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Review
GUNS
N' ROSES BRING LEEDS TO ITS KNEES!
24 August 2002
There's
only one band that could so effortlessly make underdogs of
The Prodigy, and bully the promotors into jeopardising the
already delicate future of a festival, so that they can perform
a full set in light of technical delays. GNR play until 1am!
Despite a line-up that would rank as exceptional, without
their presence (Incubus, Slipknot, Puddle of Mud, The Offspring
- The Prodigy's first English appearance since 1998!), there
was but one band dominating the proceedings at the first day
of the Carling Weekend: Leeds Festival 2002. From the t-shirts,
to the campsite stereos, to the abundance of bandanas and
top hats in the crowd, to the backstage gossip to the comedy
tent banter, the entire site was overshadowed by a heavy fog
of anticipaction.
Indeed, this marked the first UK appearance by Guns N' Roses
for nine years, and represented the unveiling of an all-new
line-up. The Leeds site was packed to bursting point with
people of all ages wanting to be a part of this momentous
event - from the die hard nostalgia junkies to the new metal
kids (who pilfered their big brothers' record collections
to hear this stuff, in the same way that their big brothers
nicked their dad's Led Zeppelin), to the plain curious who
simply wished to see if there is life after Sl*sh.
From
the moment the band arrived, the show effectively began, as
the cavalcade of no less than eight police-escorted black
stretch limosines cruised onto the site, disappearing into
the expansive sealed-off 'GNR only' area occupying half of
the backstage compound.
Due to 'technical difficulties' they took the stage an hour
and a half later than schedule, kicking off with a short film
intro at 11.30pm (the normal curfew time for the event!).
The set was virtually identical to that of the recent Hong
Kong shows, relying heavily on material from the Appetite
for Destruction, with the inclusion of 2 new songs, 'Madagascar'
and 'Chinese Democracy', title track from the forthcoming
album. Rose was notable for his lack of costume changes (he
donned black leather trousers and an American football top
throughout) and his voice which was more consistent and controlled
than ever. The new band added a slick new sheen and professional
tightness to the older songs.
The controversy kicked off mid-way through the set, when Rose
announced, "Looks like this is going to be an interesting
night. I have just been informed by Leeds city council and
the promotors [Mean Fiddler] that they want me to end the
show [due to the time constraints resulting from the earlier
delays]. Now, I don't want to be accused of inciting a riot,
but I didn't come all the way to England to be told to go
home again! I've had nothing but shit from the press here.
Axl this, Axl that. Anyway, if you stay here, we'll keep playing
and we'll see what happens".
With the festival's future at this venue already in jeopardy,
due to local campaigns that nearly prevented its licence this
year, the promotors were instantly thrust into a very difficult
position. In 1992, riots broke out in St. Louis (Rose was
charged with incitement) and Montreal after GNR cut their
sets short.
Obviously, it was decided that pulling the power just wasn't
worth the risk, and Axl subsequently announced, "They're
going to let us carry on. I want to thank whoever was responsible
for that".
Rose reacted to a Virtual Festivals crew member's chants of
"We want Sl*sh" by quipping, "Up my arse, that's
where Sl*sh is. Fuck off, go home". The band eventually
left the stage after 1am - unheard of for a British Festival.
Source:
VirtualFestivals.com
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