Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has paid tribute to the crowds at last weekend's Reading and Leeds festivals.

The singer said festival-goers who watched their headline slot at both sites were “amazing”, even though large sections of the audience were heard booing the band.

“Peace, thanks 4 understanding n' what we did manage to get done out there was a blast,” Rose wrote in a lengthy post on Twitter.

Guns N' Roses came under fire at Reading on Friday (August 27) after they arrived one hour late for their slot. The delay meant organisers, who had already warned the band not to be late, were forced to cut their sound at midnight (BST).

The group were also 30 minutes late at the Leeds Festival two days later (August 29).

However, in his post on Twitter, Rose suggested that Guns N' Roses had a “deal in place” to play longer than their allotted slots.

"So u know, we allegedly had a deal in place pre show w/the city at least at Leeds to do a bit longer performance that was either miscommunication, someone wasn't informed, changed their mind, didn't care or [it] was a con,” he wrote.

In a statement, organisers said Guns N’ Roses had been given an extra half hour on stage.

"Guns N' Roses wanted to 'extend' the new agreed curfew but were prevented from doing so in order to comply with the entertainment licence issued by Reading Council,” they added.

The band are due to return in October for a UK tour.

(by Jason Gregory)