Late GNR Provide Shambolic End To Festival Season

That Guns N Roses would provide the talking point of the festival season was about as inevitable as the rainy summer we’ve just endured – arriving onstage late, slagging off the organisers. One thing you can say about Axl & Co is that they’re pretty entertaining to read about.

The story of the weekend began early last week when Reading & Leeds Festival organiser Melvin Benn told Guns N Roses that they would not be allowed to break their strict curfew – which stood at 11.30pm.

Predictably, when Friday night’s Reading Festival headline slot rolled around Guns N Roses were 58 minutes late onstage when they kicked off at just before 10.30pm (conveniently managing to beat the "maximum one hour delay or you don’t get paid” clause in their contract). The band were allowed to complete their main set after being given an extra thirty minutes, but when they returned to the stage for their encore their sound was cut off.

And despite the band’s protests, which included Axl trying to persevere with a loudspeaker and an acoustic guitar accompaniment for about five minutes, the band could not persuade organisers to turn on their equipment again and they left the stage.

So the roadshow rolled onto Leeds on Sunday night where the band were once again late onstage (just 30 minutes this time). The band this time managed to get through their main set and then one song of their encore (‘Paradise City’) with Axl saying "We would like to play a few more songs for you tonight. But someone is telling us the show's over. This war ain't over yet."

Axl claimed that the band had been told that they were allowed to play until 11.58pm, but organiser Melvin Benn denies that this was ever agreed.

After the show Reading And Leeds Festivals boss Benn told NME "I have no idea where that came from," he said. "I was behind the sound equipment so I couldn't actually hear what he said. Bands often say things like that when they are curtailed."

The aftermath of this one will probably run for a bit longer. Axl Tweeted yesterday "At the very least the fans deserve an apology from those responsible for the nonsense."

Later he added: "Don't know what it is w/us or these last 2 shows. Takes the fun out it 4 everyone fans, band n' crew alike but whatever."

We would love to hear your thoughts if you were there – were the band any good when they were on stage? What did you think about the delay?