Saturday, MAY 22
SUFFERING FROM jet lag after the flight from LA to Tel Aviv, the band spends a couple of hours around the hotel pool. Journalists go through the garbage outside the restaurant in which Matt ate lunch!
The show is the biggest music event ever held in Israel. At 9pm, Guns N' Roses hit the stage for the first show of the European leg of their 'Get In The Ring Motherfucker - Round II' tour. In the middle of the 19-song set, the band breaks into a rousing rendition of 'Hava Nagila'. Axl wears a 'Guns N' Moses' T-shirt!
After the show, the local record company introduces the 14-year-old son of Israel's most famous male solo artist to the band. The boy faints!
Monday, MAY 24
TODAY MARKS the second anniversary of Guns N' Roses 'Use Your Illusion' world tour, and the band have arrived in Greece.
Halfway through that night's show, in Athen's Olympic Stadium, one of the security team spots an unauthorized film crew positioned in the stands. Throwing them out of the venue, the security team erases the crew's tape.
Whilst Slash remains in the hotel bar, the rest of the band hit the Mercedes Club, with a selection of the world's top models, including Claudia Schiffer.
Wednesday, MAY 26
THE BAND leaves Athens at 10am to fly to Turkey. They are flown to the stadium in a private Lear jet. After three songs, Axl stops the show and says: "If you don't stop throwing lit sparklers at each other, someone will get hurt and the band will be forced to leave the stadium."
Backstage, Matt barters with a local shop owner who has brought a selection of his finest rugs to the stadium! After demonstrating that it is impossible to burn a Turkish rug with a cigarette, the two agree on a price and the rug is shipped back to LA.
The band flies overnight to Stansted.
Saturday, MAY 29
RAIN CLOUDS grow heavier and heavier. Before long, the National Bowl, Milton Keynes is like a mud bath. After a relaxing morning, the band leaves London in a fleet of small helicopters.
They open their show with 'Nightrain'. By the end, couples are reported to be making love in the undergrowth at the top of the Bowl. After an encore of 'Paradise City', Axl throws two dozen red roses into the audience.
Back at the Conrad Hotel, Matt returns to the tattoo artist to add color to the Celtic rose he had designed a couple of days earlier.
Sunday, MAY 30
INJURED RHYTHM guitarist Gilby Clarke and his wife Daniella arrive from LA on a commercial British Airways flight. The whole band leaves London by helicopter for the second sell-out show at Milton Keynes.
With members of his family in the audience, UK-born Slash launches into a guitar solo to celebrate!
Ron Wood and Mike Monroe join the band on stage. Dizzy later plays Ronnie a couple of new tracks that he has just written and recorded.
Wednesday, JUNE 2
TONIGHT'S SHOW in Vienna is Gilby's first since he broke his wrist in the motocross accident. He has flown out a hand specialist from the States to help him with his recovery. Before, during and after the show, he packs his arm with ice to help reduce the swelling.
The band is presented with a 'Golden Giraffe' trophy from the Hungarian record licensee! The cast of 'The Three Musketeers' (the latest film version) arrive backstage, including Rebecca DeMornay and Chris O'Donnel.
Saturday, JUNE 5
MATT'S NEW wife, Kai, arrives in Amsterdam from LA. A Gilby swaps place with the host of Holland's music TV show, 'Countdown', and takes half-an-hour out to interview groups of fans backstage. With a strict 10.30 curfew and the threat of the steepest fines on whole leg of the tour for over-running, the band start their show in daylight at around 8.15pm.
At midnight, the band meets back at the hotel and hit the streets in search of a live sex show. The band and their wives watch several different performances, including one with a lit cigar!
Sunday, JUNE 6
THE SECOND show in Nijmegen is as crowded as the first. Matt arrives in a limo and joins his former band and current support act The Cult on stage for their last number. The rest of the band arrives by helicopter.
To date, Amsterdam is one of the only cities where the band has been able to walk freely in the streets without being hassled by either fans or photographers.
Tuesday, JUNE 8
THE BAND takes a short flight to Copenhagen. With one of the band's favorite pinball machine perched at the end of stage-left runway, Axl interrupts the opening song for a few quick flicks of the ball. Halfway through the show, members of the entourage is found watching the nightly news on a small, hand-held TV set - on which images of the show are being broadcast from a zeppelin flying overhead.
Dizzy spends until 9am the following morning playing pool at new friend's bar, after which he takes the owner and his pregnant wife out for breakfast.
Wednesday, JUNE 9
EARLY EVENING sees the band flies to Norway. On the band's day off, the jet is crisscrossing Europe ferrying U2 or Bruce Springsteen to their respective shows.
Thursday, JUNE 10
ANOTHER SELL-OUT show, at Oslo's Hoying Stadium. That afternoon, Duff pays a visit to a local dentist, where they remove a back tooth which has been giving him problems for some time. The bassist as a trophy keeps the tooth.
In honor of the nation's heritage, all of the crew don plastic Viking helmets for the show - much to the amusement of the band and crowd.
Before the show, the band is presented with Platinum discs. So far, they have sold 300,000 records in Norway - no mean feat in a country whose population is only a little over 10 times that size!
Friday, JUNE 11
THE LOCAL mayor calls Matt to invite him and his wife Kai to visit his ancestral hometown of Sorum. On arrival the party are greeted by a mass of photographers and TV film crews. The band's own documentary film crew records the drive around the town with the mayor and a visit to the town hall where Matt is presented with a map of the area, the town's coat of arms and a commemorative scroll.
Back in Oslo, Gilby and Duff go out to a private screening of the new Sylvester Stalone movie 'Cliffhanger'. In the evening Matt and Slash go watch Blues guitar legend John Mayall at a club. Mayall later invites Slash up to jam.
Saturday, JUNE 12
FLYING INTO Sweden during the afternoon, the band is transported with a police escort straight to Stockholm's Olympic Stadium. Having rained all day, the crowd is soaked.
As the show gets under way, Axl pulls a banner out of the crowd and suggests to the other band members in a mock-Swedish accent that they could all "make lots of Swedish babies"!
As they leave the stage, Slash tells the audience that there will be an aftershow party in Dizzy's room back at the Sheraton Hotel. Luckily, only a few people understood what he was talking about!
Tuesday, JUNE 15
SLASH DOES a live on-air interview on Swiss national radio DRS3. He chooses favorite tracks by bands including The Beatles, Aerosmith, Rose Tattoo, T Rex and Jimi Hendrix whilst the building is besieged by fans. During off-air breaks he signs autographs on everything from T-shirts and guitars to tiny scraps of paper. On leaving the radio station, Slash's van is followed by a convoy of fans, many with video cameras, on motorbikes and in cars.
Wednesday, JUNE 16
BLIND MELON and The Quireboys open tonight's show at the St Jakob Fussballstadion. GN'R arrive early to rehearse a new song - which in the end they don't play. Midway through the set, which includes 'Dead Flowers', a naked Shannon Hoon (of Blind Melon) walks on-stage during the acoustic set to deliver a pizza then sit down beside Matt to play the congas…
Thursday, JUNE 17
IN THE evening, Duff, Slash, Gilby and Matt go to the movies to see 'Alive' whilst Dizzy revisits a tattooist for some shading and Axl takes a long sauna.
Friday, JUNE 18
DIZZY'S 30TH birthday. The band flies to Bremen for the first of five German shows, at the 50,000 capacity Weserstadion. The band play Rose Tattoo's 'Nice Boys' for the first time on this leg of the tour after which Axl invites the audience to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Dizzy.
Saturday, JUNE 19
UNABLE TO find an open restaurant in Cologne, band members once again settle for a McDonalds!
Sunday, JUNE 20
ANOTHER DAY-OFF, sightseeing in Cologne. Slash and Gilby have dinner in an Italian restaurant next to the city's famous cathedral. The owner is unaware of the guitarist's sense of humor and so is delighted when Slash, unimpressed by the meal, signs the visitors' book:
"Of all the restaurants in the world, this is one!"
Monday, JUNE 21
FLY TO Stuttgart. Later, at the hotel, whilst some of the band members congregate in Matt's room to play cards, Slash records new material on a portable studio in his room.
Tuesday, JUNE 22
GIG AT the 50,000 set Wildparkstadion in Karlsruhe. Support band Suicidal Tendencies fail to show up because they have been double booked and are in Italy to support Metallica! Brian May gets stuck in traffic but eventually plays a longer set to compensate. Guns N' Roses' helicopter pilot gets lost during what should have been a 20-minute flight to the stadium. They eventually take almost an hour to reach their destination and hit the stage beneath a pouring rainstorm.
Wednesday, JUNE 23
SLASH SPENDS most of the day chatting with Axl and playing pinball in his room on the machine that was delivered to the hotel yesterday.
Thursday, JUNE 24
THE BAND travels - some by coach, some by plane - to Frankfurt. At 3am that evening, Del James and Axl takes a walk on their own without the usual security team. They find themselves in a seedy part of town confronted by junkies and drunks. After a few tense moments, they manage to extricate themselves before retiring to an all-night dinner. They return to the hotel as the sun comes up.
Friday, JUNE 25
DUFF AND the GN'R documentary film crew gatecrash at a Geffen German sales conference in a nearby hotel. Duff commandeers the meeting, giving them a sneak preview of his solo album.
The gig that night is at the 55,000 capacity Waldstadion. On arrival Slash and Dizzy meet a teenage fan who is terminally ill with cancer. For the first time since this leg of the tour started, the band play 'Estranged'…
Saturday, JUNE 26
FLY TO Munich and are rushed to the 70,000 capacity Olympic Stadium with police outriders. Two songs in the set, Axl spot a Red Cross worker sporting a white waistcoat with the Red Cross emblem on it. He asks to borrow it but initially the worker refuses. The promoter offers to organize compensation for the temporary loss of part of his uniform and the man says yes - if his superior agrees! Eventually, the deal is done and Axl wears it for the rest of the show.
Sunday, JUNE 27
SLASH'S WIFE Renee and Duff's wife Linda fly in from LA.
Monday, JUNE 28
DAY OFF in Munich before flying to Bologna, Italy. In-flight movie is 'This Is Spinal Tap'.
Tuesday, JUNE 29
FOLLOWING A successful show at the Stadio Braglia in Modena - which included a first rendition of Todd Rundgren's 'Dust In The Wind' - Axl is rushed by three freelance photographers. As security try to get through the crowd, a young police officer arrives at the scene and fires his gun into the air to break them up. Calm is immediately restored.
Wednesday, JUNE 30
TONIGHT'S SHOW opens with 'It's So Easy', but departs from the usual format when three members of the band's security team bring out Axl's assistant, Robert Finkelstein, bound with his hands behind his back and his legs tied together. They dump him in front of the stage, where he remains throughout the entire acoustic set!
At around 3am, the GN'R plane takes off from Bologna airport for Barcelona.
Thursday, JULY 1
DUFF'S SIGNING session in the Barcelona Virgin Megastore attracts over 3,000. The crowd spills out into the surrounding streets and brings traffic to a standstill before the National Guard are called to restore order.
In the evening, Gilby and his wife Daniella go to dinner with Skid Row drummer Rob Affuso and his girlfriend - band masseuse, Sabrina Okomoto.
Friday, JULY 2
HAVING OBTAINED special permission from the authorities, Slash and photographer Robert John are interviewed by a BBC film crew on the roof of one of celebrated Catalan architect Gaudi's buildings. Gaudi's most famous building, the unfinished modern cathedral Temple Expiatori Sagrada Familia, is their next point of call but eventually they have to leave when GN'R fans mob the guitarist.
Dizzy, his wife Lisa and their one-year-old daughter Skye go shopping before Dizzy accompanies Slash and some crew members to a massive beer festival two blocks from their Hilton hotel.
Axl, still in Verona, goes to watch U2.
Saturday, JULY 3
AXL AND party travels to Venice for a day's sightseeing then on to Barcelona - where most of the GN'R party returns to that beer festival!
Sunday, JULY 4
DUFF AND Matt and their wives return from a few days spent relaxing in Ibiza and Malaga respectively.
Monday, JULY 5
GILBY, SLASH and other members of the band return from their days off and drive straight to the spectacular 60,000 Olympic Stadium. Tonight, band biographer Del James takes to the stage dressed in a Domino's Pizza uniform, and plays congas on 'Used To Love Her'.
They fly out for Madrid at 3am.
Tuesday, JULY 6
WITH LATE curfews in Spain, tonight's 22-song set doesn't start until 11.15pm. Matt and Duff swap instruments during 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door'. Later they comb the city's nightclubs.
Wednesday, JULY 7
DUFF AND photographer Robert John tour the city finding locations to take potential publicity and album cover shots for the bassist's forthcoming solo album.
Thursday, JULY 8
FLY TO Nancy, France for a gig at the 20,000 capacity Zenith arena. Rob Affuso joins them on congas during the acoustic set - sporting the now familiar Domino's pizza uniform! After the gig, the band flies direct to Lyons.
Friday, JULY 9
SHOW AT the 20,000 capacity indoor Halle Tony Garnier boosted by the arrival of tour manager Bill Greer playing congas on 'Used To Love Her'. Much later that night, members of the GN'R entourage, the Brian May band and the flight crew from the plane, throw a party in the hotel bar - encouraged by a barman dancing on the bar in between mixing killer cocktails.
Saturday, JULY 10
DAY OFF, shopping and sightseeing. Slash buys a collection of small tables, each individually made in the shape of a Walt Disney character.
Sunday, JULY 11
LEAVE FOR Belgium at 5pm. A police escort takes them straight from the airport to the 60,000 capacity open air Werchter gig. Their vans arrive as Suicidal Tendencies finish their last set supporting the band. Then, after Brian May, GN'R play a 19-song, two hour 10 minute set. Back at their Brussels hotel, Duff and his wife Linda celebrate their first wedding anniversary with friends in the bassist's suite.
Monday, JULY 12
SLASH, GILBY and a few of the entourage get a special guided tour of the dinosaur exhibition at Brussels' natural history museum - by the curator who has opened the museum especially for them on a day when it is normally closed.
Brian May's manager John Reese and Gilby buy a Cartier watch for May's birthday. Like Matt and his wife Kai, May has already traveled to Paris where he enjoys a surprise river boat birthday party. Guests include the GN'R drummer.
Tuesday, JULY 13
THE REST of the party flies to Paris. This will be the last European concert on the two-and-a-half year 'Use Your Illusion' world tour. As they celebrate a successful two-hour show in the hospitality room after the gig, the Gunners say a fond farewell to long-term friend Brian May, who has opened for them on the last leg of the tour.
Returning to the Royal Monceau hotel at around 1am, the band congregate in the hotel bar, where they stay until the early hours before flying to Buenos Aires the day after.
