Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan opens up about panic disorder

12 May 2023, 12:55 | Updated: 12 May 2023, 12:59

Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan in 2023 — Guns N' Roses bassist McKagan has opened up about suffering with panic attacks. Picture: GettyTim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

By Jenny Mensah

The Welcome To The Jungle bassist has released a new solo EP and penned a letter to fans about its title track, which he wrote amid a panic attack.

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Duff McKagan has revealed wrote his new song while suffering from a panic attack.

The Guns N' Roses basssist has released an EP which tackles mental health, and he's revealed its title track, This Is The Song came to him while he was suffering an episode.

In a letter he shared to his fans, the Paradise City rocker said: "This Is The Song was written in the middle of a panic attack. I couldn’t breathe and couldn’t see straight, and lately, I have thankfully found my acoustic guitar as a refuge. If I just hold on to that guitar, play chords, and hum melodies, I can start to climb my way out of that hole. For those of you who have never experienced something like this, count yourselves blessed. To those of you who recognize what I am talking about: YOU ARE NOT ALONE! "

Watch the official video for the track, where the rocker sings: "This is the song thats gonna save my life/As I scrape for sanity".

Duff McKagan - This Is The Song

The 59-year-old musician - who released the mini album during Mental Health Awareness Month - also shared how he has suffered from panic disorder since he was a teen, adding in his letter: “I have dealt with a certain variety of panic disorder since the age of 16, and in these recent years, my panic disorder has morphed and twisted and brought along some darkness that seems to appear out of absolutely nowhere.

“It can be terrifying."

The EP, which also features the tracks Pass You By and Can't Come To Soon is McKagan's first new solo music in four years, following his 2019 album Tenderness.

Meanwhile, Guns N' Roses are set to play a host of headline shows across the globe, stopping off in the UK to play their rescheduled date at Glasgow's Bellahouton Park as well as headline sets at BST Hyde Park and Glastonbury Festival, where they will join Arctic Monkeys and Elton John as headliners.

Their bill-topping set on the Pyramid Stage will mark the first time that the band - who are completed by Axl Rose, Dizzy Reed and Slash - have appeared at the festival.