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Three years later, he moved to Los Angeles where his interest in music grew. He formed a band with two friends, but the band went nowhere and he eventually left them and joined the pop group Candy in 1981. Candy soon started playing clubs, and they eventually got a large following, which led to Polygram Records offering them a record deal. In 1985 they released their debut album, titled "Whatever Happened to Fun?". The album was later re-released on Mercury Records. After a tour as opening act for Rick Springfield in 1988, Candy split up.

Throughout the years with Candy, Gilby also started working in a studio for producer Kim Fowley. He would fix guitar parts for other bands. Gilby liked the job, but it wasn't something he wanted to do on a permanently basis. It still taught him lessons of studio work, which would later prove useful, as Gilby would work more in the production side of music. While first producing his own solo albums, in 1997, he produced the Beat Angels' "Red Badge of Discourage". He also produced the bands next album, and in 1999, he produced the L.A. Guns record "Shrinking Violet". Over the next years, he worked as a producer of several other bands like Shameless, Time Bomb and Dad's Porno Mag. 

After the split of Candy, Gilby fronted another band - Kill For Thrills. The band did one show before getting signed, and released an EP called "Commercial Suicide" in 1989, and a record titled "Dynamite From Nightmareland" in 1990. The album gained relative success, fronted by the minor hit "Motorcycle Cowboys".

During the Candy days, Gilby met future Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin for the first time. The two seemed to hit it off since they were both huge fans of Keith Richards and Johnny Thunders, but as both had much work to do, they soon lost touch. When Izzy Stradlin left Guns N' Roses in November 1991, Guns N' Roses needed a replacement. They were continuing their world tour the following month and needed someone who could do the job - and that on a short notice. Dave Navarro (ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction) was checked, but in the end the choice fell on Gilby Clarke. "When Izzy left the band the word around town was that they were looking for a guitar player. Slash called me one day and said, 'We are looking for a guitar player. Do you want to come down?' You know my answer. I went down then next day and learned a couple of tunes and I never left. It was really that simple. They guys knew me from the early days before they were in Guns N' Roses. I knew Axl. I knew Izzy. I had known Matt a long time too."

For the following weeks, Gilby had to learn all the songs on the band's picklist. He still also had no idea if he really was in the band. "I just didn't know what was goin' on because they were still calling up other guitar players," Gilby recalls. Playing with Guns N' Roses was a huge step in Gilby's musical career. Guns N' Roses had released "Use Your Illusion" I and II a few weeks earlier, and they were the biggest band in the world. "I walked into a successful band - I didn't have to do anything."

Being introduced as "the new guy in the band", Gilby got to play at the Freddie Mercury concert - something Gilby remember as a huge moment for him. Touring went fine, and he also got his own small number playing the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses". Over the next year the band toured extensively, until the first part of the final leg of the tour was put in jeopardy by Gilby braking his left wrist in a motorcycle accident on April 29, 1993. Gilby has been preparing for a charity race, which obviously made it a double negative. The band did however want to continue the tour, inviting Izzy to play with them as their special guest. Gilby now found himself watching the band from the sideline. "They did five shows without me, and I didn't get to go because I was in surgery. And then I got in for the last Milton Keynes show. We jammed. It was nice, because I hadn't seen Izzy in a long time. He just did it to see the guys, cos he hadn't seen 'em in a while. And then it was funny because I had Izzy on one line going, `When are you coming back? I gotta get out of here!', and Slash was on the other line going, `When are you coming back. We gotta get him out of here!.' It was the funniest thing."

After the end of the tour, in 1993, Gilby went in studio with the rest of Guns N' Roses to record the album "The Spaghetti Incident?", which was the only studio album by Guns N' Roses Gilby appeared on. When the recording was done, Gilby started working on his first solo-album. Friends like Axl, Slash, Duff, Matt, Dizzy, Teddy Andreadis (GN'R tour keyboardist), Frank Black (Pixies) and Rob Affuso (Skid Row) helped him on the album. "Pawnshop Guitars", as the title was set to be, was released in 1994. Gilby also appeared on the Duff McKagan record "Believe In Me", released the year before.

After the release of "Pawnshop Guitars", Gilby went on a support tour, playing headlining gigs and also a few opening gigs for bands like Aerosmith. His touring band included Ryan Roxie (Guitars), Will Effertz (Bass) and Marc Danzeisen (Drums).

After the tour Gilby joined up with GnR only to find out that he wasn't in the band anymore. "I didn't quit and I wasn't fired, I just came back from my tour and found that they made a record without me." Gilby is still friends with all the others in GnR, and he has talked with all of the members after he left - including Axl. This although Axl and Gilby were not very good friends after Gilby left as Gilby tried to sue Guns N' Roses for contract infringement, and saying some negative things about Axl to the press.

After Guns N' Roses, Gilby started working with Slash, Matt, Mike Inez and Eric Dover in the band Slash's Snakepit. Slash had written an album worth of material for Guns N' Roses, but as Axl rejected it, Slash wanted to do a side project. The band went in studio, and in 1995 they released their debut album, titled "It's Five O' Clock Somewhere". The band went on a support tour after the release. After the tour Gilby took some time off before he started working on his second solo-album, called "The Hangover". The album was released September 23, 1997, on Paradigm. The record feature covers of the Beatles' "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" and David Bowie's "Hang On To Yourself". Will Effertz, Ryan Roxie and Teddy Andreadid appear on the album. After the release, Gilby again went back on tour.

In January 1998, Gilby started working on his third album. The album was released September 29, the same year. The title was "Rubber". The album was recorded at Gilby's home studio Redrum Recording Studios. Gilby produced, mixed and engineered the whole album himself. Some of the artists that appear on "Rubber" are Eric Singer (ex- Kiss), Brian Tichy (Pride And Glory), James Lorenzo, Ryan Roxie and Teddy Andreadis. After the album release, Gilby went  on a support tour.

Gilby's fourth solo album, "99 Live" was released January 18, 2000. The album features Gilby's touring band, Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns) on guitar, Eric Singer (Kiss, Alice Cooper) on drums and Stefan Adika (Dad's Porno Mag) on bass. 

In 1999 and 2000, Gilby Clarke played clubs in California, with what would later turn into the band Col. Parker. The band featured former Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, bassist/singer Muddy Stardust and keyboardist Teddy Andreadis. The band played at Slim Jim's Cat Club once a week, and soon buildt up a following. One day in June, 2000, Axl stopped by the club, and joined the band for two songs - the Rolling Stones classics "Wild Horses" and "Dead Flowers". The band released their debut, "Rock n Roll Music", in 2001.

In 2000, Gilby started working on his fifth solo album, "Swag". Gilby originally thought "Rubber" was going to be his last record as a solo artist, but in 2000 he got together with Tracii Guns, Eric Singer, former Blondie-drummer Clem Burke and many others and started recording. The album was released on Spitfire, January 22, 2002. "It's cool, it's his heaviest record. It's a pretty tough little album. Eric Singer played on it. Brian Tichy (ex-Pride & Glory) played on it. I played on a couple of things. I played on a really great song called 'Alien'. I think I only played on two. Gilby made a good record," Tracii Guns said.

Over the new few years, Gilby toured both solo and with other bands. In 2003, he joined Heart for a tour, and he also played with Nancy Sinatra. In 2005, Gilby joined MC5 for a few appeareances.

In 2006, Gilby Clarke joined Tommy Lee's band for the reality show Rockstar. Jason Newstead completed the line-up, and the purpose of the show was to find a singer for the band. That was eventually found in Lukas Rossi, and the band went in studio to record. The name caused severe controversy, however, since there already was a band with the same name. Thus the band had to change name to Rock Star Supernova. The release of the debut album was set to November 21, 2006. The band scheduled a tour following the release, being supported by a few fellow Rocstars and Dave Navarro's band.  

(Updated November 1, 2006)

Artist Name: Gilby Clarke
Real Name: Gilbert Clark
Born: August 17, 1962 in Cleveland, OH
Instruments: Guitar, Vocals
Other Bands: Kills For Thrills, Candy, Col Parker, Gilby Clarke, Slash's Snakepit, Col Parker
Worked with: Unknown

Parents: Unknown
Siblings: Unknown
Children: Gilby has a daugher that was born in 1994.

Beatles: As I started getting into music I went backwards and got into the Beatles and the Stones.

Jimi Hendrix: The whole reason I play guitar is because I saw a poster of Jimi Hendrix as a kid and I said, “I want to be that guy.” Strangely enough, I’m not really influenced by Jimi as a guitarist, I just loved his whole persona.

Jimmy Page: Jimmy Page and Ace Frehley were big, big influences on me.

Ace Frehley: Jimmy Page and Ace Frehley were big, big influences on me.

Chuck Berry: When I started reading articles about Jimmy Page and Keith Richards they were talking about Chuck Berry.

B.B. King: Chuck Berry and B.B. king became huge influences on me

Mick Ronson: Mick Ronson from David Bowie I loved.

Others: Johnny Thunders, Kiss, New York Dolls, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Ron Wood, Cheap Trick, Chrissie Hynde

"It's really strange, because the band is like two separate things. There's the guys, except for Axl, and then there's the band WITH Axl. When we're on the road, we're always together. We hang out together, just like a band. But that's not including Axl. And then there's the band with Axl. He just kinda comes in and does what he does, puts the vocals on and all that kind of stuff."

"In the whole GN'R world, you don't know what's gonna happen."