Woah, here’s something you don’t see everyday – an apology from Axl Rose.
The Guns N Roses frontman took the opportunity to apologise to fans in Philadelphia during a concert in the city a few nights ago for causing a riot back in 2002 which saw five people sent to hospital when the band failed to show up for a gig.
Fans had been left waiting for over two hours for the band to show up and when they failed to materialise tore up the venue throwing food and drinks at security. Chaos ensued as seats were thrown around the venue and hundreds of disgruntled punters rushed the stage where a fight broke out.
“I already got sued for about, everything I own by f**kin’ corporate radio and s**t,” began Axl. “Now we’re back on tour…I have to shut up. I did cancel the first show, at about six in the morning. My manager told me he cancelled it and then didn’t.”
“And then Clear Channel wanted us to f**k up, because they wanted to end the tour. ‘Cause they had some s**t going on in Florida or something… I don’t know… a whole bunch of bulls**t. But I got really sick; it had nothing to do with fur coats and basketball games, you know.”
“I love Philly. I came to visit here a few times and I really liked it. So I said, ‘OK we’re gonna risk it, what if we can throw in a show in Philly?’ So it’s good to be here with you people. I want to apologize for my part of that. You know, so… I’m not saying I’m innocent.”
It wasn’t the first time a Guns N Roses gig had ended in a riot. Back 1991 a St Louis gig had to be called off after Axl launched into the crowd and attacked a fan who was trying to film the show. The riot caused an estimated $200,000 in damage.
You can see footage of the incident and others like it in our slideshow below.
