What do the musical stylings of ultra-cool New York singer Lana Del Rey and veteran Los Angeles rockers Guns N’ Roses have in common?
Almost literally nothing, obviously. They both sing songs about feeling a bit randy, but apart from that, you’d find little to liken GNR’s hard rock with LDR’s ballads of heartbreak. In recent years, Guns N’ Roses have reformed their classic line-up – frontman Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan – and shown no signs of softening their hard rock edges. Meanwhile, Del Rey’s arguably still sharing her most understated and pensive music to date.
And yet. Lana Del Rey appears to be a massive Guns N’ Roses fan, proving you should never judge a book by its cover. Let us count the ways…
Lana was reportedly in attendance at their 2016 Troubadour show
Mere mortals queued for hours at Tower Records on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles in the hope of getting tickets (locals businesses were giving out free tacos and hot dogs, generating a festival vibe, which must have helped) but A-listers had no such trouble. According to The Daily Star: “Hollywood veterans Nicholas Cage and Jim Carrey as well as songstress Lana Del Rey were reportedly in attendance.” #squadgoals
And it wasn’t her first time
April 2012, and Lana’s lust for GNR is insatiable. She attended two of the band’s LA shows in a month, once at the House of Blues and again at The Wiltern. Yes, she was earning her stripes as a super fan.
There were rumours she was dating a member of the band
That member was, of course, Axl Rose. Also in 2012, they were photographed looking cosy as they left legendary Los Angeles hotel and bar The Chateau Marmont, and tongues started wagging. GNR guitarist DJ Ashba, however, told TMZ : “I don’t think they are dating. Axl is a really cool dude and he likes hanging out with cool people. I think that they were probably just buddy buddy hanging out.” Either way, imagine being such a super fan you get to be buddy buddy with Axl Rose!
She’s been snapped wearing a Guns N’ Roses t-shirt
Much derision when Justin Bieber was recently photographed wearing a Marilyn Manson t-shirt. Yet Lana faced no such hullaballoo when she stepped out in GNR threads. Because Lana rocks that shit with the authority of a true fan.
And recorded a song called ‘Guns and Roses’
Featured on second album Ultraviolence, released in 2014, the track is a mournful ballad about a heavy metal boyfriend (“he loved guns and roses”) who slipped through Lana’s fingers. “I wasn’t the marrying kind,” Lana sighs, “but I should have done it anyway.”
As well as one called ‘Axl Rose Husband’
At this stage, Lana might as well tattoo her forehead with the words “AXL RULES OK”. Apparently created circa 2001/2002, the unreleased track surfaced online in 2009 and was recorded under her real name, Lizzy Grant. Sounding a bit like a horrible baby chipmunk (Lana > Lizzy), she sings: “Daddy I need you”. So that’s a bit creepy, but sometimes you can’t suppress your superfandom, right?