Veteran rockers Guns N’ Roses are being haunted by a blast from the past with a fresh lawsuit.
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The band’s former manager, Alan Niven, has filed a lawsuit to prevent them from blocking the release of his new memoir, Sound N’ Fury: Rock N’ Roll Stories, according to Rolling Stone.
Guns N’ Roses allegedly threatened Niven over his autobiography’s publication. Copies, printed by ECW Press, are currently held in a warehouse.
Niven accuses Guns N’ Roses of using a 1991 confidentiality clause to block his book, despite his claim that at least one band member encouraged him to write it.
Niven, a music industry veteran who also managed Motley Crue and Great White, outlined the contents of Sound N’ Fury and explained its delay in his lawsuit.
“Sound N’ Fury consists of anecdotes about [Niven’s] career, including distributing the first Sex Pistols singles in the U.S., cooking a dinner for guitarist Robert Fripp, going to bat for a scruffy musician named Frank Feranna (later known as Nikki Sixx) and reinventing Great White twice,” the complaint explains. “It also includes stories involving the members [of] GNR, while he represented the five individuals who made up the classic lineup of the band.”
Guns N’ Roses Former Manager Claims Copies of the Completed Book Sit in Storage
“Due to GNR’s threats, Sound N’ Fury languishes in a warehouse,” the lawsuit adds per Ultimate Classic Rock. “In a letter written in May 2025, GNR invoked the confidentiality clause in its 1991 buyout Agreement with Niven (the ‘Agreement’) and has blocked publication of the book through repeated threats to Niven and contact with ECW. GNR takes this position despite the following facts (among others): the Agreement was not signed by all of its members (a material term); GNR’s members have commented publicly on Niven; one member encouraged him to write the book; and he has been speaking about his time in GNR for over a decade. Sound N’ Fury’s publication has been delayed for months, even though it received a favorable review from the Los Angeles Times, and has received many preorders.”
The lawsuit identifies “Defendant GNR” as a California partnership believed to be composed of W. Axl Rose, Saul Hudson (p/k/a Slash), and Michael “Duff” McKagan.
Niven is suing for a declaration that the contract is unenforceable and was not breached, alongside claims of tortious interference with contract or business expectancy.
The New Zealand-born Niven managed the “Paradise City” rockers from 1985 to 1991, and was reportedly dismissed from the band that same year at Axl Rose’s request.
Sound N’ Fury: Rock N’ Roll Stories is currently available for pre-order on Amazon. The release date is listed as March 31, 2026, though its availability may change depending on the lawsuit’s outcome.