"The band thanks Frank for his friendship, creativity, and sturdy presence": Guns N' Roses announce departure of long-serving drummer Frank Ferrer

Frank Ferrer onstage
(Image credit: Guns N' Roses)

Guns N' Roses have announced the departure of drummer Frank Ferrer, who joined the band in 2006 and is their longest-serving sticksman.

"The band thanks Frank for his friendship, creativity, and sturdy presence over the past 19 years, and they wish him success in the next chapter of his musical journey," say Guns N' Roses in a statement.

Ferrer joined Guns N' Roses after recording two albums with Love Spit Love – formed by former Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler and future Guns N' Roses guitarist Richard Fortus in 1992 – and a stint as the Psychedelic Furs live drummer. He's also the drummer with New York rock'n'rollers The Compulsions, who include Fortus alongside former Hanoi Rocks bassist Sammi Yaffa.

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Ferrer's first show with Guns N' Roses was at the Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium on June 24, 2006. Flown in to fill in for Bryan "Brain" Mantia, who had returned to the US to attend the birth of his child, Ferrer officially joined the band four months later.

"I feel like I'm part of the legacy," Ferrer told Guns N' Roses fansite Paradise City in 2015, just months before Duff McKagan and Slash rejoined the band. "I've formed friendships with Axl, Izzy, Duff and Dizzy. I've gotten to play with them and Tommy, Richard and DJ. Pitman and I are great friends and Bumblefoot and I have worked on projects together since joining GNR.

"What the original five members of GNR did was a musical breakthrough and will never be duplicated. But us "new guys" can continue to write new chapters in this book called Guns N' Roses."

No replacement drummer has been confirmed. Guns N' Roses next live show is on May 1 at Songdo Moonlight Park in Incheon, South Korea. Full dates below.

Guns N' Roses Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things Tour 2025

May 01: Incheon Songdo Moonlight Park, South Korea
May 05: Yokohama K Arena, Japan
May 13: Bangkok Thunderdome Stadium, Thailand
May 17: Mumbai Mahalaxmi Racecourse, India
May 23: Riyadh Kingdom Arena, Saudi Arabia
May 27: Abu Dhabi Etihad Arena, UAE
May 30: Shekvetili Parka, Georgia^
Jun 02: Istanbul Tüpraş Stadyumu, Turkey^
Jun 06: Coimbra Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Portugal^
Jun 09: Barcelona Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Spain
Jun 12: Florence Firenze Rocks, Italy*^
Jun 15: Hradec Kralove Rock For People, Czech Republic*^
Jun 18: Dusseldorf Merkur Spiel-Arena, Germany^
Jun 20: Munich Allianz Arena, Germany^
Jun 23: Birmingham Villa Park, UK
Jun 26: London Wembley Stadium, UK
Jun 29: Aarhus Eskelunden, Denmark+
Jul 02: Trondheim Granåsen Ski Centre, Norway+
Jul 04: Stockholm Strawberry Aren, Sweden+
Jul 07: Tampere Ratina Stadium, Finland+
Jul 10: Kaunas Darius and Girėnas Stadium, Lithuania+
Jul 12: Warsaw PGE Nardowy, Poland+
Jul 15: Budapest Puskás Aréna, Hungary+
Jul 18: Belgrade Ušće Park, Serbia+
Jul 21: Sofia Vasil Levski Stadium, Bulgaria+
Jul 24: Vienna Ernst Happel Stadion, Austria#
Jul 28: Luxembourg Open Air, Luxembourg#
Jul 31: Wacken Festival, Germany*

* = Festival appearance
+ = with Public Enemy
^ = with Rival Sons
# = with Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter

Tickets are on sale now.

Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 39 years in music industry, online for 26. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.

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