Duff McKagan recently announced his latest solo album titled Lighthouse, which was released in 2023. This album features a blend of rock and introspective themes, exploring topics such as mental health and personal growth. McKagan has described Lighthouse as a very personal project, with tracks reflecting his experiences and challenges, including his battle with anxiety and panic disorders. The album also includes contributions from notable artists like Slash and Jerry Cantrell​

Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses: ‘I was studying the gospels, and I got into martial arts’

Guns N’ Roses emerged in the mid-1980s as a breath of fresh air, blowing away the over-produced hair-metal pop of the time with a a blast of punk, hard-rock and the New York Dolls essence of gritty dirt behind the fingernails glam. The five original members documented their hard-living existence in Ronald Reagan’s recession-hit America with Appetite For Destruction.

Bass player Duff McKagan now 60 is for many the beating punk rock heart of the group. He returns to Dublin for a solo show on the back of a string of solo albums: Tenderness (2019), Lighthouse (2023) and the recent Tenderness Live In Los Angeles.

On Zoom he is the picture of health, sporting a black vest and a large black trucker cap, his blond locks tucked behind his ears. He speaks fondly of an early UK tour that helped break the band in 1987. They appeared on the cover of rock magazine Kerrang, played at The Marquee in London, and released Appetite For Destruction – all in June of that year.

At 6 foot 3 inches, McKagan loomed large over his bandmates with long blond hair, black streaks, a black bike jacket, a Harley Davidson t-shirt, cowboy boots and sunglasses. The band’s image and attitude already lived up to the opening track on their 1986 EP LiveLike a Suicide.

“We broke the UK first with the three nights at The Marquee with all its notoriety, and played to 280 people in this small club over three nights. For us it was the coolest thing in the world,” recalls Duff.

His estimate is probably modest with many more cramming into the sweat-drenched Soho nightspot. With stories of singer Axl Rose giving the middle finger to the audience on the first night after bottles flew towards the stage, and later collapsing after the show, these legendary events are now part of rock’n’roll folklore, lighting the touch-paper of the band’s explosive rise.