Duff McKagan on Covering Bowie + Guns N’ Roses’ Plans For 2025

When Duff McKagan decided to cover David Bowie‘s classic, “Heroes,” he admitted that it was unplanned.

“It’s a happy accident,” he told Chuck Armstrong on Friday night’s Loudwire Nights (Nov. 8). “Of all the songs I’m recording, I have working titles for half of them.”

As he explained, one of his songs held the working title of “Heroes.” When he finished recording the track, his producer had an idea.

“He’s like, ‘Have you ever thought of doing a Bowie song, like doing ‘Heroes,'” McKagan recalled.

“It just came up and we had my drummer there and, okay, well, let me just play it. I mean, it’s not a bad idea.”

McKagan said the vocal range was perfect for him and so after quickly learning it, he decided to record it. It didn’t take long for him to release it as a digital single ahead of his recent run of solo dates in Europe.

“That’s how it came out,” he said.

“We did a live version of it in London that is now out with Steve Jones from the [Sex] Pistols.”

Guns N’ Roses’ Plans For 2025 Are Taking Shape

In addition to discussing his upcoming Record Store Day release and his current solo tour in the U.S., McKagan confirmed — briefly and vaguely — some plans for Guns N’ Roses.

“I mean, 2025’s going to be Guns,” he told Chuck.

READ MORE: Henry Rollins Discusses Writing + Why He’s Done Making Music

“That doesn’t mean I don’t stop recording in my studio here, but it’s going to be a GN’R year. More to be revealed, but we’re just figuring it out right now.”

What Else Did Duff McKagan Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What it was like performing at Easy Street Records in Seattle and why he’s excited to release that show on Record Store Day Black Friday
• Why he thinks it’s particularly special for fans to see him perform his recent solo album, Lighthouse, a year after he released it
• How he celebrated the release of Lighthouse in the middle of Guns N’ Roses’ 2023 tour

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Duff McKagan joined Loudwire Nights on Friday, Nov. 8; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.