Too much dancing with Mr. Brownstone. Too much drinking. Too much everything. Drugs nearly tore Guns N' Roses apart in the 80s, never mind the 90s. The band nearly broke up on stage at one point. That was 1989, opening for the Stones in L.A. Prior to Mr. Brownstone, Axl made the following statement:
I hate to do this on stage. But I tried every other f*cking way. And unless certain people in this band get their sh*t together, these will be the last Guns N' Roses shows you'll f*cking ever see. Cause I'm tired of too many people in this organization dancing with Mr. Goddamn Brownstone.
Slash, Izzy, and Steven in particular promised to get clean. They didn't. Thus drugs were the reason drummer Steven Adler was dismissed from the band. His drum work was so shaky at the initial Use Your Illusion sessions that it was barely usable. Still, drugs were ever-present for other members as well. Adler's firing seemed almost hypocritical in retrospect, but the reality is that he nearly kill himself with his habits. He wasn't alone. By 1993, only Axl Rose seemed to have managed to stay clean. According to Duff McKagan's autobiography, when his pancreas infamously exploded from alcohol abuse and landed him in hospital (at that point, doctors told him to either quit drinking or wind up dead), Rose was the only one to visit him, and was supportive in his efforts to get clean. The rest of the band? Well, they all struggled with their addictions individually, it seemed.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
