No band impacted Rock and Roll more than The Beatles and Paul McCartney was a crucial part of that success also being an inspiration for musicians across the decades. His songwriting, especially alongside the late John Lennon, changed the course of music by pushing boundaries and revealing the incredible possibilities bands had when creating songs. During his career, McCartney was always interested in hearing new artists, which gave him the chance to witness many incredible bands emerge up close. He spoke about several of those groups, including Guns N’ Roses, originally formed by Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Slash, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler. What is Paul McCartney's opinion on Guns N' Roses Paul McCartney has always taken an interest in new bands that emerged after the ’60s, and he is a fan of Guns N’ Roses. He was even spotted watching and enjoying their show at the side of the stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2023. He had already praised them in the 90s, when the group covered his James Bond theme song "Live and Let Die". "It’s funny, because when their version came out, my kids were in school. They had a lot of defending to do, because all the kids said, 'Great song, ‘Live and Let Die!’ They said, 'My dad did that!' 'No way, it’s Guns N’ Roses!' I was happy they did it. I thought it was a nice little nod. I’m glad to hear our pyro is bigger and better," he said in an interview with New York Times in 2016. Originally released by McCartney in 1973 for the 007 movie of the same name, Guns N’ Roses’ version came out in 1991 on their "Use Your Illusion I" album. Since then, it has been featured in almost all of the Hard Rock band’s concerts over the years. According to Setlist.fm, they have performed the track live more than 800 times. Paul McCartney said the song was reborn after they covered it Curiously, Axl Rose had the chance to meet McCartney before they covered "Live and Let Die". The Beatles member recalled that encounter in an interview with Club Sandwich in 1995. "We did a small gig in New York at the start of the 1989-90 World Tour. Just as a tryout, to get the feel of an audience again, and Axl Rose was backstage." "He said to me, 'I really like your slow songs. I really like ‘The Long And Winding Road', which I was surprised at. And then, off his own bat, he went and did a great version of ‘Live And Let Die’. The song was re-born with their version. School friends of my kids were saying, “Have you heard the new Guns N’ Roses song? It’s great, very cool' and my daughter would be trying to say, 'My Dad wrote that'. But they would reply, 'Get out of it!'" Paul McCartney said. The Beatle said a couple of times that he was amazed that they covered the song and likes when people do that. Guns N' Roses performed the song at Glastonbury in 2023 when Paul McCartney was watching their show at the side of the stage. Axl said they covered McCartney because a critic said it wasn't one of the best 007 songs According to Axl Rose, a music critic in Los Angeles said that “Live and Let Die” was not good. That gave him the idea to cover the track, as it meant he would have to listen to it for a few more years. "Yeah, I grew up on it, you know, and appreciated it. But one of the main reasons we did Live and Let Die... There’s a few reasons. One, because a critic in L.A. was bagging on all the James Bond songs. (He was saying) how they were all great, but Live and Let Die was a terrible song. And so we kinda decided that maybe he needed to hear that for another five years (chuckles)." He continued: "You know, we knew that if we did it, we did it well, this person would have to hear it. Another reason was that it was something to shoot for, you know, in quality. Also, you know, if we could show that we could do that kind of song, it would, like, show the quality in the rest of our songs. Another thing is like, you know, it was kind of –not much, but a little bit of a hard pill to swallow- that we consider Welcome to the Jungle 2 is Live and Let Die, and it’s somebody (else) that wrote it not us," he said in an interview with Rockline in 1991. Axl has already listed Paul McCartney as one of the greatest singers of all time. Besides his work with The Beatles, the Guns N' Roses vocalist also liked his solo era with The Wings, especially. When the guitarist Denny Laine passed away in 2023 at the age of 73, the musician posted a special message. He said: “Very sorry to hear of the passing of Denny Laine. Wings has always (on the daily) been a big part of my life. RIP." Duff McKagan was starstruck when Paul McCartney called him by name https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9PQX6s12FN4 Having the chance to meet Paul McCartney is already incredible. But having him standing at the side of the stage watching you perform and then hearing him call you by name is truly a dream come true. That is exactly what happened to Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan. "Paul McCartney, you know, we (Velvet Revolver) played (at the) Live 8 here in London. You got three songs (to play), you got to hit your nut really quick in front of all those people. (There's) no time to warm up, everybody was playing on, so there's a lot going on backstage. The Who is there, Madonna is over here, Pink Floyd is going to finally play." "We hit the stage and up on stage there's Paul McCartney. He looks at me and he goes 'Hey Duff!'. You got to hit your nut, you got to be comfortable. (But) all I can think off is like 'Paul McCartney knows my name! How the hell did that happen?" "But yeah, I really have been able to meet my heroes. It's been a pleasure to find out that those guys who are still around, they worked hard and they're good guys. I've met some really good guys," Duff McKagan told Beneath the Bassline in 2024 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).The post Paul McCartney’s opinion on Guns N’ Roses appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.