Guns N’ Roses keep reunion going for another round

Guns N’ Roses. Image: AFP/Miguel Rojo Rojo

More than a year after a long-mulled reunion finally materialized, rock greats Guns N’ Roses on Thursday extended their tour in North America again.

The group, which starts a European leg in Ireland on Saturday after hitting the Americas and Asia, announced an additional 15 shows to already scheduled dates in the United States and Canada this year.

The new concerts include two nights at Madison Square Garden in New York and will close with shows on November 24 and 25 in Los Angeles, the band’s home base.

Guns N’ Roses, led by Axl Rose’s raw, sweeping voice coupled with Slash’s intricate guitar, still hold the record for the top-selling debut album in U.S. history, 1987’s “Appetite for Destruction”.

But the band also became notorious for off-stage drama, often turning up on stage hours late, and Rose and Slash parted ways in 1993 after closing a tour in Buenos Aires.

The long-distant pair reunited in April 2016 before headlining the Coachella festival in California.

However, the classic lineup still lacks rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, who co-wrote many Guns N Roses’ hits but complained about the payment offered to join the reunion.

Guns N’ Roses grossed more than $188 million worldwide by touring last year, trailing only Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce and Coldplay, according to the industry publication Pollstar.

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