Former GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan (LOADED, VELVET REVOLVER) spoke with Independent.ie

recently about a number of topics. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Independent.ie: It must have been pretty crazy when G N' R blew up in '87?

McKagan: "Man, the fame part... I remember walking into a grocery store and everybody started freaking out. Into a grocery store! The store I used to go to all the time. You know, nothing prepares you for that. And people deal with it differently. You build up these little defence mechanisms. You can't be a normal guy."

Independent.ie: Especially if you're the singer...

McKagan: "Especially being a singer with red hair! You are recognisable everywhere. So yeah, if you call it 'reclusive' -- that's one person's angle on what it was. Or if you want to say, he saved himself, that's another story."

Independent.ie: Between the groupies, the drugs and the boozing, it's a miracle you actually had any time to actually make music.

McKagan: "Things were still wide open. Yeah, we were fucking and sharing needles. It was really, really debauched. Not just in our camp but kind of everywhere. It was probably the last great run at sheer hedonism."

Independent.ie: Does it get a bit old after a while?

McKagan: "Aids is what really put a damper on it. People were going on around not using rubbers, not using clean needles. It was just kind of a free for all. I don't think it was something anyone grew out of. It would probably be that way still if it wasn't for Aids."

Independent.ie: Slash's heart actually stopped beating once and he had to be resuscitated by paramedics. Did you have any miracle escapes?

McKagan: "Oh countless of 'em. Sure. It's a miracle Slash is alive. It's a miracle I'm alive. Or even Axl -- although he was probably the least [hedonistic] of us. He always sort of stayed away from going too deep into it."

Read the entire interview here.