This US hard rock supergroup was formed in early 2002 when former Guns N'Roses bandmates Slash (b. Saul Hudson, 23 July 1965, Hampstead, London, England; guitar), Duff McKagan (b. Michael Andrew McKagan, 5 February 1964, Seattle, Washington, USA; bass) and Matt Sorum (b. Matthew William Sorum, 19 November 1960, Mission Viejo, California, USA; drums) got together on stage for a live jam session. Suitably invigorated by their renewed musical chemistry, the trio began advertising for a singer to join their new project. By the time Dave Kushner (b. David Kushner, 16 November 1965, Los Angeles, California, USA; ex-Wasted Youth) came on board as second guitarist, interest levels were high enough for the music channel VH-1 to film ongoing rehearsals. The Stone Temple Pilots' troubled figurehead Scott Weiland (b. Scott Richard Kline, 27 October 1967, Santa Cruz, California, USA) was eventually recruited as lead vocalist.
The quintet's first recording was the glam-metal track "Set Me Free", which boasted a superb riff courtesy of Slash and gained extensive exposure on the Hulk soundtrack. Newly named Velvet Revolver, the band signed a recording contract with RCA Records and set about writing material for their debut album. Weiland's ongoing tussles with the law (after being charged with possession he was in and out of court for much of 2003/4) hampered proceedings somewhat, but Contraband was finally released in June 2004. Although nothing on the album matched the explosive power of "Set Me Free", the record company's faith in Velvet Revolver was repaid when the album debuted at number 1 in the US charts and went on to sell over 2 million copies. The hit single "Slither" won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance.
The band brought Stone Temple Pilots' producer Brendan O'Brien on board to record the follow-up album, Libertad. O'Brien helped forge a more cohesive collection of songs with the quintet playing more like a band than a group of talented if wayward individuals. The album was not as successful as its predecessor, despite good reviews, and the increasingly erratic Weiland parted company with the band the following April.
