Come the start of , there were few bigger bands in the world than and few more bankable
Hollywood stars than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Needless to say, then, that when the iconic entities came together for the filming of the video for GnR's latest single in early 1991, it created an instant moment of pop culture history. was to be featured in Arnie's imminent blockbuster, - something that the
Actor would later claim came about as the result of him personally hosting the band round his house. When it came to
shooting a video for the song, which would later be included in the second part of GnR's colossal two-album release, it made perfect sense for the band and the man to try and work together for a huge bit of co-promotion. "They have been big, big fans of and have expressed it many times, and I have been a fan of their
music," Schwarzenegger stated. "So we checked into what it would be like to do a video together." The video, featuring Arnie in full T-800 garb casing Guns N' Roses as they play a show in LA's iconic Roxy, was an instant hit, carrying the single to top three status in the
UK, Australia and a host of European territories, as well as a peak position of Number 2 in the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart - the band's highest ever position. As it turns out, the shoot also gave Arnie and Gn'R the chance to consolidate one hell of a friendship. "We hung out!" said Guns guitarist, . "We got on really, really well. He gave the whole band jackets from the movie, these great, French, leather biker jackets with bullet holes everywhere. "We shot some footage of us coming out of the dressing room at a stage door at the Roxy in LA," he added, "where we come face to face with Arnold in his Terminator gear. It was all pretty funny." As former Guns drummer Matt Sorum remembered it when discussing the video in 2019 documentary , the band weren't exactly on their best acting form when it came to finally calling action on their big scenes with The Terminator himself. Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! "Arnold had a
trailer that was parked in the parking lot," he recalled. "We'd all go over there, and I remember we went in there and he was smoking cigars and drinking Goldschläger, and we all did shots with him. So by the time we shot the last scene where Arnold comes out of the Roxy and we're all standing in a line, where it's Slash, me, Duff, Dizzy and Axl, we'd been in [there] for about four hours drinking heavily. By the time we got to the film set, if you watch, we're very wobbly on that last scene, especially Slash!" Regardless, the video has gone on to become one of Guns N' Roses' most celebrated moments, and a true capsule of 90s pop culture at its absolute zenith. Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He is also probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site. "It was the only place that Satan wouldn’t be hanging out": Twisted Sister were a long way from home, but Jimmy Page's bathroom was a songwriting refuge “He's never done a band like us; he’s done a lot of heavy metal. But I thought the two could mix": How AC/DC's producer and synthesisers reinvented The Cars "Exactly how you’d hope Korpiklaani to sound in 2024 if your expectations revolve around zippy, accordion-driven tavern metal.": Folk metal's biggest party band have found the sweet spot on new album Rankarumpu