Izzy Stradlin reportedly walked away from Guns N’ Roses reunion

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Former Guns N’ Roses manager Alan Niven says that Izzy Stradlin walked away from a possible reunion with the band last year following a soundcheck

Guns N' Roses in 1985
Guns N' Roses in 1985 (Image credit: Getty)

Former Guns N’ Roses manager Alan Niven claims that the band’s ex guitarist and co-founder Izzy Stradlin walked away from a possible reunion with the rock icons last year.

Vocalist Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan got back together in 2016 and subsequently hit the road on the mammoth Not In This Lifetime tour.

Original drummer Steven Adler played two shows with the band in 2016, but reported in February last year that a back injury sidelined him from further appearances.

And in a new interview, Niven says that Stradlin also could have taken part in some shows, but decided to walk away.

He tells the Appetite For Distortion show: “He did get as far as flying out and doing a soundcheck and then he left after the soundcheck – he didn’t want to have anything to do with it.”

When asked when that was, Niven says: “Last year. It was somewhere out in the Midwest when they were doing stadiums. Obviously, had it gone well and everybody had been happy, and there had been a little bit of brotherhood, I’m sure he would have stayed with it.

“But something must have really upset him because he left after the soundcheck and never turned up for another one or an appearance. I would think right now, he’s probably a little pissed off.”

Guns N’ Roses will headline this year’s Download festival in the UK and will play other dates across Europe this summer.

Find a full list of their live shows below.

Guns N’ Roses 2018 Not In This Lifetime European tour dates

Jun 03: Berlin Olympiastadion, Germany
Jun 06: Odense Dyrskueplausen, Denmark
Jun 09: Donington Download Festival, UK
Jun 12: Gelsenkirchen Veltins-Arena, Germany
Jun 18: Paris Download Festival, France
Jun 25: Mannheim Maimarktgelane, Germany
Jun 26: Bordeaux Matmut Stadium, France
Jun 29: Madrid Download Festival, Spain
Jul 05: Nijmegen Goffertpark, Netherlands
Jul 07: Leipzig Festwiese, Germany
Jul 09: Chorzoq Stadion Slaski, Poland
Jul 13: Moscow Spartak Otkritie, Russia
Jul 16: Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, Estonia
Jul 19: Oslo Valle Hovin, Norway
Jul 21: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, Sweden

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Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.