Recommendations of the Editorial team
An archive text from 2023.
Guns ‘N Roses singer Axl Rose opened up about his sadness over the death of Lisa Marie Presley. “I’m going to miss my friend Lisa,” he said. “Her passing, like that of her son, does not seem real. Lisa loved her family, all of her children. My heart goes out to her.”
The singer also told People magazine that he comforted the singer after the death of her son Benjamin Keough. “It was shocking, tragic and devastating,” Rose recalled. At the time, he tried to distract and cheer up Presley by sending her news articles, jokes and “lots of animal videos.” The singer wanted Presley to be happy. “I wanted her to be well, at least as well as possible under the circumstances,” he recalled.
Rose also shared a picture on his Twitter account in Presley’s honor. Presley died of heart failure on January 12th. Her son took his own life in July 2020. He suffered from severe depression.
Guns N’ Roses: On the way to a sellout?
“Rock legends”, “absolute highlight”, “simply sensational”. Guns N’Roses’ recently confirmed headliner appearance at the Wacken festival is being celebrated with great euphoria.
“A dream” declared organizer Holger Hübner in the in-house information post “The Bullhead”. They are proud to be able to “set an absolute highlight with Guns N’ Roses. For us, it’s an opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime.”
Finally a bold name at the top of the poster of the legendary and long sold out Hard & Heavy meeting in the Far North.
So everything’s great?
At least from the perspective of the international live business, questions remain. The US colleagues from Linkin Park, who believe they are on a new high with their current album “From Zero”, have turned down festival appearances at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park 2025. Despite lavish fees, the newly formed band can apparently earn more money with their self-organized stadium concerts.
Solo is the new New York!
To put it controversially: the “big ones” no longer need it. You don’t have to submit to any festival calculations. Solo is the new New York. The mega multi-million ladies Adele and Taylor Swift have demonstrated it.
Thomas Jensen, one of the Wacken founders, commented on fee poker at stern.de some time ago. At that time, the reunited Guns N’ Roses are said to have collected more than five million euros for a festival appearance in Great Britain. “Such a development is dangerous. But the festival shouldn’t have had to pay such a sum,” said Jensen in the summer of 2018. “In the end, it’s a matter of supply and demand. We also negotiate with such bands. But we are not prepared to adapt the character of the festival to the wishes of a band.”
Really fucked up would be nice too!
Six years later, “supply and demand” has apparently changed for Guns N Roses. Their tour with large venues such as London’s Wembley Stadium, but also more remote venues in Shekvetili (Georgia) or Hradec Kralove (Croatia) take this into account.
You don’t necessarily have to describe Axl Rose and Co’s festival commitment at the end of their Middle East and European tour as “Rudi’s rest ramp”, as some mockers on the internet do.
But a certain level of normalization is unmistakable among the bad boys from Los Angeles. And whether they will really bring the postulated sensational highlight show to the bridge will be seen in another six months. Really fucked up would be nice too!