Guns N’ Roses have created rock history with their hugely successful Not In This Lifetime… / Guns N Roses 2020 Tour productions, which have collectively served up 229 shows worldwide across the past five years, but Axl Rose’s (partially) reunited LA hard rock superstars have yet to put their stamp on one of the world’s greatest festivals, England’s own Glastonbury.
But perhaps that could yet change, as Glastonbury booker Emily Eavis says that Guns “need to play here at some point.”
Eavis, who organises the annual festival in Somerset with her father, Worthy Farm owner Michael Eavis, made the comment during an interview with Metal Hammer’s Eleanor Goodman, centred around Metallica’s 2014 headline appearance at the festival. Recalling Metallica’s triumphant set - “the atmosphere was electric and they came on and slayed everyone” - Eavis says that the quartet’s appearance paved the way for other hard rock/heavy metal artists to perform at the iconic festival: “They definitely helped inspire us to book more heavy rock acts, from Motorhead and ZZ Top, to the Earache Stage over in Shangri-La.”
Asked who is the heaviest band she’s booked for the weekender, Eavis replies, “We had Napalm Death in 2017 and it doesn’t get much heavier than that!”
It’s at this point that Eavis, unprompted, throws Guns N’ Roses’ name into ring, saying, “But I think Guns N’ Roses need to play here at some point, don’t they?”
Guns N' Roses return to Europe next summer, launching their tour on June 4 at Lisbon’s Passeio Maritimo de Algés in Portugal. The tour includes two stadium shows in London, as well as gigs in Belfast and Glasgow.
The new issue of Metal Hammer is dedicated to Metallica’s 40 years living life loud.
