Former Guns N’ Roses manager Alan Niven recently shared how no one initially wanted to manage the band before they found success — and how it was guitarist Slash who ultimately convinced him to take the job.
In an interview on the Appetite for Distortion podcast, Niven recalled how, at the time, Guns N’ Roses were seen as a lost cause. The band had a reputation for being wild, unpredictable, and difficult to manage. According to Niven, even their record label, Geffen Records, was considering dropping them before their breakthrough album Appetite for Destruction was recorded.
“They were a bunch of f**kups whom Geffen wanted to drop,” Niven said, noting that Eddie Rosenblatt, the former head of Geffen, had given him just three months to make the band look like a worthwhile investment. If he failed, the label would drop them. Niven only found out years later that this was the plan all along.
Despite the chaos surrounding the band, Niven said he was drawn in by Slash. He described the guitarist as both intelligent and charming, and admitted that Slash was the main reason he decided to take the risk of managing them. “That’s where I started to get sucked in,” Niven said.
At the time Niven joined, the band had blown through their money and were in complete disarray. But by the time he left, they had sold out Wembley Stadium — a massive achievement. Reflecting on that journey, Niven said proudly, “I think I did my job. And the way I did my job was the way I had to do it to get the results.”
Today, Guns N’ Roses is remembered as one of the most iconic rock bands in history. But as Niven’s story shows, their rise to fame was anything but easy.
