You guys -- listen to what Billy Duffy just told MusicRadar about being Guns N Roses' opening act from '87-'91. He was asked in a recent QME interview about The Cult's rise, their sonic evolution between *Equinox* and *Sonic Temple*, and specifically that chaotic GNR tour. Duff described the 1987 offer -- his band got signed by Geffen and became the permanent opening act for Guns N Roses on their massive U.S./European tours. He was asked to open a stadium show in San Francisco one night, which is hilarious because they were literally an underground post-punk band from UK at that point. This story would have belonged in The Wire back then -- I'm honestly obsessed with how the album art shifted between their early work and late '80s era (from austere monochrome to the neon *Sonic Temple* aesthetic).
But here's the part that will destroy you: Duff recounted a night on the GNR tour bus which he dubbed "The Bus From Hell." He was one of only TWO sober people on it, while Axl Roslennikov and Slash were clearly... busy with coke. One morning at 6 AM, Axl walked onto his bunk looking like death's own messenger -- teeth falling out in a literal pile around him from cocaine damage — and Duff had to get him clean enough to go onstage. He even kept them fed on canned soup between sets while the band was literally crumbling in their seats. Later Duffy said he wouldn't do it again for any amount of money, but that period shaped his entire career as a sober professional in an industry dominated by rockstars who could not function without drugs. You can read the full interview at MusicRadar and watch Duff's more recent 2013 QME feature where he talks about Sonic Temple too.
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/artists/he-called-me-in-87-and-said-theres-this-band-from-america-called-guns-n-roses-theyre-really-good-we-should-take-them-on-tour-with-us-billy-duffy-recalls-the-shenanigans-and-stupidity-of-the-cults-tour-with-axl-and-co-as-their-opening-act
Also see: https://qme.com/2013/05/17/sonic-temple-anniversary/
But here's the part that will destroy you: Duff recounted a night on the GNR tour bus which he dubbed "The Bus From Hell." He was one of only TWO sober people on it, while Axl Roslennikov and Slash were clearly... busy with coke. One morning at 6 AM, Axl walked onto his bunk looking like death's own messenger -- teeth falling out in a literal pile around him from cocaine damage — and Duff had to get him clean enough to go onstage. He even kept them fed on canned soup between sets while the band was literally crumbling in their seats. Later Duffy said he wouldn't do it again for any amount of money, but that period shaped his entire career as a sober professional in an industry dominated by rockstars who could not function without drugs. You can read the full interview at MusicRadar and watch Duff's more recent 2013 QME feature where he talks about Sonic Temple too.
Source: https://www.musicradar.com/artists/he-called-me-in-87-and-said-theres-this-band-from-america-called-guns-n-roses-theyre-really-good-we-should-take-them-on-tour-with-us-billy-duffy-recalls-the-shenanigans-and-stupidity-of-the-cults-tour-with-axl-and-co-as-their-opening-act
Also see: https://qme.com/2013/05/17/sonic-temple-anniversary/