GUNS N' ROSES

American band that invigorated late 1980s heavy metal music with its raw energy. The principal members were Axl Rose (original name William Bailey; b. Feb. 6, 1962, Lafayette, Ind., U.S.), Slash (original name Saul Hudson; b. July 23, 1965, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Eng.), Duff McKagan (original name Michael McKagan; b. Feb. 5, 1964, Seattle, Wash., U.S.), Izzy Stradlin (original name Jeff Isbell; b. April 8, 1962, Lafayette), Steve Adler (b. Jan. 22, 1965, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.), Matt Sorum (b. Nov. 19, 1960, Long Beach, Calif., U.S.), Dizzy Reed (original name Darren Reed; b. June 18, 1963, Hinsdale, Ill., U.S.), and Gilby Clarke (b. Aug. 17, 1962, Cleveland). Guns N' Roses was formed in Los Angeles in 1985 by Rose and Stradlin. After changes in personnel, the band's lineup stabilized with Rose as the vocalist, McKagan on bass, Adler on drums, and Slash and Stradlin on guitar. Signing with Geffen Records, they released the extended-play recording Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide in 1986, followed by the landmark album Appetite for Destruction in 1987. The music's sizzling fury, with Rose's wildcat howls matched by Slash's guitar pyrotechnics, made the album a smash hit, with sales of more than 17 million. After that high point the band was dogged by a changing lineup, violence at their concerts, substance abuse, and allegations of racism and homophobia stemming from the lyrics to their song One in a Million. The band's two 1991 albums, Use Your Illusion I and II, sold well but were generally regarded as less compelling than their previous work. The 1993 album The Spaghetti Incident? generated further controversy by including a song written by mass murderer Charles Manson. Despite the departures of Adler, Stradlin, and Slash and the absence of new product, Rose carried on with the band into the late 1990s. Gillian G. Gaar