Guns N’ Roses reunion ‘a healing thing’ says Stinson

Former Guns N’ Roses bassist Tommy Stinson says the band’s 2016 reunion will be “a healing thing” for the players involved.

Stinson – in the lineup since 1998 – will see his role in the band reclaimed by Duff McKagan, who filled his spot on a series of South American dates last year while he juggled touring commitments with The Replacements, which became an ongoing scheduling challenge for him.

Stinson tells The Current: “I think everyone kind of knows where I stand with it all. I left it in a good way. I mean, roughly, I actually had to just start turning down tours because I was unable to tour. I got into a position, personally, where my personal life was going to prevent me from doing, I don’t know – it must have been about five tours that they called me to do, and I just said I can’t do ‘em.

“And at that point, I think Axl got to the position where he was, like, ‘Okay, so what am I going to do now? ‘Cause I don’t have a band. Blah blah blah.‘”

He adds: “So I think it worked out. And I think they’ll have fun. It will be a healing thing for ‘em, if it works out good. It will be good for them.”

Currently winding down work on his latest solo album, Stinson explains he has no inside track on the 2016 lineup despite his longtime link to Rose.

He says: “I don’t really know. I know that it’s Duff and it’s Slash and it’s Axl, and that’s all I know right now.”

GNR will launch the reunion with two shows in Las Vegas in early April ahead of a pair of headlining appearances at the Coachella festival later that month.

A GNR documentary, The Most Dangerous Band In The World, will see its world premiere with a February 5 broadcast on BBC Four. The project recounts the story of the band’s rise from the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles to stadiums around the world.