Axl Rose Almost Stopped Aerosmith Tour As Revealed By Guns N’ Roses Former Manager: ‘Axl Was Always Threatening To Fire People’

Alan Niven, former manager of Guns N’ Roses during their explosive rise, has shed light on the internal dynamics and pressures surrounding the band in its early years, specifically detailing an incident where frontman Axl Rose attempted to cancel a crucial tour and revealing who Niven believes was negatively influencing the singer at the time.

Speaking on the “Appetite for Distortion” podcast, Niven addressed vocalist Axl Rose‘s well-documented volatility. This unpredictability nearly derailed the band’s major support slot for Aerosmith back in 1987. “Axl was always threatening to fire people or quit,” Niven stated (as transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). He explained that Rose demanded the tour be cancelled, and Niven‘s refusal led to consequences: “He had me banned from the Aerosmith tour for three weeks at the beginning of it because I refused to cancel the tour.”

Niven elaborated on his decision to stand firm against Rose‘s demand, emphasizing his responsibility to the entire group. “The problem was, Axl, I didn’t sign a contract just for you and your wh*m. I signed a contract with five individuals, collectively known as Guns N’ Roses, and I have a responsibility to five people, not just one. The other four wanted to go on tour,” Niven recounted.

Faced with an impasse – with Rose demanding cancellation while other members like Izzy Stradlin urged him “Niv, we gotta go” – Niven described resorting to an unconventional method to break the deadlock. “As it was, I chose a very strange way to – off the wall way – to get out of that conundrum,” he said. “…So I picked up a pair of dice and threw them.” (Niven didn’t detail the specific outcome of the dice roll in this account).

Beyond managing the immediate crisis, Niven later came to believe Rose‘s difficult behavior was being exacerbated by external manipulation. He pinpointed a moment of realization occurring at a birthday dinner he organized for Rose at Le Dome in Los Angeles, after gifting the singer an Ovation guitar earlier that day.

At the dinner, Niven said renowned music executive Tom Zutaut approached him with a stark warning about Doug Goldstein, who would later become the band’s manager. “I sat at the end of the table, and I felt a hand go on my shoulder, and then Tom‘s head was right here, and he whispered in my ear, ‘Doug Goldstein is not your friend,’ which was the first time I had a third party tell me that he is putting poison in Axl‘s ear all the time,” Niven revealed on the podcast.

Niven added that this sentiment was echoed elsewhere, referencing guitarist Slash‘s autobiography: “Slash, in his own book, said it was obvious to him that Goldstein wanted to snatch the brass ring. He was a treacherous individual.” Niven‘s recollections offer a glimpse into the high-stakes pressure and complex interpersonal dynamics that defined Guns N’ Roses during their ascent to global rock fame.