The band Axl Rose thought ruined hard rock: “They fucked it up for all of us”
Being a member of an impressive rock band has always carried a distinctive allure. Although the guitar may now be regarded as a somewhat novelty instrument by some modern artists, the spontaneous execution of impressive solos remains one of the most captivating and enviable roles one can assume. For many, Guns N’ Roses epitomised the quintessential rock and roll band; however, upon their initial rise to fame, Axl Rose believed that their contemporaries, such as Poison, embodied everything that was flawed within the music industry.
That’s because the LA that birthed GNR was much different than what they sounded like. As the 1970s started to fade, every rock band on the West Coast was still fascinated by the glam rock scene. Although fresh faces like Van Halen were emerging on the scene, there were just as many acts that still loved the theatricality that came out of old-school David Bowie, not realising that ‘The Starman’ actually had the songs to back him up.
So when the MTV generation kicked into high gear, many of the biggest success stories in LA were copying the same model that Van Halen had, only stepping up the look to outdo each other in terms of how high their hair was. Just look at a band like Whitesnake, who were built off the success of David Coverdale as a bluesy vocalist and then trading that in for the glossy sheen in videos for ‘Here I Go Again’.
While Poison were far from the worst offenders, they were certainly one of the more emblematic groups of the time. Bret Michaels did have his heart in the blues rock of the early 1970s like Led Zeppelin, but their look was more based on what someone would find in a sleazy fashion magazine rather than anything artistic.
When Guns N’ Roses first emerged on the scene, they wanted to be the complete antithesis of the modern idea of glam rock. Rose even pointed out Poison directly for being the group that he never wanted to be like. He said at the time, “This is the only real rock and roll band to come out of the last ten years. Van Halen was the last. Poison fucked it up for all of us. They said that everybody was following a trend.”
Though Rose did like to run his mouth, it’s not like that didn’t hold some water for some seasoned LA players. Michaels and drummer Rikki Rockett had come from Pennsylvania to make it big, and it wasn’t until they started to make videos and pile on as much lipstick as possible that they started gaining traction for tunes like ‘Talk Dirty To Me’.
That’s not to say that the group don’t have talent. Their music is permanently etched in the minds of 1980s metal fans for a reason, and if everyone is a few drinks in at a dive bar and ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’ comes on, every voice in that pub is going to be screaming that chorus at the top of their lungs.
That’s fun if you’re looking for a good time, but Rose didn’t want Guns N’ Roses to be a mindless party band. They were a group of outlaws that set out to make rock sound dangerous again, and from the moment that ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ started, every kid who picked up Appetite for Destruction knew that every wannabe with teased hair on Sunset Strip had their days numbered.
