During his recent appearance on the Life In The Stocks podcast, Duff McKagan opened up about Axl Rose’s stint with AC/DC in 2016, highlighting the nervousness and excitement the Guns N’ Roses frontman felt about the opportunity.
The bassist reflected on a transformative period for Guns N’ Roses, noting Rose’s journey from overcoming a broken foot at the start of their 2016 stadium tour to becoming a standout performer at Coachella. McKagan praised Rose’s mastery in singing, particularly while seated, an adaptation made necessary by his injury and facilitated by Dave Grohl’s loan of his throne-like chair.
Axl’s Audition For His Favorite Band
Despite having a successful career with Guns N’ Roses, Axl had never branched out to play with other bands, making his audition for AC/DC, his favorite band, a nerve-wracking experience, as Duff explained:
“Me and [Guns N’ Roses guitarist] Slash have gone off and played with all kinds of people over the years — you name it, we’ve done it, almost. [Axl’s] never done it… And that AC/DC thing really was his favorite band. He went and tried out [for the touring singer position in AC/DC]. ‘I’m gonna try out.’ I’m, like, ‘You’re not gonna need to try out. I wouldn’t worry about it.’ [And he said] ‘Wow. I’m so nervous.’ It was really great. We knew — me and Slash — ‘You’re gonna get the gig.'”
Surprising Support In London
He went on to reveal the effort to surprise and support Rose during his first show with AC/DC in London:
“And it was so good for. And he still had the cast on [when he played the first show with AC/DC]. I think he had to play the first couple [of shows] in the chair. And then he got his walking boot. But then Slash and I came to surprise him [at AC/DC’s concert in London]. We came in through — you can come into Heathrow [airport without being seen]. You’ve gotta pay some money.”
AC/DC’s Influence On Axl Rose
McKagan observed that working with AC/DC showed Rose the importance of punctuality and professionalism, as he disclosed:
“But we came around to the side thing, so we weren’t in the airport, just so nobody knew we were here, to really surprise him and support him in this thing. Because we knew he hadn’t been able to do this thing, play with other people. So I think it did really help. I think he saw how that [AC/DC] organization was run, too, like, ‘Yeah, we can go on on time,’ and all that stuff, because ‘They’ll go on — if I’m ready or not, they’re gonna go on.'”
AC/DC’s decision to bring in Rose followed Brian Johnson’s hearing loss, which forced the band to postpone part of their Rock Or Bust tour. Rose, along with Stevie Young, Chris Slade, Angus Young, and Cliff Williams, helped complete the tour, stepping in as a guest vocalist.
Listen to the rest of Duff’s chat below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qe7INu6Omw
