Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan says watching bandmate Axl Rose perform with AC/DC in London on June 4 was “magical.”
“Me and Slash and our ladies went over to London just to surprise Axl and to see the AC/DC thing at the new Olympic stadium. And it was amazing,” McKagan tells Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones on his Jonesy’s Jukebox program on KLOS Los Angeles. “We went for a Saturday, basically. We had to get back… There was a graduation and there were things going on, so I had to take the 9:00 a.m. flight out Sunday morning. But we got to see him do that thing with AC/DC, and it was magical."
The pair arrived to see Rose’s 10th show on the European leg of the Rock Or Bust tour after he joined the lineup last month in place of Brian Johnson.
Rose made his AC/DC debut in Lisbon on May 7 and performed the first few shows of the 13-date run with the assistance of a walking boot and a throne on loan from Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters after he broke his foot during Guns N’ Roses’ April 1 club gig at The Troubadour in Los Angeles.
"He was out of his chair; he was up and cruising around," says McKagan. "He was kicking the boot; he was doing the kicks. And it was really great to see… I'd never seen him, I guess, play… see him sing. And I think it energized the band — they were pretty energized — and the crowd was into it. It was cool. I'm super stoked for him."
Rose and AC/DC closed out the European leg of the Rock Or Bust world tour with a performance in Düsseldorf, Germany on June 15; he’ll rejoin the band for fall shows in the US starting in late August.
The singer will now regroup with Guns N’ Roses for a summer stadium tour of North America that kicks off June 23 at Ford Field in Detroit, MI.
During his Jonesy’s Jukebox session, McKagan also recalled how Rose’s injury affected GNR’s reunion shows this spring.
"It was just strange, the whole thing,” he explains. “[It was] our first show. [It happened during] the second song. He didn't complain once. That's the thing. We finished the show. He said, 'I think I broke my foot.' And sure enough, six pins later… And he didn't complain one time through that whole chair thing.
“So, I think everything happens for a reason. I think it drew us around… kind of drew us in tighter. And singing those kind of songs sitting down is a tough, tough deal. So, I think, yeah, he persevered."
See also:
VIDEO: Axl Rose and AC/DC close European tour in Dusseldorf
hennemusic LIVE: Watch Axl Rose and AC/DC rock Germany
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VIDEO: Axl Rose and AC/DC rock Denmark
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