The Appetite for Destruction Tour was a tour by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses in 1987 and 1988 to promote their debut album Appetite for Destruction, which was released in July 1987. During the 16-month tour, the band opened for bands The Cult, Mötley Crüe, Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, and headlined shows across four continents. It is the only tour in which the classic lineup of Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, and Steven Adler performed together, aside from opening four shows in at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for The Rolling Stones in October 1989. "We started out as a hardcore band and we toured our fucking asses off," Slash recalled. "Next thing you know, we've turned into pop stars."

Background

On August 20, 1988, Guns N' Roses performed at the Monsters of Rock festival at Donington Park in Castle Donington, England. At the start of their set, the capacity crowd of over 100,000 began jumping and surging forward. Despite Axl Rose's requests that the crowd move away from the stage, two fans were trampled to death. Media largely blamed the band for the tragedy, and reported that they continued playing despite the dangerous conditions. However, the venue's head of security noted that GN'R had not been aware of the extent of fan injuries, had immediately halted their set when requested to do so, and had attempted to calm the crowd. The band's show at Texas Stadium on September 17, 1988, is remembered by the band as one of their worst performances. "The band completely fell apart in front of this massive audience," recalled Slash. "It was desperate on stage, trying to keep everything together. I have nightmares about it."

Opening acts

Setlists

Songs played overall

Typical setlist

3 Nights @ "The Marquee"

North America (1st leg)

Europe

North America (2nd leg)

North America (3rd leg)

North America (4th leg)

North America (Aerosmith leg)

Monsters of Rock England

4 Nights @ LA Coliseum

Farm Aid IV

Pacific leg

Tour dates

Personnel