Use Your Illusion II is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. The album was released on September 17, 1991, the same day as its counterpart Use Your Illusion I. Both albums were released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour. Bolstered by the lead single "You Could Be Mine", Use Your Illusion II was the slightly more popular of the two albums, selling a record 770,000 copies its first week and debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, ahead of Use Your Illusion I's first-week sales of 685,000. As of 2010, Use Your Illusion II has sold 5,587,000 units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Both albums have since been certified 7× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was also No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart for a single week.
Use Your Illusion II
Raphael, The School of Athens (detail)
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in March 1985 when local bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns merged. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic lineup" consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The current lineup consists of Rose, Slash, McKagan, guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.
Guns N' Roses at Glastonbury Festival 2023. From left to right: Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus, Duff McKagan, Axl Rose, Slash, Melissa Reese and Frank Ferrer
The original lineup of Guns N' Roses in March 1985. From left to right: Rob Gardner, Izzy Stradlin, Axl Rose, Tracii Guns and Ole Beich.
Guns N' Roses classic lineup, from left to right, Izzy Stradlin, Steven Adler, Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, & Slash
Izzy Stradlin was the band's rhythm guitarist from 1985 until 1991.
