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Timeline : Guns N' Roses

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November 19, 1960

Matt Sorum (drummer for Guns N' Roses) is born in Orange County, California.

February 6, 1962

Axl Rose, born William Bruce Rose, Jr., is born in Lafayette, Indiana (his stage name is an anagram for "Oral Sex"). Rose forms the band Guns N' Roses.

April 8, 1962

Guitarist Izzy Stradlin, a founding member of Guns N' Roses, is born Jeffrey Dean Isbell in Lafayette, Indiana.

June 18, 1963

Darren "Dizzy" Reed (keyboardist of Guns N' Roses) is born in Hinsdale, Illinois.

February 5, 1964

Bass player Duff McKagan is born Michael Andrew McKagan in Seattle, Washington. With the Seattle drug scene causing problems, he heads to Los Angeles, where he forms Guns N' Roses.

July 23, 1965

Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash is born Saul Hudson in Hampstead, London, England. He moves to Los Angeles in 1976.

March 25, 1986

Guns N' Roses sign with Geffen Records, which in addition to making sure the band records an album, has to keep them alive and out of jail, which is no easy task. It pays off when Appetite For Destruction goes on to sell over 18 million copies just in America.

July 21, 1987

Guns N' Roses release their first album, Appetite For Destruction. It's a landmark debut, featuring the hits "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Sweet Child O' Mine."More

August 14, 1987

Guns N' Roses kick off their first North American tour at a show in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They're the opening act for The Cult.

August 1, 1987

Guns N' Roses head to Park Plaza and 450 South La Brea in Hollywood and shoot their first video, for "Welcome To The Jungle."

August 20, 1988

At the Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington, England, two fans are killed during a set by Guns N' Roses, whose frontman Axl Rose had implored the crowd, "Don't f--kin' kill each other." With the ground wet and a record crowd of 107,000 at the festival, the surge of bodies during the set causes the two fans to be trampled or crushed to death.More

August 6, 1988

More than a year after it was released, Guns N' Roses' debut album, Appetite For Destruction, goes to #1 in America.

September 10, 1988

Guns N' Roses, on tour as the opening act for Aerosmith, hit #1 in America for the first of two weeks with "Sweet Child O' Mine."

November 17, 1988

Guns N' Roses get the cover of Rolling Stone with the headline, "Hard-Rock Heroes." The magazine compiled the story that summer when the band was on tour as the opening act for Aerosmith. Aerosmith assumed they were getting the cover, but by the end of the tour, their opening act had become much more popular.More

August 27, 1989

Izzy Stradlin of Guns N' Roses is arrested at the Phoenix airport after urinating on the floor of the plane, apparently upset at having to wait to use the bathroom. His publicist explains that it was Izzy's "way of expressing himself."

September 6, 1989

Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil punches Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin in the face during the MTV Video Music Awards.More

October 18, 1989

During a gig opening for The Rolling Stones in Los Angeles, Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses announces on stage: "Unless certain people in this band get their s--t together, these will be the last Guns N' Roses shows you'll f--king ever see. Cause I'm tired of too many people in this organization dancing with Mr. Brownstone." It's an early indicator of the fissures that will arise between the capricious Rose and his drug-addicted bandmates.

April 28, 1990

Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses marries Erin Everly (daughter of Don Everly of The Everly Brothers) at Cupid's Inn Chapel in Las Vegas. The rocky union lasts just nine months.

April 7, 1990

Farm Aid IV takes place at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two very memorable events take place: 1) Guns N' Roses play their last show with drummer Steven Adler, whose drug addiction is taking a toll on his playing. He is booted from the band before their next performance. 2) Elton John arrives after holding vigil for Ryan White, an 18-year-old who is one of the first high-profile AIDS victims (he contracted the disease from a blood transfusion). Elton dedicates his performance of "Candle In The Wind" to White, who dies the next day.

July 2, 1991

At a Guns N' Roses show in St. Louis, Axl Rose grows irate when he sees someone in the crowd taking pictures, and he leaves the stage, announcing, "Thanks to the lame-ass security, I'm going home." A riot follows, and the band's equipment is destroyed.More

September 17, 1991

Instead of releasing a double album, which they decide would be too expensive for fans, Guns N' Roses issue both Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II on the same day.

October 5, 1991

Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion II debuts at #1, followed by Use Your Illusion I on Billboard's albums chart.

December 5, 1991

In Worcester, Massachusetts, Soundgarden begin opening a string of arena shows in North America for Guns N' Roses, who are supporting their Use Your Illusion albums. The tour also includes a three-night stand at Madison Square Garden, the only time Soundgarden play the venue.

April 20, 1992

The remaining members of Queen hold the "Concert For Life" at Wembley Stadium in London, raising money for AIDS awareness in honor of their fallen frontman Freddie Mercury. David Bowie, Elton John, Guns N' Roses and George Michael all perform.

July 12, 1992

After a European tour, Axl Rose is arrested at JFK airport in New York, charged with inciting a riot at a Guns N' Roses show in St. Louis the previous year. He gets two years' probation and a $50,000 fine.

August 8, 1992

Opening for Guns N' Roses at a show in Montreal, James Hetfield of Metallica is injured by the pyrotechnics, which burn the entire left side of his body. Metallica can't continue, and Guns N' Roses cut their set short after just 15 minutes when Axl Rose leaves the stage, upset over monitor problems. A near riot ensues at Olympic Stadium as fans are not pleased.

October 10, 1992

Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash gets married for the first time, tying the knot with actress Renee Suran in Marina Del Rey, California. They divorce in 1997; Slash gets married again in 2001.

July 17, 1993

After two-and-a-half years, the Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion tour comes to an end at a show in Buenos Aires. It is the last time Axl and Slash share a stage until the 2016 GnR reconciliation.

August 23, 1993

Testifying in court against his former Guns N' Roses bandmate Steve Adler, Duff McKagan is asked about "the spaghetti incident," referring to a time when Adler may or not have eaten McKagan's leftover pasta. The band finds this hilarious and names their next album The Spaghetti Incident.

September 24, 1993

Guns N' Roses founding member Steven Adler agrees to a $2.5 million settlement in a lawsuit brought against the band and their managers. Adler signed away his interest in the band when he left in 1990 but claimed he was seriously impaired at the time and was taken advantage of.

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