Guns N’ Roses Cut Set Short After Axl Rose Falls ‘Severely Ill’

By Variety Staff

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Back in the day, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose used to cancel a show if he didn’t feel the audience was appropriately enthusiastic. What a different 25 years can make: Sunday night in Abu Dhabi, a “severely ill” Axl powered through 20 songs of the group’s usual 28-song set.

“I’ve been throwing up for about the last five hours,” he told the crowd. “So instead of canceling I’m gonna do the best show we can for you.”

After the show, guitarist Slash tweeted, “Abu Dhabi, you guys were f—ing great tonight! Axl was severely ill. But you all were hugely supportive. Thanks for that. We’ll see again next time! Cheers! iiii]; ) ‘.”

Bassist Duff McKagan tweeted, “Thank you Abu Dhabi! @axlrose pulled a damn miracle…the man was beyond ill, and pulled off something I’ve never seen in my 40 yrs of playing. You all pulled him thru. Til next time!”

The group is winding down its multi-year “Not in This Lifetime” semi-reunion tour (featuring founding members Rose, Slash and McKagan), which began with a brace of warm-up dates in April of 2016 and has two dates remaining, in South Africa and a final — for now, anyway — date in Hawaii on December 8.