He is known for having a three-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour, and also featured on "The Spaghetti Incident?"

Following this, Clarke went on to forge a solo career as well playing guitar with Slash's Snakepit, Kat Men, Heart, Nancy Sinatra, Kathy Valentine (of The Go-Go's), MC5 and forming his own group Rock Star Supernova with members of Metallica and Mötley Crüe.

Gilby Clarke started his musical career during the first half of the Eighties, replacing Candy's original guitarist, Geoff Siegel, who later played with the Nymphs.

He left them to form Kill for Thrills, a metal band which released the EP Commercial Suicide and the LP Dynamite from Nightmareland before eventually disbanding.

Following rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin's decision to abruptly quit the band,[1] during Use Your Illusion Tour in 1991, citing a combination of Axl Rose's personal behavior (he would consistently delay the start of shows by hours at a time) and his mismanagement of the band[1] and difficulties being around Slash, Sorum, and McKagan due to his new-found sobriety and their continuing alcohol and substance addictions,[2] Clarke was chosen as his replacement, playing out the rest of gigs of the tour which lasted until 1993.

where many of the tracks were recorded with original Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin during the Use Your Illusion I and II sessions and then were later re-recorded by Clarke.

Ryan Roxie (Alice Cooper) on guitar, Will Effertz on Bass and Marc Danzeisen (Riverdogs, Little Caesar) Drums and backing vocals, also including all the then members of Guns N' Roses.

He formed the band Col. Parker with ex-Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom and former touring additional GN'R keyboardist Teddy "Zig Zag" Andreadis, releasing the album Rock N Roll Music in 2001.

In 2005, he played along with the reformed MC5, joining original members Wayne Kramer, Dennis Thompson, and Michael Davis, along with new vocalist Handsome Dick Manitoba.

On June 26, 2006, the California band filed a federal lawsuit and on September 12, 2006, U.S. District Judge John A. Houston in San Diego ruled in favor of the original Supernova, granting their request for a preliminary injunction.

Clarke produced a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" on Rock Star: Supernova runner-up Dilana Robichaux's 2007 album, also released as a single on digital download websites.

Clarke reunited with Guns N' Roses members Slash, Steven Adler, Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan, during the live performance, at the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction on April 14, 2012.