39. AUGUST 2018-DECEMBER 2019: MORE TOURING AND RUMOURS ABOUT MUSIC TO COME

The third album from Slash with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators had been in the works for a long time. Slash would first start about working on this record in 2015:





Talking about the song ideas he is working on:



By August 2015, the band had started pre-production and planned to have the album out in 2016:



The plan was to start recording in the spring of 2016:



Then came Slash's reunion with Guns N' Roses in 2016 and further work on the record was put on hold:



Slash managed to continue working on the record when there was a break in the GN'R touring:



In March 2018, rumors had it the record would be released in the fall [Blabbermouth, March 7, 2018].



In May 2018, Myles Kennedy would state that he had finished laying down vocals for the album and that the record "would probably come out this year" [WRIF 101.1 via Blabbermouth, May 2, 2015].

The album was finished mastered and ready to be released in early May, but held on till after the Guns N' Roses touring ended:



In June the album title was disclosed: Living The Dream, with a release date of September 21 [Blabbermouth, June 18, 2018]. Slash would promote the album on a tour of Canada and the U.S. in September and October of 2018, as Slash Ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators [Blabbermouth, June 18, 2018].




Discussing the album title:



Slash, who was touring with Guns N' Roses at the time, would send out a press release stating that he had always planned to get back out with the Conspirators as soon as possible:




And for the tour he expected to play less Guns N' Roses songs than in previous tours:



Talking about the album:






Kennedy and Slash would also discuss how it was to have to work around GN'R's touring schedule:




Balancing GN'R and other projects:

At the start of the world tour of 2018, Live Nation sent out a press report praising the Not In This Lifetime Tour:



The first show of the 2018 World Tour took place at Parque Fundidora in Monterrey, Mexico, on November 11. The band then travelled all the way to Indonesia for a show at GBK Stadium in Jakarta on November 8 followed by a show at Phillippine Arena in Bulacan, Phillippines, on November 11 and a show at Surf Beach, Sunway Lagoon in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 14.




For Melissa, who is half Filipina, playing in the Philippines was a homecoming of sorts:







The tour continued with a show at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 17 and then two shows at Asia World Expo Arena in Hong Kong, China, on November 20 and 21.




Before the show in Hong Kong, Slash would talk about the tour:

In November 2018, and in a truly bizarre turn in the drama between Doug Goldstein and Alan Niven, Goldstein accused Niven of having hired a "Satan specialist" to cast spells on himself and Axl [Twitter, November 28, 2018]. Goldstein's accusation came after he learnt that Niven had been thanked in the Locked N' Loaded boxset and not himself [Twitter, November 28, 2018].




This resulted in a damning letter from Niven against Goldstein where he among other things claimed that Goldstein was "roaming the Southwest in a mobile home full of weapons":



This was not the first time Niven's dabbling with the occult had been made public, it was also discussed by Mick Wall in his book Last of the Giants: The True Story of Guns N’ Roses. In the book, Wall would quote Niven's previous assistant, Stephanie Fanning speaking about Niven's hard time after being ousted from Guns N' Roses and how she perceived him to go to occult war against Axl:



Stephanie Fanning would leave Niven to work for Goldstein and when Goldstein was interviewed for the Wall's book he provided his own perspective, including things Fanning had told him like Niven using the services of a "black-magic specialist" to cast spells at Axl and Goldstein:



Niven was also interviewed for the book and would confirm seeking out occult help while in New Orleans with Izzy and eventually engaging the services of a person who claimed he could "ceremonially get rid of the negatives that are attacking you":



In early 2019, Niven would talk about how being fired from GN'R, as well as other events in his life that happened not long after, had affected his mental health and made him go "totally over the edge":



For more on this and how Niven coped with being fired, see an earlier chapter.

The tour continued with a show a show at Du Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on November 25 before coming to FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 29.




Before the show in Abu Dhabi, Slash, who had played in United Arab Emirates twice before with Velvet Revolver and Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, would talk about returning to the country:



And Axl would talk about watching Formula One racing while in Abu Dhabi:



And before the show in Johannesburg:



While in South Africa, Slash would take a few days off:






The show in Abu Dhabi ended early, after only 14 songs, when Axl was feeling ill. Slash would talk about the show and how they endured but that Axl was feeling fine again for their show in Johannesburg:



Naturally, some fans would complain about this shortened set:



This resulted in Fernando Lebeis turning to Twitter:



Richard talking about having played in Johannesburg:



Then came the tacked-on show at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, on December 8. A portion of the proceeds of this show would be donated to the Andy Irons Foundation [Press Release, December 3, 2018]. The Andy Irons Foundation was created to "raise awareness and institute programs for young people pertaining to mental health, drug recovery, and learning disabilities" [Press Release, December 3, 2018].






At the show in Honolulu, Axl would thank the crowds and crew for two years of touring and indicate that more was to come but that they had to do this touring first:

Slash would be asked why he was playing "faster than ever" on the Not In This Lifetime tour:



Slash would also point out that the real success was the friend he made on the way:



In 2019, Frank would talk about the Slash, Duff, Axl trio being iconic and how that drew crowds:



Dizzy was not surprised by the success:

With the Not In The Lifetime tour being over at the end of 2018, speculations arose that the band would now focus on a new album. These speculations were further strengthened when Axl cryptically said from the stage in Honolulu (December 8) that more was to come but that they had to do this touring first:



Fernando Lebeis would also posted a cryptic image to Instagram after the final show, suggesting this could be the end to something:




In November 2018, Melissa had answered professionally when asked if new music could be expected:



Around the same time Slash said they would discuss a new album after the end of touring in 2018 and that they were "all talking about" a new record:



Before the end of the year, Slash would be asked what he had in store for 2019:



When the interviewer responded "I’ve got £10 in my pocket. Should I go down to the bookies and put it on there being a new Guns N’ Roses album next year?" Slash replied:



Richard would further fuel the flames of new music by expressing optimism that the band would now turn their focus to a new album and that it wouldn't take long until it was out:



And as for whether a new song could come before the end of 2019:

From 2008, Richard would do occasional one-off shows with his former band Pale Divine. In July 2008, it was reported that Richard was reuniting with Pale Divine on December 29, 2008, at the Pageant in St Louis, MI, USA [GN'R Daily, July 12, 2008].

Talking about how the one-show reunion came to be:



Before a show in 2013, Richard would look back at the band's songs:



And comment on whether fans would remember them:



Talking about doing more shows:



On December 15, Pale Divine played another show at Pageant in St. Louis. The show came a few months after a private show they had also played in St. Louis:

 

Richard would compare playing with Pale Divine to playing with Guns N' Roses and describing the former as more "fatiguing":



Being asked if this would become an annual thing:

On December 4, music journalist Mitch Lafon would post an "unsubstantiated" rumor that Guns N' Roses had recorded a cover version of T-Rex' Children of the Revolution to be included on an upcoming tribute album:




The rumor would be picked up by other news outlets [Classic Rock, December 6, 2018].

A few days later, Lafon would share that he had been contacted by Hal Wilner, the producer of the tribute album, who had denied the rumor:



Wilmer's comment that there is a rumor that Axl recorded the songs for another project, turned out to be true and more about this in a later chapter.

In 2011, Axl would talk about trying to be in shape for the touring and the long sets:



When DJ suggested Axl was "super disciplined" about exercising, Axl promptly responded:



After Slash rejoined the band in 2016, he too would talk about working out for the shows:

On the Appetite for Distortion podcast, the writers of the Looney Tunes episode, Rob Janas and Kevin Fleming would discuss the episode and how it came to be [Appetite for Distortion, June 13, 2019]. Fleming got the idea after having attending a couple of GN'R shows at the Not In This Lifetime tour where the band walked on stage to the classic Looney Tunes theme [Appetite for Distortion, June 13, 2019].



Ultimate Classic Rock would summarize:



Doug Goldstein would be asked if he was surprised that Axl would lend his phone to a Looney Tunes episode:



Goldstein would also appreciate how this reflected a humorous side to Axl that is not well known in the public:



Alan Niven would sip into his infinite jar of bitterness when he in a comment was trying to argue for Axl's avarice:

Team Brazil would receive a fair amount of criticism, from fans [see earlier chapter] but also from industry people. The typical criticism was that their positions were the outcome of nepotism and not merit. Still, as Alan Niven would point out, it was easy to point to successes with them managing the band, especially the successful Not In The Lifetime tour:



Goldstein would criticize the lack of communication with Team Brazil as managers:

In late 2018, Richard would indicate that work had already started on new music:



And in February 2019, Slash would also state that they had started working on a new album:



It is not clear what Richard and Slash would refer to in these quotes. Axl would start looking at old material and choosing songs to be reworked by Duff and Slash already back in 2018, and Slash (and Duff) would at least have started adding their parts to all or some of these songs by April 2019. Perhaps Slash and Duff started adding tracks earlier and it was to this work that Richard and Slash alluded.

When on the topic of new music from Guns N' Roses, and interviewer would ponder if Axl had much to write about these days, to which Richard responded, probably with current politics in mind [also see the earlier chapter on Guns N' Roses and Trump]:



When the interviewer suggested Axl had changed substantially and that his life has changed from the days of "sex, drugs and rock'n'roll" when their lifestyle influenced their lyrics, Richard wouldn't necessarily agree:



Doug Goldstein would also disagree with the notion that a happier and more content Axl would result in poorer lyrics:



In early 2019, Slash would again indicate the band was about to start working on new music:



And Richard would echo this:

As discussed in previous chapters, during the Chinese Democracy era, from at least 1996 until 2008, a lot of material had been recorded with Axl not working on one record but at least two. What would be the fate of this material with Slash and Duff back in the band?



When asked if it is true Axl has a "zillion songs":



In February 2019, Duff would again confirm that work had started on a new record, but also suggest it could consist of old material from Axl that would be reworked:



This had also been suggested by Slash already back in August 2018:



Then in March 2019, Niven would claim the band was indeed working on unreleased music from the Chinese Democracy sessions, and that Slash was not thrilled about it:



The last time Slash "came through" Phoenix was in September 2018 when he played with the Conspirators, suggesting that the decision to focus on old, unreleased songs was made earlier than that.

With Richard's quote about work on a new album having started (from December 13, 2018), Slash's quote about material already existing and "stuff going on" (February 2, 2019), and Duff's quote about "hearing some material" and jamming (February 22, 2019), it suggests that Axl had finished choosing songs and that the rest of the band had started working on these.

A few days later Slash would limit himself to say there was a lot of focus on making a new record [Die Welt, March 3, 2019]. And when explained what he meant by that:



Around the same time he would say that he hadn't started working on the new record:



Later in March Duff would be asked for an update but refuse to lift the mystique:

At the 2019 Tour Link Pro Conference in Palm Springs, CA, USA, the production of the Not In This Lifetime tour received four awards: Production manager of the Year (Dale "Opie" Skjersheth), Production Coordinator/Assistant of the Year (Debbie Taylor), Drum Tech of the Year (Imy James) and Tour Manager of the Year (Angie Warner).

Fernando Lebeis would comment on Instagram that Del James and Luis Soto should have been awarded as well, in what appeared as a lackluster congratulations to Warner:



When someone pointed out that he should just congratulate Angie Warner:

Guns N' Roses band members had previously been accused of sexism and misogyny [see earlier chapter] and as the #MeToo movement for awareness against sexual abuse and harassment spread across the globe in 2017, band members would be asked about their past behavior and current opinions.

In 2018, Slash would be asked how the #MeToo movement had affected the music business:



And asked to look at GN'R's songs in the perspective of the #MeToo movement:



In one interview, Duff would be asked about the lyrics 'Turn around bitch I've got a use for you' from It's So Easy:




And specifically using the word "bitch":



And treatment of women in general:



On his 2019 album Tenderness, Duff would talk about workplace predators in the song Last September and claim their opinions towards women hasn't changed since the 80s:



In an open letter posted on his website, Raz Cue would comment on this quote from Duff:



In August 2019, Duff would be asked if he is optimistic for men "in the light of Me Too, mental health issues, suicide rates":

In February 2019, Richard would state that they intended to do "more recording" when Slash was back from touring his latest album with the Conspirators:



Whether Richard was thinking about "more recording" in addition to the Chinese Democracy era sessions or in addition to recordings done by Slash and Duff more recently, is not clear. We know that Slash at least added parts to old songs in April 2019, but it is quite possible he had started much earlier (Axl had picked through old songs before September 2018) and that it was this Richard had in mind.

In May 2019, this tentative plan of recording after August would be confirmed by Slash:

On April 26, Kruse Kontrol Amplification would post on Facebook that they had an amplifier in for service that had been delivered by Caram Constanza and was intended to be used when Slash would record guitar tracks on new material at Axl's home studio in Malibu [Facebook, April 26, 2019].  The recording was to take place the following day, on Saturday April 27, 2019, before Slash was to head out on tour with the Conspirators starting on May 3 in Mexico City.




It is not clear whether this Saturday of recording was an isolated session or if Slash had been recording also earlier in April or March after he returned from tour with the Conspirators in Europe in mid-March.

Based on comments made in the press [see earlier chapter], the most likely scenario was that Slash was laying down guitar tracks to existing, unreleased songs form the Chinese Democracy sessions, and not working on entirely new songs.

Around the same time that these recordings were taking place, Slash would talk about a new album:



"Toying around with" could refer to him adding guitar to old tracks while the band hadn't still sat down to work on new music together.

Duff would be explicitly asked if it was true that the band had recorded new music at Axl's home studio:




And Slash would also be asked about the rumors:

In April 2019, Frank would talk about taking drumming lessons with Dave Elitch:



And practicing at his home studio:





Like Frank, Duff had also taken lessons [see earlier chapter].

Band members had previously suggested that work on new music would commence when Slash returned from touring with the Conspirators in August 2019 [see earlier chapter], but this seems to have been abandoned, or shortened, in favor of more touring because in early April the band announced they would play at Louder Than Life festival in Louiseville, KY, USA, on September 28th.



For this show, Alan Niven would speculate that Izzy would show up [Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon, April 6, 2019]. Duff, on the other hand, would imply it wouldn't happen:



Not long after the announcement of the Louder than Life Festival show, Slash would state they intended to do a "small tour" in October of 2019, after he had toured with the Conspirators:




On April 30, it was announced that the band would also play on Austin City Limits Festival on October 4-6 and October 11-13 [GunsNRoses.com, April 30, 2019].

When Duff was asked if they would play more than the three shows announced thus far (Louder Than Life, Austin City Limits and Exit 111):



On May 31, an October 18 show at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico, was announced [GunsNRoses.com, May 31, 2019] and in early June it was announced the band would also headline the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, on October 25-27 [Press Release, June 4, 2019].




In June the dates for the tour would be announced, totaling 15 shows when the festival shows were included and also that it was a continuation of the Not In The Lifetime tour [Press Release, June 17, 2019].  The final show would be on November 2 [Press Release, June 17, 2019]



In September the following openers were announced: Bishop Gunn, Blackberry Smoke, Dirty Honey, Shooter Jennings, and Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown [GunsNRoses.com, September 5, 2019]:

Sep. 25 - Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center - Shooter Jennings
Sep. 28 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life Festival - Ice Cube *
Oct. 01 - Jacksonville, FL - VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena - Shooter Jennings
Oct. 04 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits - The Raconteurs *
Oct. 07 - Wichita, KS - INTRUST Bank Arena - Bishop Gunn
Oct. 11 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits - The Raconteurs *
Oct. 13 - Manchester, TN - Exit 111 Festival - Deftones *
Oct. 15 - Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena - Blackberry Smoke
Oct. 18 - Guadalajara, MX - Estadio Jalisco
Oct. 20 - Tijuana, MX - Estadio Caliente
Oct. 23 - Oklahoma City, OK - Chesapeake Energy Arena - Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown
Oct. 25 - New Orleans, LA - Voodoo Festival - Brandi Carlile*
Oct. 29 - Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint Smart Home Arena - Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown
Nov. 01 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace - Dirty Honey
Nov. 02 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum At Caesars Palace - Dirty Honey

On May 9, 2019, Guns N' Roses sued Oskar Blues craft brewery (a.k.a. Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective) for various IP infringements, including selling a better named "Guns 'N' Rosé" [Lawsuit documents, May 9, 2019]. Oskar Blues had previously tried to trademark the name but abandoned this after the band objected [Lawsuit documents, May 9, 2019].



In their defense, Oskar Blues would claim that the band did not enjoy sufficiently wide trademark rights to object to a beer with a name reminiscent of the band name and its brand [Westworld, May 14, 2019].

In August 2019, it was reported that the band and brewery had settled the lawsuit [Reuters, August 13, 2019]

Previously, it had been suggested that the band would work on new material when Slash returned after touring with the Conspirators in August 2019 [see earlier chapter], but in early April, after it was known Guns N' Roses would tour in September/October, Slash said that he didn't expect work to be done until the band had toured in October, abandoning the idea of getting work done in August:



That they seem to have abandoned getting any work done in August/September before the touring is perhaps not so surprising, with Slash having just returned from overseas touring and with just a few weeks before the GN'R shows were to start.

This suggests that despite Axl having started looking at old songs to rework for a potential album already before September of 2018 [see earlier chapter], Slash did not expect any actual recording to be started until November 2019, at the earliest.

Later in April, Slash would again state that they hadn't started any sessions working on new material and reiterate that it had been delayed till after the tour in September/October:



And when asked what a new GN'R album could sound like:



And Dizzy would be asked if he would be featured on a new album:



Later in May, Slash would again state that they intended to start working after the fall touring.



The interviewer would then conclude that things were now "pretty much set in stone" since he had spoken to Slash or Duff last "a few months back" when the message had been "never say never," to which Slash replied:



"Hadn't really done anything yet" would imply that a new record had become more tangible after Slash had started laying down guitar tracks to old songs in April [see previous chapter].

Richard, though, would refuse to say anything when asked if a new album would happen:



When asked if they would jam on new ideas when they practice while touring, Richard would mention that they would jam on new ideas at soundchecks and often record these for future reference:



But Duff would suggest it was likely and that "things were happening":




Around the same time, in May-June when Slash was touring with the Conspirators in Brazil, he confirmed they had started working on new material and that the intended to continue working on this when the fall touring  was over:



Duff would also mention that he had written 70 songs before the release of Tenderness and that Axl has "some really kick ass shit":



Around the same time, Slash would be confronted by a journalist who said Slash had said they probably had enough songs for a new GN'R album, to which Slash responded:



So in similar vein to Duff quote above, it didn't seem to be a lack of material to work on. It would also seem that one idea was to focus on Axl's material, which "could be enough for a record".

On June 14, Slash would again indicate that they might work on something already in August/September, when the Conspirators tour was over, but possibly he meant the GN'R tour:



When tour dates were announced in June, the final date was November 2, indicating that work could at the earliest start in November.

In late June, Duff was again asked about new music but kept his cards closely:



In August, he would express optimism when the interviewer asked about new music:

_______________________
In the second half of 2018, Duff would collaborate with Shooter Jennings on what was intended as a future album:




Jennings was intended to be the album's producer:



At the end of the year, on December 5, a press release was published where it was clear this would end up as a new Duff solo album, and where it was explained that it had started off as a book idea:



Duff would later talk more about how it started off with ideas for a new book:






Discussing the style of the album:




And whether he was anxious about how people would react to the new more quiet sound:



The first single off the record would be Tenderness, released on February 22, 2019:






The second single from the album was Chip Away and was released in March 2019:



The song Parkland deals with school shootings:




The song Feel would be about friends he had lost:




The album would also deal with Duff's thoughts on how to be a man, like his latest book:



The fourth single was Last September and it was released on May 17 [Press Release, May 17, 2019]. The topic of this song was a sexual attack and was topical with the #MeToo movement happening at the time [see earlier chapter]:




The album, Tenderness, was released on May 31, 2019. A music video to the song Don't Look Behind You was released in August 13, 2019, and a music video to the sog Cold Outside was released on December 13, 2019.




Slash and Richard commenting on the album and songs:




After the release of the album on May 31, Duff began an 11 gig tour of the US [Press Release, March 20, 2019] which was followed up with a 12-show tour of Europe in August and September [Press Release, April 23, 2019].

On July 25, 2019, the contents of a collection of CDs containing Guns N' Roses tracks recorded in 2001 and earlier started to leak out to the public. The CDs has ended up in the hands of leakers after they were auctioned from a luggage locker rented by Tom Zutaut.

In the end 19 CDs of content would make itself into the public. In addition to containing different version of songs that ended up on Chinese Democracy, the leaks contained version of unreleased songs, many of which were unknown to the public. Most of the unreleased tracks of songs not to be released in Chinese Democracy were instrumentals, but some contained vocals, either assumingly finalized vocal tracks or scratch vocals (Atlas Shrugged, Hardschool, Perhaps, Eye on You, Nothing, Silkworms, Quick Song, Tommy Demo #1 and #2 (with Tommy on vocals; the former being "10 %er" and the latter being "Goin' Down" which had already leaked in a different, and later, version back in 2013, see earlier chapter)).

A lot of the tracks from 2001 contained new drum tracks from Brain or guitar tracks from Buckethead, indicating that the focus in this period was to add these new band members to the existing songs. One of the CDs also contained versions of Knockin' On Heaven's Door and Welcome to the Jungle, presumably from sessions where the band was rehearsing for the upcoming 2001 fall tour.

Although most of the songs that would end up on Chinese Democracy were featured in the leaks, either in finalized or close to finalized form (Chinese Democracy, If The World, Catcher in The Rye, Riad N' The Bedouins, I.R.S., Street of Dreams (named "The Blues"), There Was A Time (named "T.W.A.T."), Madagascar and Prostitute), some only existed in early versions without vocals (Better (named "3 Dollar Pyramid), Shackler's Revenge (named "Shankler's Revenge") and Sorry (named "I'm Sorry")) and some were absent (This I Love and Scraped).

In summary, the leaks are an interesting snapshot of the state of the music in 2000-2001 with hints at what the band was currently focused on, although it is not given that the contents of the leaker was a full representation of the material the band had (for instance were Oh My God and This I Love not included on any of the CDs, nor the entire re-recorded Appetite for Destruction, or any of the wealth of isolated riffs and melodies we know existed on DATs, nor were any tracks named Ides of March or Down By The Ocean there) or that the CDs that eventually were leaked were the complete amount of material in the locker. Still, the leaks provided fans with a tantalizing glimpse into unreleased music, a lot of which had been unknown for 20 years since the recordings took place only to become public through a surreal accident.




One person rumored to be connected to the leaks was superfan Rick Dunsford. Dunsford himself would explain how the leak had happened and claim that although he had been part of a team that had bought the CDs, he had not been responsible for the leaking into public domain:



Fernando Lebeis of Team Brazil did not believe Dunsford was innocent of the leaks and would mention Dunsford in a Reddit post in late September:



The Mr. Bird that Fernando mentions in the quote above was Robert Bird, the man allegedly selling the locker contents which ended up in Dunsford's hands, which eventually ended up publicly available on the Internet.

In October, Dunsford stated that the band had banned him from attending future Guns N' Roses concerts [Loudwire, October 10, 2019].

In January 2020 it was reported that Dunsford had received a cease and desist letter from Universal Music Group (UMG) which claimed that Dunsford was violating a previous agreement where he had been paid $ 15,000 to hand over the unreleased music [TMZ, January 2, 2020]. According to TMZ, $15,000 was the same amount Dunsford had paid for the music from the locker auction [TMZ, January 2, 2020]. In the cease and desist letter it was claimed that Dunsford had leaked the music after the initial agreement with UMG, thus violation the agreement [TMZ, January 2, 2020]. Dunsford would deny his involvement in the leaks and claim that the seller of the music haf continued selling to other parties who were now leaking the music [Blabbermouth, January 2, 2020].

Around the same time, a "representative of the band" would comment on Zutaut's involvement:



From the quote above it seems like the band thought Zutaut had deliberately auctioned the contents of the locker and that it wasn't the action of the owner of the locker after Zutaut had defaulted on rent payment.

Also in January 2020, Robert Bird would talk about the incident on his podcast The Storage Diaries, but the episode would later be deleted [The Storage Diaries, April, 2020].

In September 2019, Slash would confirm the touring planned for 2019 would end in November but that he anticipated that the band could continue touring in March 2020:



Official announcement of this tour came in October 2019-January 2020 with scattered festival shows in Latin America planned for March and April 2020 [Press Release (Live Nation), October 10, 2019; GunsNRoses.com, December 6, 2019).

In December 2019, a European sommer tour scheduled for May and June was announced [Press Release, December 12, 2019].






In February 2020, the tour was now a global world tour with dates in North America for July and August having been added [Press Release (Live Nation), February 3, 2020]. The tour was branded as the "Guns N' Roses 2020 Tour", indicating that Not In This Lifetime was over. In total, 44 shows in 2020 had by now been announced [Press Release (Live Nation), February 3, 2020].

Of these shows, only the first at Vive Latino Festival in Mexico on March 15 took place, with the rest being cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In September, Slash would confirm they were working on new music:



As for whether it would end up in single releases or a complete album:



Then Fernando Lebeis of Team Brazil dropped a bombshell when he announced that a new album would be out within the next six months:



In late 2019, Richard would express hope that new music would arrive within the year:

On September 21, a warm-up show for the band's 2019 fall tour started with a show at Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA, USA. This was the first show since December 8, 2018. The first proper show of the tour took place at Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC, USA, on September 25 before the band headed to the Louder Than Life Festival, Louisville, KY, USA, for a show on September 28; and Vystar Arena, Jacksonville, FL, USA, October 1.

For this tour, Creative Works London had been hired to create visual graphics for the shows, including the show walk-in opening sequence [CGW, March 18, 2020].






Excerpt of review from Louder Than Life:






The band then continued to their first show ay Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, TX, USA, for a show on October 4; Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, KS, USA , for a show on October 7; then back to Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, TX, USA, for a show on October 11; and then onto Exit 111 Festival, Manchester, TN, USA, for a show on October 13.




Richard would talk about their first show at Austin City Limits and playing at the same time as Tame Impala:



On the show in Wichita, Locomotive was played for the first time since February 20, 1992.



The band would also release videos from the shows in Wichita and Manchester:

On October 15, 2019, the music video to Sweet Child O' Mine reached 1 billion views on YouTube [Press Release (Universal Music), October 15, 2019]. This was the first music video form the 1980s to reach this number [Press Release (Universal Music), October 15, 2019]. This wasn't the first music video to reach the 1 billion mark, November Rain had reached it back in July 2018 [see earlier chapter].

Top Five Music Videos by Decade [1980s and 1990s]

1980s
Guns N’ Roses - "Sweet Child O' Mine" - 1B
A-Ha - "Take On Me" - 943M
Cyndi Lauper - "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" - 786M
The Police - "Every Breath You Take" - 699M
Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean" - 694M

1990s
Guns N’ Roses - "November Rain" - 1.2B
Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - 968M
The Cranberries - "Zombie" - 962M
Whitney Houston - "I Will Always Love You" - 859M
4 Non Blondes - "What's Up" - 765M [Press Release (Universal Music), October 15, 2019].

The 2019 fall tour continued with shows at Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NE, USA, October 15; Estadio Jalisco, Guadajalara, Mexico, October 18; Fronterizo Fest, Tijuana, Mexico, October 20; and then to Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK, USA, on October 23.




Review of show in Lincoln by L. Kent Wolgamott printed in Lincoln Journal-Star on October 15, 2019:



Melissa commenting on the the show in Tijuana:



At the show in Oklahoma City, Dead Horse was played for the first time since 1993.




The final four shows of the fall tour of 2019 took place at Voodoo Festival, New Orleans, LA, USA, October 25; Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT, USA, October 29; and finally two shows at Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV, USA, November 1 and 2.




Footage from the show in Salt Lake City would be posted on the band's YouTube channel:


During the show in Las Vegas on November1, Axl had a fall:



Carrie Underwood also attended this show:






Looking back at the touring: