2022.12.16 - Artists On Record Starring Adika - Interview with Alan Niven

Excerpts from Rockcelebrities.net:
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Izzy Stradlin Tried To Save Himself By Quitting Guns N’ Roses, Ex-Manager Alan Niven Recalls

Izzy Stradlin departed Guns N’ Roses when the band was at its prime as they toured the world with the, a bit infamous, Use Your Illusion tour. So, this mid-tour departure may leave anyone wondering why Stradlin left out of nowhere. Well, former manager Alan Niven had the answer for that, as he disclosed during a recent chat with Artists On Record hosted by Stefan Adika.

“Him leaving took me by surprise,” confessed Niven as he recalled Izzy walking out and leaving GN’R. “I was not expecting that at all… but he’d had enough. He had a really, really bad coke problem at one point, and it really worked to the point where to try and break the vibe in the atmosphere in the apartment where he was in. I took my wife and kid in there; to try and inject her.”

Alan continued, “[I said] ‘Izzy, you know, you’re in here with… you’ve got foil in the windows, you’ve stolen some of Steven’s [Adler] personal bedroom films, and you’re watching them. You are so out at the moment, you know, [so] say hello to Corey and Chelsea, deal with kids. Let’s get real here.’”

The manager then discussed how Izzy decided to put an end to his struggle with addiction, influencing his decision to part ways with GN’R. Niven noted, “It [drug problems] was getting bad; I was wondering what the hell I could do to get him out of it, but as you know, you can fight every battle, but you cannot win the war. He actually won his own war and stopped.”

However, the rocker’s relationship with his bandmates deteriorated as he stopped consuming substances and alcohol, and eventually, he chose to travel alone while touring. Alan said, “He stopped with the coke, he stopped with the drinking, and of course, Doug [Goldstein] and Slash saw him didn’t. He traveled in his own bath while he flew around in the MGM plane. I mean, he was just… ‘See you.’”

When Stradlin had to choose between his personal life and career, the guitarist decided to get clean and end his struggle with drugs and alcohol. However, he had to leave GN’R because staying with them might have been a bad influence on him as his bandmates would continue doing substances. So, maybe, it was the right decision for Izzy to leave the act to have a normal, drugless life.

https://rockcelebrities.net/izzy-stradlin-tried-to-save-himself-by-quitting-guns-n-roses-ex-manager-alan-niven-recalls/