If Axl had been fired after AFD what would he have done and what would GNR have become?

[alfierose]

So if Niven had his way and Axl was booted after AFD with no rights to the name what would he have done? Also how would GNR have panned out without him? Bearing in mind they only became hugely successful and wealthy during the UYIs period.

I think firstly Axl would have embarked on a lengthy legal battle to stop them using the name, maybe he would have been successful. I wonder if more people would have sided with him under that scenario?

I don't think he would have gone solo or joined an existing band, I think his desire to build from ground up would still have been there.

GNR might have still had a chance at that point of having a new singer accepted but the next major albums would have been nothing like UYIs. I suspect they may have come apart even without Axl due to the many addiction issues.

[kanudo19]

gnr would be forgotten and labeled as a one hit wonder sort of band

[LoadedNightraiN]

gnr would be forgotten and labeled as a one hit wonder sort of band

Thats assuming they fired him after they had any hits...

[iftheworld]

Axl is Guns N' Roses so basically the band would have been named Two Drunks, A Shy Guy, and A Druggy.

[Guest NGOG]

So if Niven had his way and Axl was booted after AFD with no rights to the name what would he have done? Also how would GNR have panned out without him? Bearing in mind they only became hugely successful and wealthy during the UYIs period.

Axl put Guns N' Roses together, without his direction and drive, the band would have quickly dispersed their separate ways. Had the other players opted for such a ridiculous option, I'm sure Axl could have revisited that 50K offer which was previously on the table. Axl would have been successful regardless. Slash maybe. The others, to be honest, no.

[DieselDaisy]

They would have been successful.

[ManetsBR]

Axl is Guns N' Roses so basically the band would have been named Two Drunks, A Shy Guy, and A Druggy.

hahaha truth.

[tr420]

Slash would have gone back to working at Canters,

Steven Adler would have blown some more guys,

Izzy would be doing what he's doin... releasing solo albums few people would ever hear.

Duff woukd be dead.

Axl would be a huge solo artist and probably better off now.

Oh but all this would happen after GnR failed with Jizzy Pearl as their singer for Lies.... Phil Lewis for UYI(there wouldnt be a uyi2) and then Scott Weiland with Chinese Democracy.

[ShadowOfTheWave]

I don't know what Axl would be doing but GNR wouldn't have a fraction of the legacy it has.

[Cosmo]

Axl would have become a cult hero, releasing solo albums from time to time and GnR would either become what VR has become today or what nuGnR has become, either way, Slash and co. would be stained by the media and a reunion would be just as desired as it is today.

[James Bond]

AC/DC became one of the biggest bands in the world with Back in Black, Brian Johnson's debut. Van Halen without Roth was unthinkable but every Hagar album went to number one as they continued to sell out tours. Bruce Dickinson is the voice of Maiden, and he wasn't original either. My point? Though rare, bands have successfully replaced their singer. Guns N' Roses post-Appetite without Axl could have very well flopped. On the other hand, they might have found a worthy enough replacement and continued to have success.

[Guns n' Swedes]

ALL the other guys were junkies and would probably have died. Reading their books make it more and more clear to me why Axl wanted to secure the GNR name in 91.

Imagine having this successful start and then all of them just go off between tours and abuse heroin to the limit to the point that they start seeing creatures crawling around in their house.

In a way I think Axl felt very lonely in old GNR. No wonder he was so angry during the Stones concert.

[WhazUp]

Depends on the singer they get and what their voice and writings are best suited for. We do already know that they will be a tight instrumental unit though

[Apollo]

Funny how you all assume the best for Axl and the worst for the rest of the band. Lots of non-biased opinions here.

Even though Axl hasn't really done much since the old guys left.............while Slash, Duff and Izzy all seem pretty happy with their lives and careers.

None of us have any idea what would have happened.

[Guns n' Swedes]

Funny how you all assume the best for Axl and the worst for the rest of the band. Lots of non-biased opinions here.

Even though Axl hasn't really done much since the old guys left.............while Slash, Duff and Izzy all seem pretty happy with their lives and careers.

None of us have any idea what would have happened.

Yeah, the other guys have really been ground breaking in their music. I can't name a single song except for a couple VR songs...

[iftheworld]

Funny how you all assume the best for Axl and the worst for the rest of the band. Lots of non-biased opinions here.

Even though Axl hasn't really done much since the old guys left.............while Slash, Duff and Izzy all seem pretty happy with their lives and careers.

None of us have any idea what would have happened.

Yes we do. Axl was clearly focused on music. He would have suceeded regardless. Slash enjoys his career now thanks to Axl caring about the music.

[wasted]

I think they could have done albums with a new singer. I think the persona and performance of Axl is irreplaceable. But you do wonder if GNR right after AFD had put out an album with a new singer the wider public may have not cared about the singer. It's dark and crazy to think about it, maybe it's like Faith No More with Chuck Mosely and Mike Patton. But then the Patton came in and took over the band. But yeah you could have a situation like Slash saying "Yeah we had this really crazy singer but we fired him and he OD'd later or something. Now we have a great singer who isn't so much stress." I think bad things happened to Chuck too.

I really don't think it would happen based on Izzy's friendship with Axl. Izzy just didnt seem up for the big rock star thing anyway. I can't really see him touring with AC/DC either.

Funny how you all assume the best for Axl and the worst for the rest of the band. Lots of non-biased opinions here.

Even though Axl hasn't really done much since the old guys left.............while Slash, Duff and Izzy all seem pretty happy with their lives and careers.

None of us have any idea what would have happened.

Yes we do. Axl was clearly focused on music. He would have suceeded regardless. Slash enjoys his career now thanks to Axl caring about the music.

There's definitely songs like SCOM and Nov Rain that Slash wouldn't have done without Axl. Izzy can write lyrics but doesn't seem to write those kind of love songs. Axl could have taken Nov Rain and Estranged and gone solo. I'm not convinced Dust N Bones or Perfect Crime would be like hit singles. The future was Axl's, his whole style of songwriting has a much wider appeal. Queen and Elton, there aren't more mainstream influences in rock.

Edited March 21, 2013 by wasted

[Sigh]

So if Niven had his way and Axl was booted after AFD with no rights to the name what would he have done? Also how would GNR have panned out without him? Bearing in mind they only became hugely successful and wealthy during the UYIs period.

I think firstly Axl would have embarked on a lengthy legal battle to stop them using the name, maybe he would have been successful. I wonder if more people would have sided with him under that scenario?

I don't think he would have gone solo or joined an existing band, I think his desire to build from ground up would still have been there.

GNR might have still had a chance at that point of having a new singer accepted but the next major albums would have been nothing like UYIs. I suspect they may have come apart even without Axl due to the many addiction issues.

My opinion is that the original band, including Rose, was phenomenal, and removing any one component of that band would detract from the original collective.

But, if they had fired Rose in 1988 instead of catering to him (the beginning of the end, if you think about it), my opinion is that the original players (Izzy, Slash, Duff, Steven) were more than talented enough to have tremendous success. I suspect they would have found a new singer who would have added his own voice to Guns N Roses, and with the songwriting capabilities of the original players, I suspect they would have continued having a successful career for as long as they wished. They may still be playing together as a group.

We know full well what would have happened with Rose as a solo artist. We are living it and have been living it for the better part of two decades.

I suspect that had they fired Rose, litigation over the name would have ensued, and the original players would have agreed to retire the name and carry on with a new name, Rose would have been adamant that the name was his, and a judge would have sided with the original players and allowed the name to be retired. Absent some contract to the contrary, just because Rose said the words "Guns N Roses" first doesn't mean that he would have ownership of the band name.

[alfierose]

I guess we might have ended up with a version of Velvet Revolver a decade earlier.

[useyorappetite]

I don't know. On one had this guys had the music they just needed to find a voice. And as much as i like axl his voice on UYI is not something that you instantly like. It's unique but it's not for everyone i see the sounds like a strangled cat comment and people who think Myles is better a lot more than i would've liked. And personality wise to most people he's just an asshole.(kind of hard to argue when you see the domestic abuse case.)

on another hand axl had the voice, presence and lyrics that set them apart from other bands the whole the most dangerous band is mostly cause of axl IMO. and you can't have a hit debut album when the singer is no longer in the band and he's a good one. So i don't think that was an option anymore after AFD became a hit. It shows that the others didn't have much faith in it. Based on his interviews i think axl was a big part of that faith and motivation too.

Still i think they could have done it witch makes me wonder what has been stopping the four of them to get together and do it all this years. I think it shows that axl wasn't the only problem.

As for axl maybe it would motivate him to release some great music. But we probably just won't hear from the guy anymore. He wasn't in a very good mental condition and getting fired without the security of money and housekeepers probably would have ended badly for him.

Edited March 22, 2013 by useyorappetite

[Use Your Delusion 1]

could have been like Iron Maiden......

[axlrosefan1]

I think it would have just been Velvet Revolver + a new singer. The very first incarnation of VR(unofficially) was essentially GN'R minus Axl. Izzy left when they started auditioning singers. Maybe Contraband fused with AFD. What the hell do I know? It's a tough question to answer.