No Bed of Roses

Guns ‘N’ Roses may be the hottest new band in the country--a No. 2 album on Billboard’s chart and a growing rep as the most charismatic group to emerge from the local rock scene since Van Halen. So why isn’t L.A.’s top album-rock station, KLOS-FM, playing the album’s hit single, “Sweet Child O’ Mine”?

“Our testing found it had a highly negative reaction with anyone over 25--they just don’t like the song,” explained program director Charlie West. “Those listeners are really important to us, so it wasn’t worth the risk of playing it.”

Says Geffen Records promo chief Al Coury: “I think they must’ve pulled the record because of the way the band behaved on ‘Rockline’ (a syndicated radio show hosted by KLOS deejay Bob Coburn).”

According to West, the band’s behavior was “disgraceful.” He added: “They couldn’t even straighten up long enough to do the show. The guitarist, Flash, vomited all over the studio--and Bob said they ripped a girl’s blouse and were pretty out of control. But that had nothing to do with my decision to pull the record.”

Retorted Coury, “Flash did vomit--he told us he’d eaten a bad artichoke. But he didn’t attack any girls or anything. And geez--he did vomit in a paper bag. It’s not like he threw up on the program director!”