Guns N’ Roses had a huge summer in the UK, so much so that it must have been tricky for bassist Duff McKagan to pick a personal highlight. Was it headlining Glastonbury, the world’s most famous music festival? Or maybe it was playing a huge show in the regal surroundings of London’s Hyde Park? Or how about a massive event in Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park, with its lovely views across the city? All of these things would probably be near the top of the list of the British trip for McKagan, but they wouldn’t take prime position. That’s because, according to a paragraph in his 2015 book How Not To Be A Man, the thing McKagan most likes about coming to the UK is… Pret A Manger.
That’s right, a man who has been at rock’s top table for over three and a half decades, where there's probably waiter service 24/7 and access to the world’s best grub, can’t get enough of Pret. In the book, McKagan writes:
“For everyday food, my favourite place is a chain called Pret. I know they have some shops in the States, but they started here, it’s where I discovered them, and they’ll always be a London destination for me.”
At this point, McKagan really starts to warm up, as if the mere writing of the word Pret has fired up his synapses:
“Pret has hot and cold wraps of all kinds (try the hot jalapeño chicken!), healthy sandwiches, great salads and soups, and strong espresso. This is always the first place I try to get to when I go the UK, and they are on about every street corner in London, Cheap, fast, and kick-ass.”
The first place he goes to when he gets to the UK! You can imagine him, sprinting from Business Class, leaving all his luggage on the conveyor belt and diving into a taxi, handing the driver all of his money. “Take me to Pret!”, before telling the driver how much he loves the jalapeño chicken wrap.
Despite the fact this book came out eight years ago, there’s still been no Pret and Duff hook-up when it seems like an open goal. “Take me down to the nearest Pret / where the espresso’s strong and there’s fresh baguette / Oh won’t you please take me home, whoa-oh-oh!”. They can have that one for free.
