Chinese Democracy Tour of Europe was announced in December 2000 as a New Year's Day performance at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. It was also rumoured that the long-awaited "Chinese Democracy" would be released in June 2001, for which the scheduled European Tour would be promotional. Guns N' Roses – then composed of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarists Buckethead and Robin Finck, rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias (who joined in 1994 to replace Gilby Clarke), bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Brain and keyboardists Dizzy Reed (still with the band since joining in 1990) and Chris Pitman (who joined between 1998 and 2000) –
Chinese Democracy passing the 500,000-shipped mark on January 7, 2009. "Chinese Democracy" was certified Platinum by the RIAA on February 3, 2009, having shipped one million copies in the United States. The album placed 55th on the 2009 Billboard 200 Year End charts. "Chinese Democracy" secured an IFPI European Platinum Award, having sold more than one million copies in Europe, and had sold 2.6 million units worldwide by February 2009, according to Universal Music. The album also reached triple platinum certification in Canada and was awarded platinum certifications in many countries including Finland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania,