CLEVELAND – On their way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Guns N’ Roses got together for one more gig.
Axl Rose missed it.
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The hedonistic hard rockers, who became the world’s top music act amid endless dysfunction, members of Guns N’ Roses reunited for three songs Saturday night before 6,000 fans, many of whom were thrilled to see at least most of the band’s original lineup jam on classic hits such as “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City.”
Rose, the band’s frontman and ringmaster of the G N’ R traveling sex, drugs and rock and roll circus, declined to attend the induction, saying he didn’t want to be part of the ceremony because it “doesn’t appear to be somewhere I’m actually wanted or respected.”
While his decision disappointed some hardcore fans and ended any possibility of a full-scale reunion of the original lineup, guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steve Adler performed for the first time in nearly 20 years to the delight of the sell-out crowd inside historic Public Hall.
Guns N’ Roses were one of the headliners of this year’s eclectic group of inductees, which included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys, folk icon Donovan, late singer-songwriter Laura Nyro and British bands the Small Faces and Faces.
The event lasted well into the early morning with an All-Star jam featuring some of rock’s biggest names closing the 5 1/2-hour ceremony with a stirring rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.”
Hours earlier, Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis said it was strange to be enshrined while the band was still touring.
“We’re going somewhere,” Kiedis said. “How can we stop and take an award when really we’re just halfway there? But it is nice to be together with people that we spent some incredible years along the way writing songs and playing shows in little theaters and sweaty little transvestite clubs and having the time of our lives.”
The event lasted into the early morning with an All-Star jam featuring some of rock’s biggest names closing the 5 1/2-hour ceremony with a stirring rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.”
Hours earlier, Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis said it was strange to be enshrined while the band was still touring.
“How can we stop and take an award when really we’re just halfway there?” Kiedis said. “But it is nice to be together with people that we spent some incredible years along the way writing songs and playing shows in little theaters and sweaty little transvestite clubs and having the time of our lives.”
As he inducted Guns N’ Roses, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong recalled the first time he saw the band on MTV. “I thought, one of these guys could end up dead or in jail,” he said.
Guns N’ Roses’ 1987 debut album, “Appetite For Destruction,” shook a music world that at the time was consumed with pop ballads and dance music.
“It’s the best debut album in the history of rock and roll,” Armstrong said. “Every song hits hard.”
‘Titanic’ sails past $2 billion in ticket sales
LOS ANGELES – James Cameron has shored up his position as king of the worldwide box office.
Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster “Titanic” sailed beyond the $2 billion mark in lifetime ticket sales, thanks to a 3-D re-release of the film that was timed to the centennial of the ship’s sinking.
The “Titanic” reissue took in about $100 million this weekend — $11.6 million domestically and a whopping $88.2 million in 69 overseas markets. That included a $58 million debut in China and put the re-release total worldwide at $190.8 million.
Added to the film’s $1.84 billion haul in its original release, “Titanic” now stands at $2.03 billion worldwide.
Richie, Anderson owe unpaid taxes
LOS ANGELES – Pamela Anderson and Lionel Richie owe the government money.
California tax authorities said Anderson owes $524,241 in personal income taxes. The Franchise Tax Board included the “Baywatch” star on a list of the state’s 500 biggest income-tax delinquents posted Friday.
Meanwhile, E! Online reported that Richie owes the federal government $1.1 million in unpaid taxes and that a lien has been issued warning that the singer’s assets may be seized if he doesn’t pay up in a timely manner.
A message seeking comments from Richie’s publicist wasn’t immediately returned Saturday. A call to Anderson’s tax attorney, Robert Leonard, wasn’t immediately returned.
— From news service reports
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