Phia𝜗𝜚

On June 12, 1985, Guns N' Roses returned to Los Angeles after the "Hell Tour".

In a rented car and with Duff at the wheel, the band had shows scheduled in Seattle, Eugene, Sacramento and San Francisco; however, two hours into their trip, the car broke down. Someone suggested going back to Los Angeles, but Izzy said he wasn't going back “no fucking way.” He just grabbed his guitar and went to the side of the road to hitchhike.

The summer sun was scorching, they had neither water nor food. Forty hours after leaving LA — and after getting a ride with a trucker and two hippies from San Francisco — Guns N' Roses arrived in Seattle. The band was ready for the show, but their equipment never arrived.

Receiving $50 — instead of the promised $300 — the band recovered at the McKagan family's home.

It was in Seattle that Axl began writing lyrics about the reality they lived on the streets of Hollywood; a world of hardship and competition where the only decent meal came from the charity of others and the highlight of the night was a one-dollar bottle of Nightrain wine. The song that Axl started writing during what the band called “The Hell Tour” became the classic “Welcome To The Jungle.”

Another song that began to take shape during the “treacherous journey” — in Slash's words — was “Paradise City.”. They were so far from home that even all the chaos and decay of Hollywood made the city seem like paradise.

They considered borrowing money from Duff's family, but decided to return to Los Angeles the same way they arrived in Seattle; by hitchhiking.

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! ≽^•⩊•^≼