I have a hit parader magazine from 1996 where it said “rumors continue that the legendary Guns N’ Roses are super close to handing in the tapes for a new album. Slash said good music is good music whether it’s recorded in 1987 or 1997 shouldn’t make a difference”. Then just a few months later, the headline in hit parader was that Slash split, and left GNR. So I think people still wanted them around, they were just absent. Also for what’s its worth, I know at my high school in the yearbook, GNR were still ranked most popular band until 96’ even in 97, they were 3rd, behind Aerosmith and Ozzy. I wasn’t in high school at the time, but both of my siblings were, and I saw it in their books. Also, in 2018, the school my nephew went to had GNR listed as the favorite rock band. That surprised me, but was cool to see