Guns N' Roses to return to Israel in July with original lineup
Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan will perform in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park on July 15, 2017; OneRepublic in talks for another show in Israel in September 2017.
The reunited Guns N' Roses will arrive in Israel this summer to perform a concert on July 15, 2017, at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park.
The band is in the midst of its Not in This Lifetime... Tour, which brings together for the first time in 23 years three members from the original lineup: Vocalist Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan.
The last time the original lineup performed in Israel was in 1993. Axl Rose performed in Israel in 2012 as well with a different lineup of the band.
Guns N' Roses was formed in 1985 and quickly became one of the leading bands in the LA rock scene. In 1987, it released its debut album "Appetite for Destruction," which to this day is considered among the best and most important albums in the genre.
The album included massive hits like "Paradise City," "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Welcome to the Jungle."
After the release of the acoustic album "G N' R Lies," the band released the albums "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II," which were considered more commercial. These albums also included many hits, including "Civil War," "You Could Be Mine," "November Rain" and "Don't Cry," among others.
The double album made Rose and friends the biggest rock band of the 1990s, leading the band to go on a two-year-old world tour that stopped in Israel as well on May 22, 1993.
The long and drama-filled tour, alongside drug and alcohol abuse by different members of the band, led to great tensions in Guns N' Roses.
In 1994, after releasing the cover album "The Spaghetti Incident?" the rift between the band members became deeper, and Axl Rose launched a solo career, while Slash released albums with the band Slash's Snakepit and Duff McKagan formed the band Loaded.
In 2004, Slash and drummer Matt Sorum formed the band Velvet Revolver with vocalist Scott Weiland, formerly of Stone Temple Pilots.
Meanwhile, Rose continued performing under the name Guns N' Roses with a changing lineup and released the album "Chinese Democracy" in 2008. In July of 2012 he performed in Israel for the second time.
Rumors about reconciliation between Slash and Axl Rose began in early 2016, after 23 years of not talking. In April, the band played a previously unannounced warm up gig at the Troubadour in Los Angeles and has since continued performing across the world, with original drummer Steven Adler playing with them on occasion.
Meanwhile, the band OneRepublic is expected to return to Israel to play a show at Yarkon Park in September 2017. The band last visited the country in May 2015.
The Bluestone Group, which is bringing both of the bands to Israel, has declined to comment on either show.
