2011.08.21 - The Sunday Times - Rocker Swaps Bass Lines For The Bottom Line (Duff)

Rocker swaps bass lines for the bottom line

The former Guns N’ Roses bassist is the rather unlikely founder of a wealth management firm that intends to assist fellow musicians

By Ali Hussain

When Duff McKagan, the former bassist with Guns N’ Roses, emerged from a decade of drink and drug abuse in the early 1990s, it was not only the potential cost to his health that troubled him.

Recovering from a burst pancreas, the result of a hedonistic lifestyle, he realised that he had no knowledge of what had happened to the millions his rock career had brought.

Now, 17 years later, he is the rather unlikely founder of a wealth management firm that intends to assist fellow musicians left with the same conundrum.

McKagan’s company, Meridian Rock Capital Management, will launch in October with the rock star providing a more approachable alternative to accountants.

Recalling how his interest in the financial world began, McKagan, 47, said: “When I first got out of the hospital, I was just trying to stay sober so I had to fill my time.

“One of the things I did was to go through my financial statements and I couldn’t figure them out.

“No one took the time to explain how money works, you know, simple things — the difference between gross and net, what a bond was, how a mortgage worked.”

While McKagan had not lost his multi-million-pound fortune, the music industry is littered with artists who have, including Leonard Cohen who lost $6.5m (£4m) from his retirement fund.

After studying mathematics at college, McKagan attended the Seattle University Albers school of business and economics. Fellow artists were eager for his advice.

“Even when I was taking my first math class, I started getting calls from friends of mine who were in the same business saying, ‘Duff, you’re in business school, can you help me invest my money?’” he said.

“I realised there was great need for some kind of advice service. It wasn’t just me who was freaking out about being broke.”

McKagan quit Guns N’ Roses, who have sold more than 100m albums, in 1997. He formed a new band, Velvet Revolver, in 2002 and was able to negotiate more contracts.

He believes Meridian Rock Capital Management, which has the backing of Andy Bottomley, a British investor, has identified a gap in the market.

He said: “If you know anything about my profession and the history of it and how many of my peers have been ripped off, there is space for a service like this.”