WHAT do you get when you put members of Guns N' Roses, Thin Lizzy and Mötley Crüe in the same room?

You might imagine battling egos and rock and roll excess but The Dead Daisies say their band is all about the music – with none of the baggage of the old days.

The supergroup includes former Guns N' Roses musicians Richard Fortus and Dizzy Redd, Marco Mendoza, who has played with Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, John Corabi, former lead singer of Mötley Crüe, Brian Tichy, who has drummed for Ozzy Osbourne and Red Phoenix's David Lowy.

"The perception is we’re all egomaniacs and out of control rockers," said bassist Marco, who has been playing for 35 years.

"But it’s really simple – we’ve been around for a while and we’ve come from a lot of experience.

"Having been around you learn how not to do things. You make all your mistakes earlier in your career.

"We’ve had some bumps and grinds but nothing substantial. There are some strong personalities and a lot of talent and when you try and write a song and go in a certain direction there are a lot of different opinions.

"But we trust each other, respect each other and are all looking at the bigger picture.

"I hope it stays like that because I’ve been in quite a few bands where egos have destroyed many things."

Marco was approached to join The Dead Daisies when Thin Lizzy was touring with Mötley Crüe and Kiss.

The tipping point for the 52-year-old was when he heard that the band would be opening for his heroes Aerosmith.

"To me that band is the epitome of rock and roll," added Marco, who grew up in Mexico.

"They’ve been around for a while and it’s still the original line-up. They’re all playing great, they look great and they’ve got a catalogue of music that spans four decades

"To tour with them was great. Every night I was blown away by the intensity and the showmanship of the band.

"And they were all the coolest cats backstage, always saying hello and checking in on us as we were the supporting band. I had a blast."

That shared love of 70s and 80s hard rock is what has inspired The Dead Daisies and after two albums they are back on tour this week.

Marco, who was first inspired by The Beatles, said: "There is a lot of chemistry because we all come from the same place musically. So before we knew it we were writing and recording.

"I’ve been in bands where I’ve had to work with people I really didn’t want to work with and it’s sad – so this is quite the contrast.

"I think one of the reasons we’re doing so well is there’s a big desire to spend time together, write more music, perform and see where we can take it.

"We’re all veterans of the business and you look at the bands we’ve spent time with it’s pretty impressive

"But we’re all in a different time and space now. We’re all husbands and fathers. We still want to be kids but let’s just say we’ve grown up a little bit."

- The Dead Daisies perform at Manchester Academy 3 next Thursday, December 10

DAVID MORGAN