Former Guns n Roses bassist Duff McKagan has insisted the band’s upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame should not be purely about the various current and ex-members after frontman Axl Rose revealed he will not be attending the ceremony this weekend.
On April 11th, Axl Rose sent out a letter to various media outlets explaining his decision to shun the event, writing: “This decision is personal. This letter is to help clarify things from my and my camp’s perspective. Neither is meant to offend, attack or condemn.”
“Though unfortunately I’m sure there will be those who take offence (God knows how long I’ll have to contend with the fallout), I certainly don’t intend to disappoint anyone, especially the fans, with this decision.”
But today, with talk of the induction tomorrow (April 14th) increasingly becoming centered around the politics of its crew of former bandmates, McKagan wrote on Seattleweekly.com:
“My band, Gnr, will be inducted into the so-fancy Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And on that night, I will honour not myself or the chicken dinner they will most surely provide, but I will be honouring all those people who call themselves the fans of our group called Guns N’ Roses.”
“In the end, it’s not about who does or doesn’t show up from the original band, and I back whatever reason this guy or that has for not coming. It’s all good. The songs are the important bit here… and the message they most certainly still must carry.”
This year’s Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony will take place in Cleveland when The Faces/Small Faces, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys will also be honoured.