RAMBLIN’ ROSE

The Guns N' Roses mainman says the new album is "sorted" as the band get ready to begin their world tour...

GUNS N’ ROSES have arrived in CHINA for the start of their ‘CHINESE DEMOCRACY’ World tour, and singer AXL ROSE has said their new album is “sorted down to what songs are on the record”.

The group are set to play a show at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center tonight (August 14) as part of a series of shows that take in the Leeds festival (August 23) and London Docklands Arena (26).

In a recent interview, Rose describes playing in China as “a dream come true”, saying these dates are a “warm-up” for more shows in the spring. He said that he expects his band to remain on the road “off and on for the next two or three years”.

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He also took the opportunity to confirm that despite speculation the band will pull out of the shows, the gigs will all go ahead. He continued: “To the ones who are negative and want to see either myself or the new band fall on their faces, personally I can’t pass up an opportunity to upset so many of them in one quick swoop. I get misty-eyed just thinking about it. I feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside! But seriously…this is our tour. This is a collection of performances I’ve agreed to. That I have personally authorised not someone else’s good intentions gone awry or a reckless promoter’s personal agenda. These shows are important to us and for better or worse we’ll be there. For those who’ve had my back and are down by us with even a modicum of understanding we hope to give you our best, and look forward to seeing you on this little intro jaunt.”

While warning fans not to spend their lives waiting for the record, Rose said the long-awaited ‘Chinese Democracy’ is now nearing completion. He said pressures on him on previous albums mean he is not willing to compromise this time around.

“I gave into a lot of pressure on ‘Illusions’ both internally in Guns and externally in the press, those albums suffered as a consequence, it’s not something I’m too excited to have to live with again”, he said. “There are a lot of new songs that were just done in the last year that we feel that ‘okay, well that bumps a lot of stuff off the previous list but it’s time to stop that now and wrap up the baby. It feels right, the timing, and a lot of things. We’ve sorted it down to what songs are on the record. What the sequence of the songs is. The album cover art is ready. Blah, blah, blah. If you’re waiting…don’t. Live your life. That’s your responsibility not mine. If it were not to happen you won’t have missed a thing. If in fact it does you might get something that works for you, in the end you could win on this either way. But if you’re really into waiting try holding your breath for Jesus cause I hear the payoff may be that much greater. “

The full interview can be found on the official band website, www.gnronline.com.

If you are going to the Hong Kong show, after the gig email news@nme.com and tell us what you thought. What did they play? Did Axl Rose say anything about the new album ‘Chinese Democracy’? What can fans in the UK expect at the Leeds festival?

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