Heavy metal band formed by Tracii Guns. Tracii said in a
1988 interview: "Originally, L.A. Guns started three years ago. The line-up was me,
Axl Rose, now of Guns n' Roses, and some other guy. We did that for a while and me and Axl split from that band and started playing with this guy, Don Costa, who was the
bass player for
Ozzy Osbourne at the time. The guy fucked us over and then Axl took off and formed Guns n' Roses with the guys who are in that band now, except for
Slash, who wasn't in the band then. I continued with L.A. Guns."
The band's had many line-ups, but the one one their first few albums and most famous songs is: Philip Lewis (formerly of Girl with Phil Collen from Def Leppard)- vocals; Tracii Guns - lead guitar, Mick Cripps - guitar, keyboards, Kelly Nickels (formerly of Faster Pussycat - bass, Steve Riley (formerly of W.A.S.P. - drums. I've had a lot of trouble finding out who is actually in the band now (stupid fans who never update their web sites) but it looks like this lineup is back together again, after some time with Jizzy Pearl (formerly of Love/Hate), Johnny Crypt, and other people in the band. (Apparently Tracii Guns is also recording with Poison, too.)
Possibly best known for the power ballad "The Ballad of Jane," (spelled without a "y" on my copy of Cocked and Loaded, but it is a tribute to Jayne Mansfield) but they have done much better songs. Their complete discography:
- L.A. Guns (1988)
- Cocked and Loaded (1989)
- Hollywood Vampires (1991)
- Cuts (1992)
- Vicious Circle (1995)
- American Hardcore (1996)
- Wasted (5 songs EP) (1998)