Guns N’ Roses Call Out Music Critics Following Glastonbury Set

Following their Glastonbury performance over the weekend, the band took to Twitter to address two music critics who had reviewed their show. Additionally, they released a statement placing blame on the BBC for the sound issues during the live broadcast.

Guns N’ Roses held a prominent slot as one of the main headliners at Glastonbury, delivering a captivating 24-song set that spanned over two hours on Saturday night, June 24. The Arctic Monkeys headlined the main stage the night before, while Elton John closed out the festival the following evening. NME commended the rockers for their performance, considering it one of their most formidable sets in recent years. However, they did highlight the contrasting dynamics between the band and the audience, describing the festival-goers as “the hippie nucleus of the world.”

However, some publications didn’t hold back with their less favorable reviews, prompting Guns N’ Roses to respond.

“It would take a lot more hate than you,” they went on to tweet on June 27, which are lyrics from the song “Chinese Democracy.” In the tweet, they tagged writers Mark Beaumont and Neil McCormick who wrote pieces about their set.

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For The Independent, Beaumont wrote about Axl Rose, referring to him as “Guns N Roses’ fatal flaw.” He continued, “But from the moment GN’R arrive – with uncharacteristic punctuality – they represent everything dated, rockist, indulgent and macho that Glastonbury has rejected since its inception.”

“Guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan still look the part of grizzled rockers who only function at night, but Axl Rose just looks weird, like an aging small-town hairdresser who has been working out too hard at the gym. The real problem, though, is his voice,” McCormick wrote for The Telegraph.

During the BBC’s televised set several online users commented on Rose’s vocals, with many expressing that his singing was inconsistent or being overshadowed by the music. “It’s hard to judge Guns N’Roses Glastonbury set. The band sounded fantastic, and when you could hear Axl Rose he sounded great. However when you couldn’t it made it a hard watch. I’m not sure if that’s due to his voice or sound problems,” one user tweeted.

“What is wrong with the sound quality we can barely hear him sing over the music,” another tweeted.

Following the Glastonbury performance, a representative from Guns N’ Roses’ issued a statement to Wales Online, addressing the sound problems experienced during the special and placed responsibility on the network for the compromised quality.

“Axl was in top form last night. We have dug deep into the matter, and it appears the broadcast had issues being played on certain TVs like UHDs. This was an unfortunate issue that the mix played through these TVs sounded so poorly; however, it was not the band’s fault but the BBC’s.”

…it would take a lot more hate than you@neil_mccormick@Markbeaumontuk

— Guns N' Roses (@gunsnroses) June 27, 2023

What is wrong with the sound quality we can barely hear him sing over the music #GunsNRoses

— suemarie (@suebaggy) June 24, 2023

It’s hard to judge Guns N’Roses Glastonbury set. The band sounded fantastic, and when you could hear Axl Rose he sounded great. However when you couldn’t it made it a hard watch. I’m not sure if that’s due to his voice or sound problems. #GunsNRoses #Glastonbury

— Words of Rich (@richhollis14) June 25, 2023

(Photo Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Stagecoach)