The partial Guns N' Roses reunion that brought Slash and Duff McKagan back to the lineup for the band's wildly popular Not in This Lifetime Tour has been a dream come true for many GNR fans. Still, it's been hard not to wish for the involvement of missing members Steven Adler and Izzy Stradlin — the latter of whom has thus far refused to participate at all.

According to former GNR manager Alan Niven, a reunion between Stradlin and his former bandmates actually came tantalizingly close to happening, even getting as far as a soundcheck rehearsal before falling apart at the last minute. Niven shared the story during a recent appearance on the Appetite for Distortion podcast, recalling that Stradlin "did get as far as flying out and doing a soundcheck," but ended up leaving after it was over — and by the time he departed, he "didn’t want to have anything to do with" the tour.

"It was last year," added Niven during the interview segment, which you can listen to below. "It was somewhere out in the Midwest, when they were doing stadiums. Obviously, had it gone well and everybody had been happy, and there had been a little bit of brotherhood — I’m sure he would have stayed with it. But something must have really upset him, because he left after the soundcheck, and never turned up for another one or an appearance. I would think right now, he's probably a little pissed off."

Stradlin, for his part, has mostly avoided commenting publicly on his absence from the reunion lineup, only claiming in one tweet (since deleted) that the band "didn't want to split the loot equally." The Not in This Lifetime Tour, meanwhile, continues with another round of dates later this year.