'Chinese Democracy' comes to Ireland

Former Slane headliners Guns N' Roses are to play concerts at Dublin and Belfast, it has been announced.

The band, which is effectively a solo project for elusive singer Axl Rose, will play the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on August 31st and the O2 in Dublin on September 1st.

Their last show in Ireland was in the RDS in 2006.

Rose finally released Guns N' Roses new album Chinese Democracy in November 2008 after a 13 year wait, making it one of the most expensive and protracted album releases in music history.  However, he did not promote the album, did no interviews, and has only now begun to tour it.

Guns N'Roses became one of the biggest bands in the world in the late 1980s following the release of their debut album Appetite for Destruction and headlined Slane Castle in May 1992. A mixture of drink and drug rproblems and a falling out between Rose and his fellow band members saw them split up a short time afterwards.

The band's former guitarist Slash, who had a very public bust-up with Rose, is playing a sold-out concert at Vicar Street on June 29th.