Memories of 1989-1991

[Ric Nightingale]

Here in the UK Guns N' Roses didn't really make an impact until 1989 (Two years after AFD came out). My other favourite band at the time were Bon Jovi, okay give me a break I was only Twelve years old at the time. Guns N' Roses have endured far better, and as a 38 year old man, they still remain my favourite band of all time. Fast forward two years to 1991 and I'm Fourteen and still eager to hear the Use Your IIlusion albums. At the time this seemed like a lifetime of change and growing up for me. I'm just curious if anyone else was this age at the time and if they rode the tides of change (both in themselves and GNR's new direction) too. I'll be honest I didn't realise they had a new drummer until The Chart Show on Channel Four showed a video back in the day. Remember The Chart Show? It was like Youtube, but you had no choice. Still adverts though!

[alfierose]

I'm a year older than you and live in the North. In 91/92 everyone seemed to head more into the Grunge or Manchester scene depending on your musical tastes. We still had a small hardcore leather/bandana wearing group within the school though. I do remember The Chart Show, although I didn't watch a lot of TV because my parents wouldn't get SKY or let me have a TV in my room. Taping from the radio was still the thing!

[Ric Nightingale]

The whole grunge scene in the UK was minor though. In Manchester there was still the hangover from the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. Nevermind By Nirvana did seem to grip the indie kids for some reason though. I think NME and Melody Maker championed them, but always ignored GNR.

[SoundOfAGun]

I am 35 and got into GNR when I was 12, so '92, during the Illusion tour. I remember all my money went on magazines and every two weeks I would be at the newsagent checking Kerrang magazine for any news on the band. By the end of the year I had all four albums on cassette (!) and it was pretty much all I listened to. I watched the Paris show hundreds of times with my friends and the music on those for albums still remains my most listened to music to this day. Back then whilst they were all still together any mention of them ever was exciting. Great times! The only bad bit was my mum wouldn't let me go and see them in 1993 at Milton Keynes as she thought everyone at the gig would be on heroin.

[wasted]

Those 5 years of Kerrang rumors felt like an eternity.

[bigcountry]

I'm 41 I got into GNR the very first time I seen the WTTJ video. Went to the Record store that weekend and bought AFD on cassette. It was the most bad ass album I had heard and still today that holds true.

In late 87 or early 88 I got to see them open for Alice Cooper I was on the barrier on the right side of the stage and Axl and Izzy walked out and I got both of there autographs on my ticket, side note ticket was destroyed in house fire that I left the grease on the stove and left,forgetting about the grease on the stove and my house was in flames when I got back there.

I seen them a total of 3 times on the AFD tour, twice on UYI, I would have seen them 2 more times but got Mono and was to weak and once CD tour.

[cc4rhu]

I taped a copy of AFD from a copy (Jungle was badly worn) and then bought UYI 1 and 2 on cassette. I remember a mate who bought UYI the day they came out and said they were shit. I was gutted but l loved them when I heard them. Remember trying to hunt down the mythical Live Like a suicide! My mate bought a CD which was actually Lies with the sleeve in the wrong way around - he took it back. We didn't know Lies was Suicide with more tracks. Remember buyng Keraang a lot. Remember the Axl apology for the shit GN'R flan club and the promise it'd be better, Slash claiming he was the front man to GN'R and not Axl, Parfitt from Quo saying Axl was a shit singer....remember a magazine called Guns N' Iron - got loads of posters from there. Then the Gateshead concert which I loved. Remembered the cancellation of a few shows where the cities began with M and everyone said Axl was cursed by them. Also rumours that Gateshead would be cancelled because Axl had been arrested and was in front of a judge nicknamed 'hang him' as he was so brutal. All BS of course. Wore down all copies of my cassettes including LALD and KOHD. Then CDs became big, videos and the rest is history

Edited October 6, 2015 by cc4rhu

[Mr. Dude]

I taped a copy of AFD from a copy (Jungle was badly worn) and then bought UYI 1 and 2 on cassette. I remember a mate who bought UYI the day they came out and said they were shit. I was gutted but l loved them when I heard them. Remember trying to hunt down the mythical Live Like a suicide! My mate bought a CD which was actually Lies with the sleeve in the wrong way around - he took it back. We didn't know Lies was Suicide with more tracks. Remember buyng Keraang a lot. Remember the Axl apology for the shit GN'R flan club and the promise it'd be better, Slash claiming he was the front man to GN'R and not Axl, Parfitt from Quo saying Axl was a shit singer....remember a magazine called Guns N' Iron - got loads of posters from there. Then the Gateshead concert which I loved. Remembered the cancellation of a few shows where the cities began with M and everyone said Axl was cursed by them. Also rumours that Gateshead would be cancelled because Axl had been arrested and was in front of a judge nicknamed 'hang him' as he was so brutal. All BS of course. Wore down all copies of my cassettes including LALD and KOHD. Then CDs became big, videos and the rest is history

source?

[cc4rhu]

I taped a copy of AFD from a copy (Jungle was badly worn) and then bought UYI 1 and 2 on cassette. I remember a mate who bought UYI the day they came out and said they were shit. I was gutted but l loved them when I heard them. Remember trying to hunt down the mythical Live Like a suicide! My mate bought a CD which was actually Lies with the sleeve in the wrong way around - he took it back. We didn't know Lies was Suicide with more tracks. Remember buyng Keraang a lot. Remember the Axl apology for the shit GN'R flan club and the promise it'd be better, Slash claiming he was the front man to GN'R and not Axl, Parfitt from Quo saying Axl was a shit singer....remember a magazine called Guns N' Iron - got loads of posters from there. Then the Gateshead concert which I loved. Remembered the cancellation of a few shows where the cities began with M and everyone said Axl was cursed by them. Also rumours that Gateshead would be cancelled because Axl had been arrested and was in front of a judge nicknamed 'hang him' as he was so brutal. All BS of course. Wore down all copies of my cassettes including LALD and KOHD. Then CDs became big, videos and the rest is history

source?

Primary

[trqster]

As a 40 yr old myself I feel so privileged to have witnessed the rise to fame of bands like Gn'R. Oddly enough Gn'R AFD wasn't a huge success on my home country, neither was Lies, but when the UYI albums come out that's when the shit hit the fan! I remember being so excited to buy the UYI CD's at my local record store I'd almost literally piss my pants.

[axlinkafayette]

I'll never forget seeing the movie THE DEAD POOL and immediately being blown away by the song Jim Carey lip synched to. Of course, that was Welcome to the Jungle!

Then I bought both UYI on CD the morning they came out on my way to HS

[KinseyHolley]

I'm 51 (a year younger than Izzy.) Been a fan since 87 but --and this is the God's honest truth - never liked Axl's voice, even in the beginning. The songs and music were amazing, unlike anything I'd heard before (and I was even a fan of the New Romantics and all the 80s synth stuff) -- but I always wished they had a different singer. Lots of my friends thought Axl was the hottest thing - I thought Izzy was, right from the get go. They didn't understand my Izzy lust, just as I couldn't fathom their Axl lust.

I wasn't a teenager, obviously, so my parents didn't know or care about GnR, but I clearly recall how many parents thought they were just the worst, most dangerous, most corrupting influence on young minds EVER and I was like - please. Didn't you people listen to Zepplin? The Stones? WTF? (Note: What The Fuck was not A Thing in 1987. I can recall my awful 80s hair styles, but not my everyday lingo.)

I still have a GnR booklet thing - like, a cross between a book and a magazine, that basically reprints magazine articles about a band - they used to do them for all the current bands, don't know if they still do -- and now my daughter likes to read it. 13YO girls into classic rock makes me giggle. GnR being defined as classic rock just makes me feel old.

I didn't care when Izzy left the band because I was Izzy first, Guns second. I was rather bummed when Juju Hounds went away after that first, spectacular album. I had it on vinyl, then on CD, now it's digital.

I did know that Izzy's departure was basically the end of GnR.

In 1992, I honestly expected Duff, Slash and Steven to be dead within a few years. And in 2015, I'm still more surprised at Duff and Slash's sobriety and output than I am at poor Steven's state.

[SoulMonster]

39 here from Norway. Got into GN'R when a girl I was in love with talked about them at school, in 1988 - I believe. Got all my news from Kerrang and other magazines. They were expensive in Norway. Remmeber the exhausting feeling of waiting for UYIs and soaking up all the news about new songs form magazines. Amazing time. Steven leaving wasn't that big of a deal - GN'R was about Axl voice and the amazing guitars. After UYI when Izzy left I started to lose interest, both because the band was slowly disintegrating and because I felt the UYIs was so disjointed and I really couldn't stand the bloated shows with backup singers and keyboard players. I liked the rawness of the shows from before UYIs. I remmeber buying bootlegs of the eraly shows and jusg beign amazing by how raw it all was, raw and pure. Then it became something else and I jumped on the grunge trend.

Edited October 10, 2015 by SoulMonster

[Rustycage]

I extrapolate that 39 is actually 64 and 1 girl means you were dating a female volleyball team.

[GNRfan2008]

I'm 51 (a year younger than Izzy.) Been a fan since 87 but --and this is the God's honest truth - never liked Axl's voice, even in the beginning. The songs and music were amazing, unlike anything I'd heard before (and I was even a fan of the New Romantics and all the 80s synth stuff) -- but I always wished they had a different singer. Lots of my friends thought Axl was the hottest thing - I thought Izzy was, right from the get go. They didn't understand my Izzy lust, just as I couldn't fathom their Axl lust.

I wasn't a teenager, obviously, so my parents didn't know or care about GnR, but I clearly recall how many parents thought they were just the worst, most dangerous, most corrupting influence on young minds EVER and I was like - please. Didn't you people listen to Zepplin? The Stones? WTF? (Note: What The Fuck was not A Thing in 1987. I can recall my awful 80s hair styles, but not my everyday lingo.)

I still have a GnR booklet thing - like, a cross between a book and a magazine, that basically reprints magazine articles about a band - they used to do them for all the current bands, don't know if they still do -- and now my daughter likes to read it. 13YO girls into classic rock makes me giggle. GnR being defined as classic rock just makes me feel old.

I didn't care when Izzy left the band because I was Izzy first, Guns second. I was rather bummed when Juju Hounds went away after that first, spectacular album. I had it on vinyl, then on CD, now it's digital.

I did know that Izzy's departure was basically the end of GnR.

In 1992, I honestly expected Duff, Slash and Steven to be dead within a few years. And in 2015, I'm still more surprised at Duff and Slash's sobriety and output than I am at poor Steven's state.

Axl's voice is perfect for the sound the other 4 guys created. I am not sure who you would prefer singing on those tracks.

[KinseyHolley]

I'm 51 (a year younger than Izzy.) Been a fan since 87 but --and this is the God's honest truth - never liked Axl's voice, even in the beginning. The songs and music were amazing, unlike anything I'd heard before (and I was even a fan of the New Romantics and all the 80s synth stuff) -- but I always wished they had a different singer. Lots of my friends thought Axl was the hottest thing - I thought Izzy was, right from the get go. They didn't understand my Izzy lust, just as I couldn't fathom their Axl lust.

I wasn't a teenager, obviously, so my parents didn't know or care about GnR, but I clearly recall how many parents thought they were just the worst, most dangerous, most corrupting influence on young minds EVER and I was like - please. Didn't you people listen to Zepplin? The Stones? WTF? (Note: What The Fuck was not A Thing in 1987. I can recall my awful 80s hair styles, but not my everyday lingo.)

I still have a GnR booklet thing - like, a cross between a book and a magazine, that basically reprints magazine articles about a band - they used to do them for all the current bands, don't know if they still do -- and now my daughter likes to read it. 13YO girls into classic rock makes me giggle. GnR being defined as classic rock just makes me feel old.

I didn't care when Izzy left the band because I was Izzy first, Guns second. I was rather bummed when Juju Hounds went away after that first, spectacular album. I had it on vinyl, then on CD, now it's digital.

I did know that Izzy's departure was basically the end of GnR.

In 1992, I honestly expected Duff, Slash and Steven to be dead within a few years. And in 2015, I'm still more surprised at Duff and Slash's sobriety and output than I am at poor Steven's state.

I'm 51 (a year younger than Izzy.) Been a fan since 87 but --and this is the God's honest truth - never liked Axl's voice, even in the beginning. The songs and music were amazing, unlike anything I'd heard before (and I was even a fan of the New Romantics and all the 80s synth stuff) -- but I always wished they had a different singer. Lots of my friends thought Axl was the hottest thing - I thought Izzy was, right from the get go. They didn't understand my Izzy lust, just as I couldn't fathom their Axl lust.

I wasn't a teenager, obviously, so my parents didn't know or care about GnR, but I clearly recall how many parents thought they were just the worst, most dangerous, most corrupting influence on young minds EVER and I was like - please. Didn't you people listen to Zepplin? The Stones? WTF? (Note: What The Fuck was not A Thing in 1987. I can recall my awful 80s hair styles, but not my everyday lingo.)

I still have a GnR booklet thing - like, a cross between a book and a magazine, that basically reprints magazine articles about a band - they used to do them for all the current bands, don't know if they still do -- and now my daughter likes to read it. 13YO girls into classic rock makes me giggle. GnR being defined as classic rock just makes me feel old.

I didn't care when Izzy left the band because I was Izzy first, Guns second. I was rather bummed when Juju Hounds went away after that first, spectacular album. I had it on vinyl, then on CD, now it's digital.

I did know that Izzy's departure was basically the end of GnR.

, n 1992, I honestly expected Duff, Slash and Steven to be dead within a few years. And in 2015, I'm still more surprised at Duff and Slash's sobriety and output than I am at poor Steven's state.

Axl's voice is perfect for the sound the other 4 guys created. I am not sure who you would prefer singing on those tracks.

I'm not sure either, but why should I have to designate an alternative? I just think his voice is completely overrated, even when he was young. And it might not even be his voice that bugs me, but his vocal stylings. He just can't shut the fuck up. Dont you cry eeaayyye aaayyyyaa aaayyyaaa yyyaaaaa.....Knocking on heaven's door, aye, aye, aye aye aye.....the gasping and sighing and grunting and refusing to let a song end with music, instead of his grunts/sighs/vocal fry.

-His voice was amazing, circa 85-92. Maybe even til 200 or so. But he couldn't fucking leave a song alone. Never could.

My kid's gonna make me take her to see Slash in May 2016. That's gonna be so weird.