Guns N' Roses launches Taiwan tour

Guns N' Roses kicks off its first tour in three years on Friday (December 11th) in Taiwan, marking the band's first gigs in support of its 2008 CD, Chinese Democracy. According to Blabbermouth.net, footage of the group -- minus singer Axl Rose -- soundchecking at the Taipei County Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan was briefly posted online before being pulled down. Guns N' Roses will spend the next eight days playing additional shows in Korea and Japan before returning home. A 13-date Canadian trek is on tap for January 2010, followed by South American shows in March and April.

- The band has not booked any U.S. or European dates yet.
- Guns N' Roses' last world tour, in 2006 and 2007, took in 60 shows in 26 countries and was the band's first full tour since 1993.
- In addition to sole original member Rose, the current lineup of the band includes guitarists DJ Ashba, Ron Thal and Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer.
- Chinese Democracy was released in November 2008 as a Best Buy exclusive, 17 years after the last all-original Guns sets, Use Your Illusion I and II. The album was a commercial disappointment, selling less than one million copies in the U.S. despite the long wait.