In the 1980’s Hollywood music scene, Guns N’ Roses was known as “the band that almost wasn’t.” Formed in 1985 by members of two popular local bands, L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose, the new group came up with the name “Guns N’ Roses” not for their band, but for a record label they wanted to form when their efforts to get a recording contract failed. The record label never happened and the band went through multiple lineup changes and one miserably failed tour (both vans broke down and the band members had to hitchhike home with instruments on their backs) before they finally signed with Geffen Records in 1986.
From the start, the band was hugely popular on the L.A. Music scene, filling legendary clubs like The Roxy and The Troubadour. But their fans had to wait another year while the band battled with record company executives, producers and each other over getting exactly the right sound.
