Former Guns N’ Roses manager Doug Goldstein, who worked with the band through their years of dizzying superstardom and harrowing excess, has died at 65, the Appetite for Distortion Podcast With Brando confirmed.
“Doug was much more than a former Guns N’ Roses manager,” Appetite for Distortion host Brandon Weissler tells UCR. “He was a friendly ear, a supportive voice and a sensitive man.
You don’t survive 17 years with Axl Rose by accident. In many ways, he saved Axl’s life. Doug cared deeply about his friends, family, and all GN’R fans. He struggled in life, but never gave up. ‘Dougie’ will be sorely missed. Love to his two boys, Jake and Eli.”
Former Guns N’ Roses co-manager Alan Niven, who worked closely with Goldstein before their falling-out, told Weissler: “It’s very sad. 65 is not old. I will be lighting a candle for him tonight.”
Goldstein’s job was, by all accounts, a thankless one. He entered the GN’R orbit while the band was hard at work promoting Appetite for Destruction — first as a tour manager, and later as co-manager alongside Niven. Prior to Guns N’ Roses, he’d worked security for the likes of Van Halen, Heart, Black Sabbath and other acts, according to Mick Wall’s 2016 Guns N’ Roses biography Last of the Giants.