GN'R (InkedDoll)

Haha, okay I honestly credit them with changing my life (I know that sounds preposterous). When I was in my early teens I kind of floated around feeling a bit lost, due to having mild and at the time undiagnosed Aspergers I don't make friends easily, and my parents were very poor and couldn't afford the fashionable clothes that other girls seemed to bond over. I had no idea how to use makeup or style my hair either. I liked music, but had no special allegiances.

Then my friend started dating a guy who had a cassette copy of this new album by a band called Guns N' Roses. She loaned it to me. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before, and I quickly became absolutely obsessed with it. Metal, or what we'd now distinguish as 80s metal/hair metal/*** rock, opened up a whole new world to me - it was a culture, an identity, a community. And it's been my identity and community ever since - I met both my H2B and my two significant exes in rock clubs, and I honestly believe I wouldn't be the person I am today without heavy metal.

I still love GNR, and I do have a tattoo of their logo - but I got it a long time ago and it's not very well done. I'm thinking of asking my tattooist if he can maybe go over it and enlarge it, cos I still very much want their name on me! I've seen them live a few times, but only the 'new' version which is basically 'Axl and his hired guns' (albeit with Izzy once) - I was too young to see them the first time round. If the original lineup were to reunite, I'd probably queue up at midnight for tickets to that. And Axl: totally still would, even with the dodgy dreads-and-bandanna arrangement.

Oh god, I just love them. I'll be honest, anything post Spaghetti Incident passed me by but early 90s, I was obsessed. My bedroom completely plastered in posters, i listened to them nonstop. I was a rock chick at heart but then I looked more like a teeny bopper.

Please don't be jealous when I tell you I went to see them at Milton Keynes Bowl in 1993. I can't say it was the original lineup because there was no Izzy or Steve but it still remains, to this day, the best concert I have ever been to.

Is it bad that I dress my little girl in Gn'R tshirts?

Where is Mooey when you need her?

I saw them twice in my student days. Yes I am that old! Stopped buying/listening when they brought out 2 albums within 6 months which only had half an album's worth of decent tracks between them (was that Use your Illusion? So long ago!).

Yeah, I might be slightly jealous I mean I still consider 1987-91 their heyday, but there is no way I'd have turned the 1993 show down.

I have seen Slash live too but I didn't enjoy it that much. I'm not a huge Myles Kennedy fan - not that I know who would be better to sing GNR songs!

My T shirt story: I bought one with the original Appetite cover, the robot rape scene. While i was at school my mum took it back and exchanged it for a different one cos it was "too offensive". That was 25 years ago and I haven't really forgiven her.

Such an awesome band! I had started Uni and never really knew what type of music I loved. I mean I used to like stuff, but I was never really a Take That or Boyzone sort of person if you know what I mean. Rock was never played on mainstream radio channels and I had only ever heard of a few old bands from my parents.

Then on a uni night out with a new group of people we went to a rock club, I heard sweet child o mine and welcome to the jungle and that was it. I knew I loved this music!

Before I started listening to heavy metal the two artists I had liked the most were Madonna and Bros. Madonna's music has stood the test of time, Bros' not so much.

Pre Rock it was Michael Jackson and Madonna for me.

What bands do you all like now?

I grew up listening to early G'n'R, love them! My brothers were big fans and one has a huge tattoo of the appetite cover haha.

Also the first time I swore in front of my Mum by accident was due to Axl...said "is he in his bare arse?" cause he was wearing really short shorts ? Was only about 9 and I went bright red haha!

I was only 13 in May 93, so I'd not been old enough to go and see them before that. In fact, I wasn't old enough then really was i? ha ha.

How can you say UYI1 & 2 were no good???!??!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?! Oh god, I'm gonna blast out some Gn'R on my way home tonight.

My favourites are:

Rocket Queen

Locomotive

Estranged

Oh christ I could go on and on. I just love them

As for Bros, well, I still love them too!!! And Kylie. And Madonna. And Take That (old TT not the new boring ones). And Jason Donovan (did I go too far?)?

Mr Brownstone is one of my favourites. Before I got the Russian doll on my thigh, I was considering getting "I just keep trying to get a little better, a little better than before" tattooed there. I thought maybe I've just got too many random words and phrases on me now...but I might still get it somewhere else I love Rocket Queen too though...and Get In The Ring...argh, so many great songs

How can you say UYI1 & 2 were no good???!??!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!

At the time, they were a great departure from what had gone before: rhythimically weaker: the band had made lineup changes, and we were young music snobs! Plus Faith no More had been blowing us all away with 'The Real Thing' for the previous year/18 months and GnR waited 2 years and produced something weak by comparison with their old stuff. Listening now it sounds amazing, but at the time, in comparison with some of the other bands, it was just interpreted as a rip off by loads of us.

Anyway, what do I know? I grew up to be a Folkie!

I remember a bit of snobbery when I first got into them about how AFD was far superior but I think maybe because UYI2 was the first album of theirs that I bought, it's still my favourite. I've said this before but the guitar at 6 and a half mins into Locomotive makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It's beautiful, haunting, stunning.

Well, we all know now that Axl likes to faff. When I saw them live the second time, he had four costume changes. Four! Just pick and outfit and stick with it, Mariah.

I used to have a poster of Axl where his penis was perfectly visible through his extremely tight purple leather trousers.

THiS makes me sad:

That is quite sad. But all the 80s rock gods I loved so much look like that now, or worse. Bret Michaels, Nikki Sixx...and Jani Lane is dead. Nuno Bettencourt doesn't look too bad cos he's spiritual and stuff and didn't take heroin and sleep with millions of groupies.

I saw them live in Manchester in the early 90s - can't remember the year but it was the one where Axl couldn't be arsed to get on a plane from Paris or something so the whole thing was postponed on the morning of the actual concert. We had already set off and this was before everyone had a mobile phone so didn't find out until we had travelled two hours to get there. Grrr. Luckily, I could make the rearranged date and so went back and they were fab. Axl still turned up two hours late though....

I also heard Soundgarden for the first time, who were one of the support acts and have been a fan of Chris Cornell ever since. Went to see Soundgarden last year when they reformed with their new album and the years have generally been a lot better on them than on Axl! Chris's voice sounds as good as it ever did.

I have since seen Slash quite a few times in the various bands he formed. I've liked most of them as I think he has a good writing style but none were as 'special' as GNR. Slash's snakepit at a small club in Sheffield, Velvet Revolver in Leeds and Slash with Miles Kennedy twice at Glastonbury. I had high hopes for Velvet Revolver as the lead singer was another fave of mine Scott Weiland who I loved in Stone temple pilots. But his voice just didn't suit the songs really.

Ahh the reminiscing of it all!!! Can't believe it was 21 years ago - it feels like yesterday (cue corny singing Yesterdays got nothing for me...)

...yeah. I so would. I'm not even ashamed.

I freakin' love G n' R too. My eldest son has a t-shirt that he refuses to be parted from! I grew up listening to all that sort of music so I never had the big discovery/revelation moment though. My kids are the same now and much prefer Black Sabbath to One Direction ? The eldest actually asked me this week if he can come to Sonisphere with us. (The answer was definitely no. I want to be drunk and wholly irresponsible the entire time. He doesn't need to see that.)

Actually, if we're sharing emotional stories about rock music, I credit Iron Maiden with helping me make peace with the abuse I suffered as a kid at the hands of my mum's second husband. He was a big Maiden fan and for years their music reminded me of him and I couldn't listen to it without feeling sick. One day, I realised that was crap because I LOVED their music, so I needed to reclaim it. Over time, I learned to separate the two memories from each other, but in the process I realised that it actually also made me confront and move on from everything he did to me.

Ooh I'm going to Sonisphere this year! As a pre wedding treat oh has got us rock royalty tickets so we can park closer to the tent in the VIP bit. Won't make much difference if it's dry but went to Download two years ago and it was a complete mudbath. Once in and set up I didn't mind but dragging our stuff through knee deep mud for miles was crap. I've done muddy Glastonbury who seem to be set up for mud but this was something else.

Have you done sonisphere before? Any tips?

I've been too all but one of the Sonisphere festivals. It's far better than Download these days. The campsite layout is much more sensible and you're never a million miles from the arena or the car park.

I think my only Soni-specific tip would be to leave as early as possible on Monday morning. It is a nightmare to get out of the car park later into the day and the country roads are dreadful.

I am enjoying reading this and watching a programme with Slash in concert on Sky!

I was/am a big Soundgarden fan. But grunge is a separate thing in my mind from hair metal. I knew it was time for a change when I started college in 1991 and suddenly felt ridiculously unfashionable - 80s rock was dying a slow death, even before Kurt came along to kill it with his subversive cardigans. I loved Pearl Jam and Jane's Addiction and Mudhoney and I still listen to them a lot, but stuff like GNR will always be my spiritual home.

I've never been to any of the current generation of rock festivals - I can't manage to camp or stand up for the amount of time required with my arthritis as it is now, but I was never good at camping anyway. My H2B has been to Download a few times, but now Isle of Wight happens on the same weekend and he always manages the box office there, so he can't anymore.

I love them too!

AFD is probably my favourite album, I still after all these years can't decide on my favourite song and Axl is my favourite member - I find him fascinating, I think he is one of these flawed geniuses who is always one second away from pressing the self destruct button. Duff has aged very well and is my current GN'R crush.

One day Pange we will make that pilgrimage to Rainbow Bar & Grill. ?

Yes we will.

I was telling H the other day how I was adamant as a teen that I would get married in a dress not dissimilar to this...

(he was relieved I changed my mind)

I can totally relate to this, although I'm not diagnosed with Asperger's (people have asked if I'm on the autistic spectrum though). I still adore Guns n Roses. I loved the last album and This I Love always makes me think of H2B. I get the thing about Axl too. I've never seen them live, but I would love to. Maybe one day, although I doubt H2B would go with me due to me wanting to perv over Axl.

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