The Record Deal That Changed Rock History

Four decades ago, a band signed a record deal that changed rock history.

It's interesting to think that there was once a time where record labels had bidding wars with each other in order to sign an artist and actually had the budget to do so but back in the 1980s, that was the norm.

The rock industry had become a bit oversaturated with hair metal bands by the mid-'80s. Every label wanted their own Motley Crue or Poison and the style had even taken over across the pond as bands such as Def Leppard and Whitesnake surged in popularity.

So when a new band started generalizing a buzz on the Sunset Strip that looked hair metal but sounded much more raw and visceral, the labels were really interested.

That band was Guns N' Roses — and as soon as they realized how many executives had their eyes on them, they turned it into a game.

Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler knew they had something special to offer and knew they were only going to sign a deal that gave them everything they wanted. Sure, they wanted money, but what they were really after was creative control — something a lot of labels promised but didn’t always follow through on if it threatened their radio or TV exposure in any way.

While the members of the band waited for the right opportunity to present itself, they took advantage of the lavish dinners the A&R reps treated them to.

“We made them take us all out to dinner for a few weeks. We’d order all this food and drinks and tell them, ‘Okay now talk'," Stradlin was quoted as saying in the book Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N' Roses.

READ MORE: The Best Album by 11 Legendary '80s Rock Bands

"That was kind of our strategy: get as many lunches and dinners as you can," Guns' early manager and booking agent Vicky Hamilton told Loudwire in an exclusive conversation. "I remember Susan [Collins, Chrysalis Records] taking us to the Ivy and that the bill was almost $1,000."

They ultimately decided to put their future in the hands of Tom Zutaut and Geffen Records, a move that Hamilton asserted was the correct one. If they had gone with any other label, the massive Appetite for Destruction could have sounded quite different.

Learn more about the bidding war that led Guns N' Roses to Geffen and how it impacted the trajectory of their career in the video below.

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The Record Deal That Changed Rock History

Not every band had the same luck as Guns N' Roses. See '80s rock bands that should've been bigger in the gallery below.