheatre, Englewood, USA (July 12) before heading to the Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA (July 13).

Axl did not like the audience in Salt Lake City who he felt was too calm and not into the show enough, and Axl would later rant against the tour. But later he realized why the mood was subdued:

The next show took place at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma on July 16. At this concert something is thrown on stage that explodes followed by a rocket some songs later. Melody Maker would describe the event:




Slash would also comment upon this incident:






Originally the band had planned a second show at the Tacoma Dome, on July 17, but this was cancelled since the band needed to film for the video to their single 'Don't Cry':

After playing the first show in Tacoma the band cancelled the second planned show to focus on shooting scenes for their upcoming music video for 'Don't Cry'. But Izzy failed to show up and this led to rumours that he would quit the band.

Izzy would later say he "didn't make it to the video shoot" [Guitar Playing Magazine, May, 1993]. Izzy had also been absent from the last scenes in the video to 'You Could Be Mine'. To emphasize Izzy's absence, a sign with "Where's Izzy?" written on it would be displayed by Dizzy in the video.

As they were filming the 'Don't Cry' video, Axl would be asked how he was tripping off from Izzy not being there:



Axl would also say that Izzy "didn't want to be [there]":



Izzy would later comment on seeing the video and the sign:



According to the band's publicist, Bryn Bridenthal, Izzy was touring Europe at the time and didn't want to return just for the video [source?]. In a Rolling Stone interview from 1992 it would be indicated that the reason Izzy didn't want to do the 'Don't Cry' video was the million-dollar cost and that it was pointless indulgence:

After Tacoma the band headed to the Shoreline Theatre in Mountain View, California, not far from San Francisco, for two shows on July 19 and 20. For unknown reasons the second of these shows were cancelled.

Before the July 19 show, Izzy would reminisce about playing in San Francisco:



The show was delayed by one and a half hour. Axl would blame this on "overzealous film crews from local television stations, who demanded interviews and threatened to have him arrested" [The Press-Telegram, July 1991].

Before the show, Jetboy, old friends of Guns N' Roses who had a fallout with the band after their former bassist Todd Crew overdosed together with Slash, were backstage and met Axl:



Axl seemed to have been in an angry mood this evening. He ranted against Steven who had recently sued the band and ended the show early:



An unknown band member would elaborate that during the show he started seeing what he thought was "a bunch of dead raccoons landing on the stage. It was dark and I saw this big hairy thing hit Slash's mic stand. It was a huge lump of sod. The audience had torn up the whole hillside in the back of the auditorium and tried to throw it onstage. The crazy fuckers!" [VOX, October 1991].

According to writer Nick Kent, who witnessed the show, the partying had its effect on Duff who "has to spend several numbers lying flat-out, his eyes closed, smoking a cigarette" [VOX, October 1991].

Kent would also describe how Axl would torment his "personal mike-stand roadie" by repeatedly kicking down the mike-stands and hurling them after the roadie, before exclaiming, "Hey, check it out - I'm having one of those irrational temper tantrums you keep reading about in the press. Y'know you fuckers shouldn't encourage this sort of shit" [VOX, October 1991].

When listening to audio recording of this show, it seems like the roadie was Tom Mayhue and that Axl was in a more playful mood than malignant as conveyed by Kent's story: "Fuck! Tom, you’re too efficient tonight. Whoo! [Someone in the crowd: “Oh my God”] This is something new... Fuck! You know, I work on my fucking stupid irrational temper. But though, when I lose it, you fuckers get off on it. I guess being a fucking psycho basket case helps my career" [On stage, Mountain View, CA, USA, July 19, 1991].

After the show Axl was interviewed by Lonn M. Friend for an upcoming issue of RIP Magazine:

The tour continued to ARCO Arena, Sacramento, USA (July 23) and Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, USA (July 25).

The show in Costa Mesa was ended early, allegedly due to Axl having problems with his monitors [Los Angeles Times, July 27, 1991]. During the show Axl would take the time to criticise both Alan Niven and Steven [Los Angeles Times, July 27, 1991].





Then the band headed to the Great Western Forum in Inglewood for four shows on July 29 and 30 and August 2 and 3. All of these four shows started late, the third of them due to Axl having "stomachache" [Los Angeles Times, August 1991; Conspiracy Incorporated Newsletter, October 1991].





For the second show (on July 30), a little mishap occurred as Axl was being driven to the show. The driver made an illegal turn and was stopped by police and issued a ticket. This caused Axl to "angrily stick his head out of the limousine's sun roof and cry foul to the motorcycle officer issuing the citation." Axl then refused to take the stage unless Inglewood police took back the ticket. Bridenthal would comment on this:



After a discussion with the band's manager and the Forum's manager, the police decided to take the ticket back to avoid a riot. Axl thanked the police from the stage. The police would later explain that the ticket was taken back "for investigation" and eventually the driver was fined $60 [Los Angeles Times, August 1991].



For the two August shows, Shannon Hoon from Blind Melon would join the band for the songs 'You Ain't The First' and 'Don't Cry'.





In addition, for all four shows in Inglewood, the band played past the curfew and would be fined [Los Angeles Times, August 1991].

Slash remembered the shows in Inglewood fondly:



When asked about his worst show, Duff would mention a nightmare version of a show in Inglewood:



The last of the Inglewood shows would be mentioned in the band's newsletter as being their longest show to date at three hour and thirty six minutes [Conspiracy Incorporated Newsletter, October 1991]. According to L.A. Weekly, Axl had used a stopwatch to time the show, and came to "3-hour-36-minute-19-second" [L.A. Weekly, August 16, 1991].

After the last Inglewood show, the band would host a raunchy celebration at the Troubadour [L.A. Weekly, August 16, 1991].

In an interview published in September 1991, Slash would talk about how the touring has been progressing:



Axl, on the other hand, would in December 1992 look back at the tour and be critical:



And Duff would mention that they had had problems:



Slash would also discuss having new band members:



Skid Row would also look back at having opened for Guns N' Roses:

Axl was frequently been late to concerts in 1985-1989, prompting Doug Goldstein to quip:



But when touring the two 'Use Your Illusion' albums Axl's tardiness seemed to have gotten worse. At the Deer Creek Music Center in Noblesville on May 28, 1991, the show started an hour and 15 minutes after the opening act [The Indianapolis News, May 1991]. At the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale on June 17, the band was "several hours late" [Los Angeles Times, June 1991; Circus Magazine, December 31, 1991]. At the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro on June 25, the band took the stage "long after the opening band" [Journal Now, August 2017]. At the Thompson-Boiling Arena in Knoxville on June 26, the band was two hours late [Circus Magazine, December 31, 1991]. At the Starplex Auditorium in Dallas on July 8, the band was again two hours late [The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 1991; Circus Magazine, December 31, 1991]. At the Shoreline Theatre in Mountain View on July 19, the band was one and a half hour late [The Press-Telegram, July 1991]. The band then started late for all four shows at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, with one of them being delayed due to "Axl's stomachache" [Los Angeles Times, August 1991].

Things did not improve as the band travelled to Europe for their first European leg. The band was three hours late for their second show at Globen in Stockholm, Sweden [Duff's biography]. And in Mannheim, Germany, they were late, "even for us", as Slash would recall [Slash's autobiography, p 343-344].



Izzy's departure in November 1991 and the break before the band started playing show again in December 1991, did not help on the late starts. For the first show at Worchester on December 5, the band started well over two hours later than announced [Hartfort Courant, December 7, 1991]. Then they were 90 minutes late for their show at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 9 [New York Times, December 11, 1991]. For their show at the Philadelphia Spectrum on December 16, 1991, the band started one and a half hours after Soundgarden finished their set [Courier-Post, December 18, 1991]. And or their December 28 show at the Suncoast Dome in St. Petersburg, the started started 80 minutes after Soundgarden [Tampa Tribune, December 30, 1991]. For the January 9 show at the Summit in Houston, the band started more than four hours after the door opened [Houston Chronicle, January 10, 1992]. At the Erwin-Nutter Center show in Dayton in January 13, the band didn't start their show until 12:25 AM [Dayton Daily News, January 15, 1992]. They were late again for their first show at Target Center in Minneapolis on January 21 [Star Tribune, January 23, 1992] and for the show at the San Diego Sports Center in San Diego on January 27 [Los Angeles Times, January 29, 1992], and for the January 31 show at Compton Terrace in Chandler [The Phoenix Gazette, February 1, 1992], and for the April 9 show at Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont [Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1992].

Despite discussing the late starts in the media, the situation did not improve. For the band's show in Manchester on June 14, 1992, the band started two hours late but blamed in on technical difficulties [The Liverpool Echo, June 15, 1992; The Evening Chronicle, June 16, 1992].

Lots of different explanations would be used over the years to explain why the band was so late:











In 2014, Craig Duswalt, Axl's assistant at the time, would look back at the late starts:



And so would Tom Zutaut:



In 2017, Arlett Vereecke, the band's publicist from 1987 to 1992, would also point out that Axl was always late, to everything, and that it was caused by anxiety and that the rest of the band should have been able to help him get to stage sooner:



Roberta Freeman and Teddy Andreadis would specifically link it to Axl's stage fright (also see earlier chapter about this]:




Andreadis would also mention how certain cities could trigger Axl's memories and aggregate his stage fright:



Axl's alleged stage fright is discussed in an earlier chapter.

















Slash would so his best to downplay Axl's role in the late starts, explaining it by band mentality:








In an in-depth interview with Rolling Stone Magazine that was published in April 1992, Axl would take the responsibility:



As for what goes on behind the stage when Axl is late:



But Axl would be quick to point out that these weren't excuses, only explanations on what he goes through and results in the late starts:



And when asked how he would respond if a fan stopped him on the street and complained that Axl doesn't give a fuck about the fans:



Slash was still not ready to throw Axl under the bus, and when confronted with the Rolling Stone interview [which Rockline must have read before the release] where Axl seemingly admits to be the root of the problem, he prevaricated:




Axl would again open up about his lateness:



Being asked why it is always uncertain whether Axl is going to show up for a gig or not:



Yet, Slash would still refuse to put the blame entirely on Axl's shoulders:



In 2011, Axl would talk about not being mentally ready to tour in '91 and that this caused the late starts:



He would also say he managed to do better, and "figured out a way to get there sooner", when he understood how the late starts were affected the crew:





After having quit the band, Izzy would talk about the late starts and how it bothered him:



Matt would later talk about what went down at the January 13, 1992 show when Axl was particularly late:



In April 1992, Matt would claim he had learnt to deal with it:



In 2012, Matt would be asked why he hadn't confronted Axl about the late starts, and say he had:



And what Slash does while waiting:



Gilby would admit the band would be drinking:






Before the Metallica tour in the summer of 1992, Slash would claim that they weren't so late anymore because of touring in Europe with strict curfews:




And when the Metallica summer tour started the heat meant they tried to be quicker, although stage change meant it took longer:







Slash would also argue that they made more of an effort to not start as late any more:





For the band's Skin N' Bones tour in 1993, and the shows leading up tp it, Axl seems to have been able to be more on time:











Gilby would say he had no idea why Axl had been late:



And when asked why they didn't simply knock on his door:



Duff being asked if they never had a row with Axl over the late starts:



And in 2006 Duff would admit it had been hard but that it created this tension that made the shows great:



In 2011, Duff would suggest they could have done more to make Axl be on time:



Looking back in 2016:



In 2018, Roberta Freeman would mention how Axl didn't take into consideration that kids got stuck at the venues due to the late starts and endings because nobody told him about this:

In August 1991 media reported started reported that Slash was dating a girl called Renee [Suran] [Music Life, November 17, 1991].

Later, Slash would describe how it had happened:




In an interview with Los Angeles Times in August 1992, Slash would claim he met Suran "three years ago", suggesting that when 1990 started he was already in a relationship with her [Los Angeles Times, August 9, 1992], but had kept it secret, or her name hidden, until much later. In July 1991, it was reported that Slash had been going out with the same girl for over a year [ROCKbeat, July 1991], and this must likely have been Renee, indicating he started dating her in the summer of 1990. In December 1990, it would be said he had celebrated an 8 month anniversary with this girfriend [Musician, December 1990].

Suran would be described as a Hollywood model [Blast! May 1990]. Slash would also mention that he, at some point, would like to have a daughter and not a boy, because "I don't need another one of me" [Musician, December 1990].





This also fits well with Slash later stating he was off heroin when he met Renee:



That Slash tried to protect his girlfriends from exposure was something he mentioned himself:



Describing his love life:



Asked to describe his girlfriend and the secret of their relationship:





Slash would describe he was trying to be faithful to Renee who he described as "a religious fanatic about fidelity" [Life Magazine, December 1992]:



He would talk more about this in an interview published in September:

In early 1989 rumors were spreading that the band planned to release a set of themed EPs, including a Punk, a Metal and a Rap EP [Kerrang!, April 1989]. Asked about his, Slash responded and only talked about a possible punk EP:



Axl, on the other hand, had lofty plans that included a second acoustic EP in addition to the punk EP:



This would be confirmed in July 1989 with the band talking about a punk EP, a live release, and an "an X rated acoustic EP" [Raw Magazine, July 1989]. Duff would, like Slash, indicate that the punk EP was closest to being worked on:



I 2018, Dizzy would suggest the label had pressured them to doing something "more popular", but we would admit he could remember things wrong and he probably wasn't around when the initial discussions on releasing an EP started:





In December 1990 it was reported that the song "Down On The Farm" would end up on the forthcoming follow-up to 'Appetite' (Use Your Illusions) [Musician, December 1990]. In January 1991, Slash would mention they had recorded six covers as part of the material for the forthcoming Use Your Illusion record(s) and that these would likely be released on a separate record [Rolling Stone, January 1991]:



As late as June 1991, Duff was quoted in RIP Magazine saying they had just decided to add 'Ain't It Fun' as the 36th song to be included on the forthcoming 'Use Your Illusion' records. At this time, they had decided to save 'I Don't Care About You', 'Attitude', 'New Rose' and 'Black Leather' for a future EP, but still expected to include 'Live and Let Die' and 'Down on the Farm' on the 'Illusions' [RIP, June 1991].

In the end, they decided to included only 'Live and Let Die' and 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' on the two Use Your Illusion records and save the remaining cover songs for a later release.

In May 1991, Axl would mention that they wanted to release an EP with "six punk rock songs" [MTV, May 1991]. These were likely the four remaining punk cover songs that the band had recorded but weren't included on the Use Your Illusions ('I Don't Care About You', 'Attitude', 'New Rose', 'Down on the Farm') and a couple more.

In late 1991, Slash would confirm that there were 6 punk song leftovers from the 'Illusion' sessions intended for an upcoming EP:



In August 1991, the six punk songs would be listed as "I Don't Care About You" (originally by Fear), "Attitude" (The Misfits), "Ain't It Fun" (Dead Boys), "Black Leather" (The Sex Pistols), "Down On The Farm" (UK Subs) and "New Rose" (The Damned) [Melody Maker, August 10, 1991].

"Ain't It Fun" was allegedly a suggestion from Hanoi Rock's Michael Monroe when he was guesting the recording studio when Axl was adding vocals to the Illusion songs [Popular 1, January 1994; translated from Spanish].




In September 1991, Slash would talk about when the EP would be released:



In February 1992, Slash was again asked what was happening with the "long lost" punk EP and he also mentioned that they intended to include their own song 'Ain't Going Down' on what would become an LP:



And again in March and July 1992:




Talking about the recording process:




For newcomer Gilby it was important to become part of the recording history of the band. He would add guitar (and possibly replace Izzy's guitar parts) on the 10 songs recorded before Gilby joined the band and provide his own guitar parts to the three songs they would record after returning from Europe (likely 'Hair of the Dog' (Nazareth), 'Human Being' (New York Dolls) and 'Beautiful King' (T-Rex; although this was more likely the journalist hearing the song wrong and it was in reality 'Buick McKane')) [RAW, September 1993].





In 2013, Gilby would say that it isn't true that he erased Izzy's parts and that Izzy hadn't played on a lot of them:



Duff would talk more about the record in April 1993 and mention it had been mostly his idea:



Slash would also talk about how unexpected it was from them to release a punk record:





It was likely while the band was having a day off while in Boston in March 1993, that the band recorded the Skyliner's 50's hit 'Since I Don't Have You':





Later, in July 1993, Duff would talk about the upcoming record and mention how it had grown to not only be a record, but also to not only be punk:



Duff would also not reveal the record's title:



Talking about the recently recorded songs:



By September 1993, it would be revealed that the record would contain 13 tracks [RAW, September 1993], which was to become the final number.

In October 1993 it would be reported that the record had been named 'The Spaghetti Incident' and that it was set for a release on November 23 [Tampa Bay Times/Billboard, October 4, 1993].

In 2007, Matt would say the songs had been recorded while they waited for Axl to finish his vocals for Use Your Illusion I and II in 1991, but this is not entirely correct since some songs were recorded while they toured:

In September 1991, Izzy would point out that the band members were finally in a state where they could tour:



And Slash and Gilby would argue they had matured:




Despite these comments, while Slash and Izzy had quit heroin, it was obvious the band was partying and using "milder" drugs quite profusely:



In a later interview, Matt indicates that also stronger drugs were used around 1990 by other band members than Steven and this is also clear from later chapters:



In 2018, Doug Goldstein would talk about how preventing the band from getting their hand son drugs was a big part of his job:





The band would also spend lots of money on lavish parties, especially in 1992 when they started touring (and competing) with Metallica:







In September 1992, Greenville News would claim the band had different theme parties "every night", including a Roman party:



They would also have an Indy 500 theme with girls dressed up in race uniforms:



They also did a 60's party with black lights and girls dancing, in the words of Gilby, on a "twister thing" [The Greenville News, September 29, 1992].

Rob Affuso from Skid Row would recount the theme parties:

In 1989, Slash would talk about wanting to continue using art from Robert Williams, the artist behind the 'Appetite' cover, for future album covers:



And when asked if he couldn't design the artwork:



But then in 1990, more than a year before the release of 'Use Your Illusion I & II', Axl had a different idea:







The painter, Mark Konstabi, would recount the episode:



In fact, as said in the band's official fan club newsletter Axl had been specifically visiting "a number of L.A. galleries" to find "a cool painting for the record cover"[Conspiracy Incorporated, May 1990].

The lyrics Axl is referring to is from the song 'Locomotive' off 'Use Your Illusion II'.

Apparently, the name and artwork of the records was all Axl's idea and between the lines it could seem Slash wasn't too fond of it:



In his biography, Slash would imply he hadn't like the artwork:



Axl would happily talk about the cover artwork and why it had been chosen:



Slash found the album title brilliant:



He would further expand upon what the title meant:



In 2011, Alan Niven would talk about the artwork:

Despite reducing his drinking in late 1989 [see previous chapter], things got worse in 1990:



In his autobiography from 2011, Duff would allude to the divorce with Brix affected his alcohol and drug abuse negatively, and he would again in 2018 mention one personal thing that had a big effect on this, likely referring to the divorce:



In 2019, he would again talk about the divorce and the affect it had on him:



While doing a conference in Copenhagen on August 19, 1991, he was described as being "noticeably drunk and kept taking drinks" [Press Conference, August 1991].

To Rolling Stone magazine, who interviewed Duff in June, 1991, he claimed to drink much less, "far from the 2 gallons of vodka a day" back in the band's early days. He would also explain that the uncertainty of whether the band would break apart or not "a few years ago", caused him to drink.

When things began to look more secure he decided to stop drinking and quit for 71 days [Rolling Stone, September 1991]. These 71 days probably happened early in 1991 during Rock In Rio when Duff and Izzy were rumored to have sworn off alcohol and drugs for 60 days [Kerrang! January 1991], although Izzy at the time was sober so it might just be a bogus rumor.

Duff was aware of drinking too much:



In July 1991, Slash would be asked if he was worried about Duff's drinking:



Izzy sobering up [see previous chapter] was not enough to get Duff to try to get clean:





In addition to drinking, Duff would develop a heavy cocaine habit. Sebastian Bach, the singer of Skid Row who opened for Guns N' Roses in 1991, would describe how he was handing out cocaine to Duff during their first show together at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin on May 24, 1991 [Sebastian Bach, 18 and Life on Skid Row, Harper Collins, 2016].

In 2018, Duff would look back at people around him dying but how that weren't the wake-up call they should have been:



He would also talk about what he had been abusing:



During the touring in 1991, Duff would find himself in unusual places when trying to score drugs:




When asked if McBob couldn't simply have bought drugs for him:



And Duff would also talk about how the ubiquitous presence of drugs made him think everybody was using:

Axl and Slash had had their differences from when the band first started, and even before when they played together in Hollywood Rose.



Slash's struggles with heroin had resulted in Axl calling him out from the stage in October 1989, when the band opened for The Stones (which helped Slash gain sobriety). On the other hand, Axl had been taking a increasing leadership role in the band as his band mates struggled with addiction, and while Slash was now in a productive physical state, Axl's notorious temper and mental instability that resulted in marriage problems and confrontations with the police and his neighbor, vexed on Slash in early 1991 as it delayed the making of the two 'Use Your Illusion' albums.



And:



Despite saying he didn't want to talk about Axl, Slash was still not happy with how the Rolling Stone interview came out:




Before the touring in 1991, Slash would open up a bit on his relationship with Axl:



And when asked what they fight over. Music? Drugs? Who gets the most attention?



And when describing the "cool things":



In September 1991, Rolling Stones would discuss the different personalities of Axl and Slash: "Slash seems to have accepted the occasional flare up arising from his and Rose's warring internal time tables as par for the course; its clear that he sees the tension as a necessary evil, the spark that makes for the combustible energy at the heart of their creative collaboration" [Rolling Stone, September 1991].

The same month, Slash would again indicate that he and Axl was tights but that the media was causing problems:



He would also discuss his strategy for dealing with problems:



As Axl caused controversies during the 'Use Your Illusion' touring in 1991, Slash received more and more credit for keeping the band together. The Boston Globe would say that Slash is "widely viewed as keeping Guns in gear" and that he "has become the band's expert at damage control" able to "throw a positive spin on all events" [Boston Globe, December 5, 1991]. Slash himself would downplay Axl's negative media coverage:



In December 1991, Slash would also say that he and Axl never fight anymore and that they have a professional relationship [The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 16, 1991]:



He would corroborate on this in early 1992:



Axl, too, would indicate that their fights were behind them:



Taken these two quotes together, it would indicate that Axl and Slash were going through tough times in the second half of 1990, but that things had been okay between them since then.

During the band's second show in Dayton, on January 14, 1992, a quarrel broke out onstage between Axl and Slash when Axl misheard something Slash had said:




In February 1992, Slash would again talk about the complexity of Axl's personality and how Slash would act as a mediator:



In a RIP issue published in March he talked about how close they were:



An example of how Slash would protect Axl and downplay any of his negative sides, is from MTV in March 1992 when Slash was asked to explain the band's late concert starts, and even challenged on whether it wasn't Axl's fault and how he felt about that. Slash would refuse to throw Axl under the bus and instead prevaricated [MTV Rockline, March 1992].

In the first half of May he would again point out their differences but that they were friends:



The same month Slash would also indicate there were issues, though, without indicating whether there were any conflicts between him and Axl causing the "obstacles":



But he would point of there were no "blazing rows":



Axl would confirm the band members were like a family, and that the bond between him and Slash was particularly strong:



In May 1992, Slash would also describe the relationship:



And in July:



This would again indicate that their worst problem was in the beginning of the band.

Slash would again discuss his relationship with Axl in August, and indicate Izzy's departure had only served to strengthen it:



He would also say the last time they fought was in 1988 during his worst drug period:



That Axl and Slash got tighter after the fight in 1990 and as they struggled with Steven and Izzy, would be a point Slash would repeat later:



Despite all these claims to a strengthened friendship, in 2000, Slash would talk about how Axl changed as the band got successful and how he, Slash, remained the same, resulting in them drifting apart:



Additionally, Goldstein would mention that Slash "all the time" came to him to complain over Axl, and that Goldstein talked him into not quitting the band, including in December 1992 when the band played in Brazil



Furthermore, Goldstein would talk about having a special understanding of Axl because of his own brother being manic depressive:

As described previously, Slash had made an attempt at sobering up at some point not long after the shows with the Rolling Stones in October 1989. For a guy who had always struggled with temptations when not actively touring, and who had recently sobered up, Slash was thrilled to finally be back on the road in mid-1991 when the band started touring the 'Use Your Illusion' albums:



Yet, "sobering up" can mean different things and in May 1991 he would be clear that he wasn't "an angel or anything", something he would repeat in many interviews in 1991 when asked about his lifestyle:




Izzy would agree that Slash was doing a lot better though:




While in Mountain View in July 1991, talking to the journalist Simon Garfield, Slash admitted that he still takes drugs, but that it is now a "minor" thing in his life:



Garfield would then ask a band crew backstage if "he thinks Slash will sue if I write that he still indulges" to which the reply was, "He'll probably sue if you don't" [The Age/Independent on Sunday, August 1991].

And as interviews happened throughout 1991, it was clear Slash was still a heavy drinker [Press Conference, August 1991; The Age/Independent On Sunday, August 1991].

After a short break after the start of the tour in USA, the band travelled to Europe to continue their Use Your Illusion tour in August 1991. Skid Row travelled along as the opener.



For this leg of the tour the band had got a chiropractor and masseuse on tour with them, especially for Slash who needed to have "his back aligned before each show to prepare him for the stress of jumping off stage ramps" [Boston Globe, December 5, 1991].

Slash would also be more conscious about his health:





The first shows of the European leg was at Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland on August 13 and 14. The day before the show, Duff, Slash, Matt, Dizzy and Skid Row would hang out at the Tavastia club where the Black Crowes performed [GN'R Use Your Illusions Tour Diary, unknown author and date]. The European leg started where the North American had ended just 10 days before, with Axl being volatile:








After this the band played two shows at Globen in Stockholm, Sweden on August 16 and 17. On the second of these the show started three hours late:



According to the band's newsletter, one of the two shows in Sweden was the band's "best performance ever" [Conspiracy Incorporated Newsletter, October 1991].



The band then travelled to Denmark for a show at the Copenhagen Forum in Copenhagen on August 19. On the very same day a coup d'état took place in Soviet and Axl would hoist a Russian flag at the concert in protest [Press Conference, August 1991].



During this concert an explosion was heard and the band stopped playing. According to the GN'R Tour Diary, a firecracker was thrown on stage [GN'R Use Your Illusions Tour Diary, unknown author and date]. Axl yelled that they would not continue until the culprit had been arrested.



After a while the band came back and Axl explained that a guy had turned himself in [Press Conference, August 1991].

The band was then supposed to travel to Norway for a show in Oslo, but this concert was cancelled. Matt would later blame Axl for this:



In addition to Sebastian Bach, Nine Inch Nails were opening for Guns N' Roses at the time, and Sean Beavan, who was an unoffial live member of NIN, and would later work with Guns N' Roses on Chinese Democracy, would remember the show in Oslo and the audiences disappointment that the GN'R show had to be cancelled:

As the touring started in 1991, Slash and Duff's partying was now, in the words of Melody Maker, "enthusiastically aided and abetted by new drummer Matt" [Melody Maker, August 10, 1991].






Duff would later mention that Matt had started partying like Slash and Duff already before the touring when they were recording the drums for Use Your Illusions:



When asked about some proper rock n' roll stories,  Matt offered to talk about when he worked for famous Hollywood madame Heidi Fleiss:



Later, Matt would talk about his drug use and possible ODs:

The next show was in Germany at the Maimarkthalle in Mannheim on August 24. For this show and the next, Nine Inch Nails had been included as an opener together with Skid Row. NIN's Trent Reznor would explain how this had happened:




In fact, Axl was a huge fan of Nine Inch Nails:




It seems to have been Axl friend, Joseph Brooks, who introduced Axl to electronic music:



The audience gave Reznor and NIN a hard time:

According to Robert John, before the band entered the stage they had a heated meeting regarding Izzy's future:



At some point after the show, Izzy called Alan Niven (who had been fired just a few months earlier) and said he wanted to leave the band right there and then but Niven convinced him to continue till after the Wembley show:



The discussions on Izzy's future would continue in September [see later chapter].

Whether the heated argument described in the previous chapter affect the mood of the band in uncertain, but at about 25 minutes into this show, Axl was hit by an object under 'Live and Let Die,' and, as a result, left the stage. According to Slash and Duff, the promoters prevented Axl from leaving the arena, forcing him back onto the stage, and a riot was prevented.




Goldstein would later say that this show was the only one where Axl was physically prevented from leaving early:



Slash would later talk about how cool it had been that they were playing so much new stuff at the show:

Around August/September the press would indicate that the band was falling apart and that Duff and Matt would leave the band [Kerrang! September 21, 1991]. In Matt's case, his departure had at a point been expected to be "imminent" [RAW, December 1991]. The rumours about Matt's possible departure started being spread in August. Allegedly, if Axl "continued to be difficult to work with", Matt would quit the band [Music Life, November 17, 1991]. Matt's showdown with Axl in Mannheim on August 24 [see previous chapter] likely fueled his frustration.

In November 1991, when Axl hosted the rock show Rockline, he was confronted with the rumors that Matt would leave the band because of "arguments and that he can’t deal with the hysteria on the tour":

After Germany the band headed to the last show on the first European leg, at Wembley Stadium, London, in England on August 31. After the touring in 1988, Slash had revealed his fondness for playing in England, and finally they were back:



In the months leading up to this date, the media would be speculating on the two supporting acts, with Motorhead and Lenny Kravitz being rumoured [Raw, July 1991]. In the end, Nine Inch Nails was one of the openers [New Musical Express, September 1991] together with Skid Row [setlist.fm].

Before the show, the Brent Council asked the band to not swear from stage [Classic Rock, May 2006] and the band allegedly told them they would refrain from swearing or jumping offstage [The Guardian, September 1991]. The band then plastered London with advertisements that read "Guns N’ Fucking Roses. Wembley Fucking Stadium. Sold Fucking Out" [Classic Rock, May 2006].



As described before, Izzy was getting increasingly frustrated and for the show at Wembley on August 31, rumors had it that no one knew if Izzy would show up and play and that he might quit the band due to Axl's "attitude" [Music Life, November 17, 1991].



After the show the band met Brian May from Queen. Guns N' Roses would later play in Freddie Mercury's tribute concert at Wembley (April 20, 1992], May would play with the band at Wembley (June 13, 1992], and May would also work with the band during their Chinese Democracy era in the late 90s/early 00s.







As Slash was talking to May, an elderly man and a teenager approached, asking if they could have his autograph and then introducing themselves as Slash's grandfather and cousin [Music Life, November 17, 1991].









The Wembley show will go down in history as the last show with Izzy as a member of the band.








The Wembley concert was also the last before the release of 'Use Your Illusion I' and 'Use Your Illusion II'. Slash would comment upon how it had been to play the shows before the albums were out:



During the European leg Matt got his first tattoos:

Already back in the 1980s Axl had hinted at a difficult upbringing, like in an interview with MTV's Headbanger's Ball from September 1988, where he talked about "certain things" that had happened to him:



He would touch upon this theme again in October 1989 and imply his stepfather had been involved:



As the 1990s came along he would also mention how he would like to work with and support organizations dealing with child abuse, again implying dark events in his own childhood:



At the end of 1990 Axl had been suffering from depression [see previous chapter], and the depression continued into 1991:



The depressions caused Axl to seek therapy which forced him to deal with unresolved issues [see previous chapter] and in September 1991 Axl started to open up more to the media about his troubled childhood.

Axl would claim that his past experiences had affected his adult views on sexuality and relationship with women:










After the September 1991 Rolling Stone Magazine interview, Axl would be asked to elaborate on things he had said and open up about having been the victim of child abuse from his stepfather, Stephen Bailey:



True to his word, as times passed he would speak more detailed about what had happened to him, indicating that he was abused by his stepfather without his mother protecting him:





Beta Lebeis would later shed some light on the neglect Axl had experienced as a child:






Axl's therapy sessions, especially regression therapy, would also tell him that his biological father had kidnapped him and raped him at the age of two:





In an interview with Musician that was released in June 1992, Axl would be asked how he could know the results of regression therapy were trustworthy and not some "dream or fantasy or some projection or demonization":



The interviewer from Musician would then point out that if the allegations were false, they weren't just affecting Axl but his family, too, so that "the rules of evidence would have to be stricter" than if it was just between Axl and his father and step-father:



Having talked about the severity of how he had been abused as a child, Axl would again talk about moving forward and trying to help other abused children:





As can be seen from the section above, memories stemming from regression therapy would imply it was Axl's biological father, William Rose, who had sexually abused Axl. Still, Alan Zutaut would recollect a story from before Axl started regression therapy that stated that it was Axl's stepfather, Stephen Bailey, who had raped him:



That it was Bailey who actually abused Axl would be supported by Beta Lebeis:




Furthermore, when Axl came to play in Dayton in 1992, Axl would talk from stage about his feelings returning to Dayton after having been here with his stepfather as a child, and especially reference the Wilbur and Orville Wright Museum:



Additionally, Axl would actually claim his stepfather had molested his sister, Amy:



So why then did Axl only explicitly blame his biological stepfather for sexually abusing him when so many hints suggests that it also, or perhaps rather, his stepfather who did the abuse? Maybe he wanted to speak about child abuse to help other victims, as per Zutaut's recollections of Axl's motive for opening up, but didn't want his family to go through the pain of directed accusations against Bailey because he still wanted to mend fences with his stepfather and mother; or maybe regression therapy made him distrust his own real memories of abuse by Bailey over the conjured memories of abuse by Rose?

The later possibility is also suggested from this quote where Axl emphasizes that the abuse came from Rose and not from Bailey:



So in conclusion, it is possible that Axl in early 1990 still wanted to repair his relations with his family and thus he saw no point in accusing Bailey through the media (especially since Axl's motive primarily was to talk about abuse in general to help other children who are victims of abuse and not to get revenge), thus he shifted the blame from Bailey to Rose, possibly influenced by false memories from regression therapy.



After the release of the Rolling Stone article in April 1992, Axl would comment on it from stage and claim his family was against the interview:



He would say that his family were opposed to him opening up about his childhood in interviews:





In the June 1992 issue of Musician, an interview with Axl would be published which had been conducted in March the same year and before the release of the Rolling Stone interview where Axl accused his family of child abuse. Rather than being worried about the effect of his honesty in forthcoming the Rolling Stone interview, Axl was described as expressing "feelings of great relief, even liberation, at having exposed his demons to the light of day" [Musician, June 1992].

And during the interview itself, Axl was asked why he was talking about these subjects in public:



Gilby would also be asked about Axl coming out with what he had experienced, and point out the positive social effects:




Slash would also comment on the interviews, especially the one in Rolling Stone:





In 2012, Axl would look back at having opened up and express puzzlement that it didn't have the effect he thought it would have:

After being handed advanced copies of the soon-to-be released 'Use Your Illusion' albums, DJ Terrence Trawick from the show "Steve and D.C" on WKBQ-FM in in St. Louis, saw the statement "fuck St. Louis" found in the liner notes [Altoona Mirror, September 13, 1991]. In Trawick's words:



So in retribution Trawick decided to "rally with what they hope to be thousands of angry fellow citizens on Tuesday [=September 15, 1991], the official release date for the Guns albums, assemble them into the shape of a hand with its middle finger extended, photograph them from the air and send the resulting picture straight to Axl Rose" [MTV News, September 1991].

On his Rockline interview in November 1991, Axl was confronted with the "Fuck St. Louis" statement in the liner notes:

_________________________________



In May 1991, the song 'Bad Apples' leaked to the media [Los Angeles Times, June 1991; RAW, July 1991]. The song was leaked to several air stations by an employee at Mercury Records, who, in return, wanted airplay of one of their singles [Raw, July 1991]. The radio station WMMS played the song but a court order stopped them [Raw, July 1991]. How the Mercury employee got a copy of the song is not known.

Thus, when the magazine Guitar Player got to listen to a pre-release copy of the records in August, security was tight due to "piracy problems" [Guitar Player, December 1991].



Before the two 'Use Your Illusion' albums were released, Matt, Slash and Duff would describe how the follow-ups would differ from 'Appetite':







And how they had expanded the instrumentation:




Yet, it did not signify a change in musical direction:



In September 1991, though, Slash would say they were evolving as musicians and describe the new records as more "mature" than Appetite [Rip It Up, September 1991].



Slash would also shed some light on the collaborative effort:



Describing the difference between Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II:



Alan Niven would hype the records:



Slash and Duff would explain how the track lists were decided:






In August 1991, Tom Zutaut would voice his opinion on the numerous release postponements and blame an "over-optimistic" record label:



The two albums were finally released on midnight between September 16 and 17, 1991, promoting many stores to have "moonlight sales" [Burlington Hawk Eye, September 17, 1991].

Duff would mention that he and Slash went to have a look at the midnight sales:



The releases were an immediate success and the anticipation was so grand that the band is said to have shipped an unprecedented 4 million copies to stores in advance of the release date [Burlington Hawk Eye, September 17, 1991].





In the USA, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II went straight onto the charts as no. 2 and no. 1, respectively, and it was the first time a major contemporary artist had released two separate albums on the same day and the first time two albums by a band or artist had simultaneously entered a chart tight at the top [Guns N' Roses Australian Tour Special, January 1993].




The expected sales within just the first two hours was $5 million [Los Angeles Times, September 1991].

Needless to say, Geffen Records president Eddie Rosenblatt was thrilled: "This is the most exciting thing that's ever happened in the record business" [Los Angeles Times, September 1991].

After a week, Geffen estimated that each record had sold more than 2.5 million copies [Los Angeles Times, September 1991]. This would be down-adjusted to between 1.5 and 2.0 copies in total, with Use Your Illusion II selling 100,000 more copies than Use Your Illusion I.

As with Appetite, some stores, including K mart and Wal-mart, refused to sell the records, citing the band's image and lyrics [MTV News, September 1991; Billboard, September 21, 1991]. Geffen sales chief Eddie Gilreath commented on K Mart and Wal-Mart's decision:



Despite this, the advance orders of the album exceeded 4 million [Billboard, September 21, 1991].

Use Your Illusion II was immediately banned in Singapore on the grounds of “objectionable themes and pro­fane lyrics" [Billboard, October 19, 1991] and in July 1992 it was reported that both records were also banned in South Africa [MTV, July 12, 1992].

In 2011, Niven would comment on the success of the albums and its effect on the band:



At some point in connection to the launch of the records, Robert John would take a new band photo [shown below].





John would later be asked about the worst memory from working with the band, and mention this band photo:



In 2009, Axl would suggest the "dead" was not unintentional and that the band was dead at the time:

The band would discuss why the decided to release two records. One of the reasons was simply that they feared they would never make another album.



Slash would repeat this later in 1990 and say that due to their stormy history, they couldn't be sure they would release another record, and:



Axl would point out that it was more like four albums:



The band would also talk about not wanting to release a double record:







Matt would describe when Axl first plugged the idea of releasing two separate albums:



In 2013, Alan Niven would claim he had convinced Axl to not release a double album but two separate albums instead:




And also for the novelty of it:




And to be able to start with a clean slate:





In 2015, Goldstein would claim they released two albums simultaneously because Axl wanted to do it for "history's sake":



And later he would talk about how he was opposed to it:



Bill Price would confirm that the Use Your Illusions contained all the material the band had worked on:



And when asked if Geffen was pulling "their hair out over the sheer scope of this thing"?





Looking back at the decision in hindsight:



In 2018, Duff would talk about the decision to record everything they got and then sift through what to release:



Duff would also imply that the label had fought the decision:

In 2018, Duff would talk about the decision to record everything they got and then sift through what to release: