Welcome to the Jungle: Four Kiwi Rockers, One Guns N’ Roses Obsession. Building New Zealand’s Ultimate Rock Supergroup.
by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
Guns N’ Roses, the Los Angeles hard rock band formed in March 1985, have long since cemented their status as a household name. Now, GnR are heading to New Zealand, set to storm Eden Park, Auckland, on 17 December 2026.
If there’s one man in New Zealand who understands musical alchemy, it’s Barnaby Weir, the architect behind The Black Seeds and the ever-evolving collective Fly My Pretties. Known for assembling line-ups that feel less like bands and more like fleeting, electric moments in time, Weir has built a reputation on instinct and chemistry.
So naturally, I decided to borrow the blueprint and maybe stir a little trouble of my own.
I’ve put together a Mötley Crüe… whoops, wrong band, a Guns N’ Roses NZ supergroup. And here’s the line-up:
Barnaby Weir (The Black Seeds / Fly My Pretties) — vocals/guitar
Paul Martin (Devilskin) — bass
Steve Rickard (Five Minutes To Mayhem) — guitar
Ian Jones (Supergroove) — drums
A line-up built not on ego, but on obsession.
After assembling this band of fellow GnR devotees, I slipped into journalist mode and started digging deeper.
Paul Martin, long before Devilskin became a dominant force, was cutting his teeth on heavier, darker gods, Sabbath, Motörhead, Priest, Slayer. So when Guns N’ Roses swaggered in with eyeliner and sleaze, it didn’t quite land the same way… at first.
“We could relate to the messy, intoxicated swagger and punky vibe,” Martin reflects, “but to us it didn’t have the bona fide danger of Motörhead or the Pistols. GnR were cool… but not Sabbath cool.”
And yet, like all great myths, the story grew. The danger sharpened. The legend took over.
Martin would know. Before the stage lights, he was a voice behind them, hosting The Axe Attack, one of the longest-running heavy metal radio shows on the planet. Thirty years deep. That’s not fandom, that’s devotion.
For Weir, the entry point was simpler. More innocent. More dangerous, in its own way.
“I was about 11 when my older brother handed me Appetite for Destruction… suddenly I was in the world of the LA scene.”
It didn’t just play, it pulled you in.
“I remember trying to learn the lyrics to Welcome to the Jungle… it influenced me hugely.”
And there it is, the hook. The moment the needle drops and your life splits into before and after.
For Ian Jones, it started with the video for Welcome to the Jungle. He was captivated by the imagery and Axl.
“Then I bought the album and really listened. I was blown away by the rawness and energy. Steven Adler’s drumming, rock drumming at its finest, just pulsed with the band. I always wanted to be in a band that grooved as hard as GnR did. I think I got my wish.”
Ask a fan their favourite hit and you’ll get consensus. Ask them about the deep cuts, you’ll get their soul.
Jones lights up talking about the bizarre, often-overlooked:
“My World, the last track on Use Your Illusion II. It’s a throwaway studio freak-out… but it always makes me smile.”
Weir pivots the other way:
“Patience… it’s the complete opposite of Welcome to the Jungle. A beautiful track. They got it right, it’s a sweet little tune.”
Martin digs laterally:
“Their version of It’s Alright by Black Sabbath, Axl’s take is fast and raw, but it works. And their New Rose cover… worth your time.”
Then there’s Steve Rickard and this is where it gets interesting.
“It’s So Easy. This song is badass, so punk, yet it fits perfectly within that rock groove. You can’t hear it and not move.”
When the question turns to favourites, a pattern emerges, like a riff you can’t shake:
Ian Jones: Welcome to the Jungle — “rock drumming at its finest”
Barnaby Weir: Welcome to the Jungle — “a heavy hitter”
Steve Rickard: Double Talkin’ Jive — groove, tension, release
Paul Martin: November Rain — grandeur over grit
“November Rain is probably my favourite,” Martin says. “The controlled grandeur, the suspense, the enormous arrangements. And the video really sold it. That was every rock band’s dream, it had everything.”
Top 5 Picks, If They Ran the Setlist…
Ian Jones’ Picks
It’s So Easy
Welcome to the Jungle
You’re Crazy
Rocket Queen
Shackler’s Revenge
Barnaby Weir’s Picks
Mr. Brownstone
Welcome to the Jungle
Paradise City
Nightrain
Patience
Paul Martin’s Picks
Mr. Brownstone
Rocket Queen
Yesterdays
It’s Alright
Shackler’s Revenge
Steve Rickard’s Picks
Double Talkin’ Jive
It’s So Easy
My Michelle
Dust N’ Bones
Rocket Queen
Different eras. Different moods. Same band.
The Countdown to Eden Park
By the time Guns N’ Roses hit Eden Park this December, the mythology will already be hanging thick in the air. The songs will feel familiar before they’re even played. And somewhere in that crowd, thousands of stories, first listens, worn-out cassettes, scratched CDs, will collide in one long, roaring chorus.
And if you’re reading this thinking I need to be there, you’re right.
Because this isn’t just another gig.
It’s Guns N’ Roses.
And that means anything can happen.