Guns N' Roses Stage Sit Down Protest At Reading Festival 2010

Guns N’ Roses were jeered by the crowd as they headlined the opening day of this year’s Reading festival tonight (August 27).

The band, fronted by Axl Rose, arrived on stage 60 minutes late, prompting several audience members to leave before their set started.

And the crowd continued to disperse during the band’s performance, which fused songs from recent album ‘Chinese Democracy’ with their classic hits.

But organisers eventually cut sound to the main stage when the band's set over-ran.

The festival marked Guns N’ Roses first appearance in the UK since they headlined Download festival in 2006.

The band kicked off their set with ‘Chinese Democracy’, which was accompanied by the first of several pyrotechnics displays.

The song was followed by renditions of ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, ‘It’s So Easy’ and ‘Mr Brownstone’.

Rose changed costumes throughout the band’s performance - mixing his headwear between cowboy hats and bandanas - and often spent time off stage while the rest of the band played instrumentally.

The singer, who was on energetic form despite festival-goer’s meek reception, rarely spoke to the crowd, expect at one point to tell the them: “I smell cannabis.”

He also took a brief moment to introduce the band’s current line-up, which includes Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson.

Guns N’ Roses performance also included a cover of the Wings classic ‘Live And Let Die’, which was again supplemented by a pyrotechnic display.

It wasn't until the end of their set that the band finally began to win over the crowd, playing the hits ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’, ‘November Rain’ and ‘Night Train’.

But due to their late arrival, organisers were forced to cut the band's sound at midnight (BST), leaving drummer Frank Ferrer to lead the crowd with a drum-only rendition of 'Paradise City'.

Festival director Melvin Benn had warned the band about breaking the festival's curfew earlier in the week.

Rose ended the band's set in the pit thanking members of the crowd, before staging a sit down protest.

Gigwise will be coming live from both Reading and Leeds throughout the weekend so stay tuned for all the latest news, gig reports and photos.

For more information about the Reading and Leeds festival and all this summer's festivals, check out the Gigwise Festival Guide.