According to former Guns N’ Roses manager Alan Niven, guitarist Izzy Stradlin came incredibly close to reuniting with the band during their "Not in This Lifetime" tour. Stradlin apparently got as far as soundchecking with GN’R for a midwestern stadium show, but he left afterward and didn’t return for the gig.

Back in 2016, Izzy revealed in a now-deleted tweet that Guns N’ Roses “didn’t want to split the loot equally” with him, curbing the chance for Stradlin’s involvement in the reunion. The guitarist also reportedly declined offers to make special appearances at certain gigs, much like drummer Steven Adler has done from time to time. “You could have a conversation and think it's one way and the next day it's another way,” Axl Rose told Globo TV’s Fantastico. “And I'm not trying to take any shots at Izzy. It's just his thing is kind of his thing, whatever that is."

Adding new context to the Izzy Stradlin situation, Alan Niven revealed some stunning info while speaking with the Appetite for Distortion podcast. “[Izzy] did get as far as flying out and doing a soundcheck, and he left after a soundcheck, he didn’t want to have anything to do with it,” Niven claims.

“It was last year, it was somewhere out in the midwest, when they were doing stadiums. Obviously had it gone well and everybody had been happy, and there had been a little bit of brotherhood, I’m sure he would have stayed with it. But something must have really upset him, because he left after the soundcheck, and never turned up for another one or an appearance. I would think right now he is probably a little pissed off.” [via Alternative Nation]

Fans in the unnamed midwest city had no idea how close they were to witnessing Stradlin reunite with Axl, Slash and Duff McKagan onstage, and it doesn’t seem like Izzy has left the door open for future collaborations. As for Guns N’ Roses, they’ll be invading Europe this summer for more stadium and festival shows.

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