Steven Adler spent years beating himself up for getting fired from Guns N’ Roses just before they recorded Use Your Illusion I and II. The drummer-come-pharmaceutical dustbin was given the boot in 1990 after failing to nail new song Civil War in 20 takes.
More than a quarter of a century on, Adler clearly still has a point to prove. He has just been filmed playing along to the Use Your Illusion song You Could Be Mine – a song he never appeared on first time around.
The clip was captured at Adler’s house by Sumerian Records boss Ash Avildsen. “Here’s something the world has never seen,” wrote Avildsen on Instagram. “ADLER PLAYING YCBM! I went to my friend Steven Adler’s house and asked him to play one of my all time favorite GNR songs.. Just so damn good. He still has it after all the insanity he put himself through. It’s nothing short of a miracle he can still play with his signature feel and swing.”
Adler has had a troubled post-GN’R career. He has been plagued by drug addiction, legal problems and health issues including a cocaine-induced stroke. But his fortunes have taken a turn for the better recently – he made a guest appearance with the reformed Guns N’ Roses in July.
Now if someone could just track down Izzy Stradlin’, we’ll all be happy.
