“Hey everyone – some very sad news to report. Doug Goldstein, a longtime manager of Guns N’ Roses, has passed away. Doug was with GN’R and Axl for 17 years, until 2004.”
— Appetite For Distortion courtesy Instagram
June 25th 2026 — Breaking News hitting the wire right now as we report that former Guns N’ Roses manager Doug Goldstein has died.
Rock musician Stefan Adika has just posted a vlog on his official YouTube channel ‘Artists On Record‘ sharing the sad news about Goldstein.
Goldstein was a security guy back in the day, then evolved into a road manager and eventually an official manager.
Goldstein was hired to be a tour manager for Guns N’ Roses in 1987, before ascending to the band’s official manager in 1991 where he stayed for 17 years before being fired by the band in 2004.
Over the years Goldstein also managed Blind Melon, Danzig and Anthrax among others.
The online blog Appetite For Distortion also posted about Goldstein‘s passing in the last hour, and we have shared their full message below.
Appetite For Distortion
June 25th 2026 (4:00PM pst)
Hey everyone – some very sad news to report. Doug Goldstein, a longtime manager of Guns N’ Roses, has passed away. Doug was with GN’R and Axl for 17 years. Appetite until 2004.
I was informed yesterday by Craig Duswalt, Axl’s former assistant. Craig and I just recorded an episode together talking about Doug and remembering the good times. He hasn’t done an interview in 12 years. (…and is the other mustached man in the photos fyi)
Needless to say, I’m in shock and saddened. Many of you know that a few years ago, Doug and I were working on his autobiography together. Once others tried to get their hands on the project, it didn’t end well.
At the time, I felt betrayed. I was wrong. What I used to think was a waste of time writing a book that never happened, I now cherish the hours of conversation with Doug.
Doug was ALWAYS kind and supportive of me. He made me feel good about myself, ALWAYS. I took a rejection from a publisher too hard, and it wasn’t Doug’s fault. We did reconcile, but our friendship was never sadly the same.
My heart goes out to his family and friends, especially his 2 sons Jake and Eli. He loved those boys more than anything.
Rest in peace, Dougie.
As of this posting there is no official word on a cause of death.
Metal Sludge sends our condolences to all related and associated with Doug Goldstein.
Doug Goldstein was 65.
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