Hard-rocking former Guns ‘n’ Roses bass player Duff McKagan will be calling in at Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall this Friday September 19 with his new project Loaded.

McKagan’s is a familiar rock and roll story. Born into a musical Seattle household where each family member played at least one instrument, Duff cut his teeth in a few local pop-punk bands before answering a small ad calling for a bass player.

He promptly moved to California, then a breeding ground for 1980s rock talent, and met guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler.

The trio then joined forces with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin to form the explosive (and occasionally controversial) rock group Guns ‘n’ Roses, playing their first gig at infamous Hollywood nightclub The Troubadour.

After a thirteen-year stint in one of the biggest rock bands in the world, enjoying monster hits such as Sweet Child of Mine, Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City along the way, McKagan quit to pursue solo projects.

He since won acclaim with Grammy-award winning Velvet Revolver, a band formed with Guns ‘n’ Roses bandmate Slash, drummer Matt Soren and Wasted Youth’s Dave Kushner.

Whilst playing with Velvet Revolver, Duff created another explosive quartet - the Seattle-based Loaded – a high-energy, hard-rocking melting pot of punk and alternative rock in which he unleashes his own powerful vocals.

Here are some other rock facts about Duff:

• Broadcasters have placed short time delays on live awards ceremonies ever since the 1990 American Music Awards, when a slightly worse-for-wear Duff and Slash stumbled onto stage and swore, live, into the microphone.
• McKagan had a rude awakening one morning in 1994 when he discovered his pancreas had burst. Following emergency surgery, he immediately stopped drinking.
• He played a dead rocker vampire in a 1997 episode of US serial show Sliders.
• McKagan has worked with some of the genre’s most noted musicians including Iggy Pop, Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols and fellow Seattle rockers Alice in Chains.

* Loaded will perform at the Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton this Friday, September 19 at 7pm *

Visit the Loaded website and get your tickets here.