"Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty". Those iconic and unforgettable lyrics, combined with the unmistakable 80s rock sound of Guns N' Roses, made "Paradise City" the perfect tune for playing out loud on your Saisho car stereo back in the 80s - actually it sounded better on a decent sound system, but that's all I could afford back then!
You can listen to the official instrumental extended version further down the page, which will allow you to hear all of the different instrument parts more clearly. The official video is further down this page.
Well, I certainly have fond memories of driving home after a hard day's work on a hot summer's day, one arm leaning out of the window while singing along to this classic tune. I was just turning 20 when this came out, which is still plenty young enough to be pumping up the volume!
"Paradise City" was Guns 'N' Roses fourth and final single release from their debut album Appetite For Destruction. Released in the UK during March 1989 - the follow-up to "Sweet Child O' Mine" - the song peaked at #6 in the singles chart and has achieved sales of over 600,000 and a platinum certificate. In the US the song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song became a top 5 hit in numerous countries, reaching No.1 on the Irish Singles Chart, No.2 on the RIANZ chart in New Zealand, and No.2 on the Dutch Single Top 100.
"Paradise City" was the only song on the Appetite For Destruction album to feature a synthesizer.
Formed in LA, California in 1985, the rock band released six singles during the 80's (between 1987 and 1989) and have, so far, released 22 singles and six studio albums. The band's most recent release of new material is the "Hard Skool" EP in 2022.
According to Slash, the music and lyrics were created off the cuff while the band were drinking and playing in the back of a rental van, which was on the way back from a gig in San Francisco with the band Rock N' Riders. All of the band members had a hand in "writing" them, and these were Slash, Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler.
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