Guns n Roses In The Beginning

Early History Of The Band

Guns N' Roses was founded in Los Angeles in March 1985 by Axl Rose and guitarist Tracii Guns, as an informal merger of Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns, both of which Axl Rose had been a member, and the second of which Tracii Guns had been a member. The original Guns N' Roses lineup included other members from both bands: From Hollywood Rose, Rose's longtime friend rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, and from L.A. Guns, Guns's former bandmates bassist Ole Beich (later replaced by bassist Duff McKagan) and drummer Rob Gardner. The band's unique style integrated rock, hard rock, blues, punk and other genres of music into the popular heavy metal music of the time.

When Tracii Guns and Rob Gardner could not appear at one of the first Guns N' Roses shows in Seattle, Rose recruited guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler for the performance. In early 1986, the pair joined full-time, with the lineup being as follows: Axl Rose (lead vocals), Slash (lead guitar), Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar), Duff McKagan (bass guitar) and Steven Adler (drums). On the way back to Los Angeles, they wrote the lyrics for "Welcome to the Jungle", which became one of their signature songs.

Tom Zutaut, a Geffen Records A&R executive, witnessed a Guns N' Roses show at the Troubadour, then falsely warned other scouts that "they suck" so he could have more time and leeway to sign them. Axl Rose demanded and received a $75,000 advance from Zutaut before revealing that he promised an A&R from Chrysalis that the band would sign with her if she walked naked down Sunset Boulevard. For three days, Zutaut nervously watched from his Sunset office window for a naked A&R executive before he could close the deal.Alan Niven was subsequently hired as the band's manager, and the team then set out to record the band's full-length debut album.