Former Guns N’ Roses Manager Shares Wild Rock Stories in New Book

Alan Niven is the former manager of Guns N' Roses and Great White. He steered Guns N' Roses through their peak years from 1986 to 1991, and he released Sound N' Fury: Rock N' Roll Stories on June 24. The book spills secrets from his time with the band and other music giants.

"Because nobody else would do it," said Niven to the Los Angeles Times about taking the job. "No one else would deal with them. Literally, I was not bottom of the barrel, darling — I was underneath the barrel. It was desperation."

The book tells wild tales. Police once had to bring Axl Rose from his house to play at the L.A. Coliseum. In another twist, Izzy Stradlin carried a $750,000 check that Niven stuffed in his shoe during a New Orleans trip.

"I hate rock and roll books. I did try writing a manuscript, and I found it tedious, depressing, a chore," Niven told Loudwire Nights. The project moved forward only after Slash read an early draft and pushed for its completion. Niven produced "Rock Me" and "House of Broken Love" with Great White. His tales include firing a young Michael Bay and odd encounters with Ozzy Osbourne.

In a bold move, he turned down a full Rolling Stones tour. Instead, he struck a million-dollar deal for select L.A. Coliseum shows. "Mick Jagger is pretty rich as it is," Niven told Loudwire Nights. "I don't feel an obligation to fill his coffers that he keeps in the islands in the Caribbean."

Unlike typical music memoirs that follow strict timelines, this book offers stories as standalone pieces. "If you tell the stories well enough, they might be illuminating," Niven told the Los Angeles Times. "I saw it more as a record than I did a book."