10 Things You Should Know About The Guns N' Roses Reunion

9. It Was Likely Duff McKagan Who Mended The Fences

Duff McKagan joined GNR in '85, replacing original bassist Ole Beich, who quit after playing just a single show. Duff would then serve as bassist for the band, right up until the bitter end of the classic era line-up, leaving in 1997. He would later state in his autobiography,

"Guns had been paying rent on studios for three years now - from 1994 to 1997 - and still did not have a single song. The whole operation was so erratic that it didn't seem to fit with my hopes for parenthood, for stability."

Yet, while McKagan had left Guns and did clash with singer Axl Rose from time to time in the years that followed, the split between the two never seemed to be as deep as the one with Slash. So, in 2010, it was no surprise to see him appear on stage with his old band, playing a couple of songs at London's O2 Arena after bumping into Axl in a hotel. That led to further appearances with Guns N' Roses: in 2011, his band Loaded opened a pair of shows for GnR, while in 2014, he played five full shows with the band in place of Tommy Stinson, who was unavailable. This seemed to open a door: while founding rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin had done numerous guest appearances with GN'R over the years, he was always seen as a neutral player just off doing his own thing away from the limelight. Duff, however, was seen as still closely tied to Slash, due to their time together in Velvet Revolver. Always the most level-headed, you can bet it was McKagan's return to the fold that really changed things.