Motley Crue

Music Home >> Music Genres >> Metal Music



< < < < < > > > > > More Info on Motley Crue Similar Metal Music Search Artistopia

Biography

Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal music|heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee , who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil . Mötley Crüe has sold more than 80& nbsp;million album copies worldwide, including 25& nbsp;million in the U.S.

The band members have often been noted for their hedonistic lifestyles, and the persona they maintained. All the members have had numerous brushes with the law, spent time in prison , suffered from alcohol dependence|alcoholism , long addictions to illicit drugs|drugs such as cocaine and heroin , had countless escapades with women and are heavily tattooed. Their ninth studio album, Saints of Los Angeles , was released on June 24, 2008. They are currently writing new material for their next album.

Band history

Formation and early years (1981–1983)

Mötley Crüe was formed on January 17, 1981 when bass guitarist Nikki Sixx left the band London (heavy metal band)|London and began rehearsing with drummer Tommy Lee and vocalist/guitarist Greg Leon . Lee had worked previously with Leon in a band called Suite 19 and the trio practiced together for some time with Leon eventually deciding not to continue. Tommy took over from previous drummer Butch Brusco due to undisclosed addiction problems. Nikki and Tommy then began a search for new members. Sixx and Lee soon met guitarist Bob "Mick Mars" Deal. Mars was quickly auditioned and subsequently hired by Sixx and Lee. Although a lead vocalist named O'Dean was auditioned, Lee had known Vince Neil from their high school days at Charter Oak High School in Covina, California and the two had performed in different bands on the garage band circuit. On seeing him perform with the band Rock Candy at the Starwood in Hollywood, California, Mars suggested they have Neil join the band. At first Neil refused the offer, but as the other members of Rock Candy became involved in outside projects, Neil grew anxious to try something else. When Lee made one final appeal to audition, Neil accepted and was hired April 1, 1981. The newly formed band did not yet have a name. While trying to find a suitable name, Mars remembered an incident which occurred when he was playing with a band called White Horse, when one of the other band members called the group "a motley looking crew." He had remembered the phrase and later copied it down as Mottley Cru-. After modifying the spelling slightly, "Mötley Crüe" was eventually selected as the band's name, with the stylistic decision suggested by Neil to add the two sets of metal umlaut s supposedly inspired by the German beer Löwenbräu , which the members were drinking at the time.

The band soon met their first manager, Allan Coffman, "the thirty-eight-year-old brother-in-law of Mick’s driver friend Stick". The band's first release was the single (music)|single "Stick to Your Guns/Toast of the Town", which was released on their own record label, Leathür Records , which had a pressing & distribution deal with Greenworld Distribution in Torrance, California . In November 1981, their debut album Too Fast for Love was self-produced and released on Leathür, selling 20,000 copies. Coffman's assistant Eric Greif set up a tour of Canada , . Retrieved October 2, 2009. while Coffman and Greif used Mötley Crüe's success in the Los Angeles club scene to negotiate with several record labels, eventually signing a recording contract with Elektra Records in late spring 1982. At Elektra's insistence, the debut album was then re-mixed by producer Roy Thomas Baker and re-released on August 20, 1982, two months after its Canadian Warner Music Group release using the original Leathür mixes, to coincide with the tour.

During the "Crüesing Through Canada Tour '82," there were several widely-publicized incidents. First, the band was arrested and then released at Edmonton International Airport for wearing their spiked stage wardrobe (considered "dangerous weapons") through Customs and for Neil arriving with a small carry-on filled with porn magazines (considered "indecent material"); both were staged Public relations|PR stunts. Customs eventually had the confiscated items destroyed. Second, while playing Scandals Disco in Edmonton , a spurious "bomb threat" against the band made the front page of the Edmonton Journal (June 9, 1982); assistant band manager Greif and Lee were interviewed. This too ended up being a staged PR stunt perpetrated by Greif. Lastly, Lee threw a television set from the upper story window of the Sheraton Caravan Hotel. Canadian rock magazine Music Express noted that the band were "banned for life" from the city. Despite the tour ending prematurely in financial disaster, it was the basis for the band's first international press.

In 1983, the band changed management from Coffman to Doug Thaler and Doc McGhee . McGhee is best known for managing Bon Jovi and later KISS (band)|KISS (starting with their reunion tour in 1996). Greif subsequently sued all parties in a Los Angeles Superior Court action that dragged on for several years, and coincidentally later re-surfaced as manager of Sixx's former band, London (heavy metal band)|London . Coffman himself was sued by several investors to whom he had sold "stock in the band", including Michigan -based Bill Larson. Coffman eventually declared bankruptcy, as he had mortgaged his home at least three times to cover band expenses.

Rise to international fame (1984–1991)

After playing the US Festival , and with the aid of the new medium of MTV, the band found rapid success in the United States. The band members were as well known for their backstage groupie antics, outrageous clothing, extreme high-heeled boots, heavily applied Cosmetics|make-up , and seemingly endless abuse of alcohol and drugs as for their recordings. Their mixture of heavy metal and glam rock stylings produced several best-selling albums during the 1980s, including Shout at the Devil (1983), Theatre of Pain (1985), and Girls, Girls, Girls (Mötley Crüe album)|Girls, Girls, Girls (1987), which showcased their love of motorcycles, whiskey and strip clubs , and which told tales of substance abuse , sexual escapades, and general decadence.

The band members have also had their share of scrapes with the law and life. In 1984, Neil was driving home from a liquor store when he was in a head-on collision; his passenger, Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle (musician)|Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley , was killed. Neil, charged with a Driving under the influence|DUI and Manslaughter#Vehicular or intoxication manslaughter|vehicular manslaughter , was sentenced to 30 days in jail (though he only served 18 days). The band would later release two box set s entitled " Mötley Crüe discography|Music to Crash Your Car to ".

On December 23, 1987, Sixx suffered a near-fatal heroin overdose. He was declared legally dead on the way to the hospital, but the medic, who was a Crüe fan, revived Sixx by giving him two shots of Epinephrine|adrenaline to the heart, bringing him back to life. His two minutes in death were the inspiration for the song " Kickstart My Heart ", which peaked at #16 on the Mainstream U.S. chart, and which was featured on the 1989 album Dr. Feelgood (album)|Dr. Feelgood . From 1986 to 1987, Sixx kept a daily diary of his heroin addiction and eventually entered rehab in January 1988. In 2006, Sixx published his diaries as a best selling novel: The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star , and in 2007 Sixx's side project band Sixx:A.M. released The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack as a musical parallel to the novel.

In 1988 McGhee was convicted for smuggling 40.000 pounds of marijuana, as punishment he had to organize a anti-drug campaign. http://klassickerranginterviews.weebly.com/matthew-trippe---may-1988.html In addition, another controversy that hit the band in 1988 was a prosecution made by Matthew Trippe. Trippe claimed that Nikki Sixx was hospitalised in 1983 after a carcrash involving drugs and that he had been hired as Nikki's doppelganger. The prosecution was regarding the loss of royalties from his time in Mötley Crüe and the case was not closed until 1993 when Trippe dropped his charges and disappeared from the general public. http://klassickerranginterviews.weebly.com/matthew-trippe---may-1988.html

Their decadent lifestyles almost shattered the band, until managers Thaler and McGhee pulled an intervention, and refused to allow the band to tour in Europe, fearing that "some would come back in bodybags". Shortly after, all the band members except for Mars underwent drug rehabilitation; Mars cleaned up on his own.

After finding sobriety in 1989, Mötley Crüe reached its peak popularity with the release of their fifth album, the Bob Rock produced Dr. Feelgood (album)|Dr. Feelgood , on September 1, 1989. On October 14 of that year, it became a No. 1 album and stayed on the charts for 109 weeks after its release. The band members each stated in interviews that, due in no small part to their collective push for sobriety, Dr. Feelgood was their most solid album musically to that point, and indeed, it was their best selling album to date. The title track and "Kickstart My Heart" were both nominated for Grammys in the Best Hard Rock Category. The band did find some success at the American Music Awards, as Dr. Feelgood was nominated twice for Favorite Hard Rock/Metal Award, losing once to Guns N' Roses ' Appetite for Destruction , but winning the following year, beating out Aerosmith 's Pump (album)|Pump and Poison (band)|Poison 's Flesh and Blood (Poison album)|Flesh And Blood . Mötley Crüe was also nominated twice for Favorite Hard Rock/Metal Artist.

In 1989, Doc McGhee was fired after breaking several promises that he made to the band in relation to the Moscow Music Peace Festival including giving his other band, Bon Jovi , advantages in terms of slot placement. Doug Thaler then soldiered on as sole band manager.

On October 14, 1991, the band's first compilation album, Decade of Decadence , was released. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It was reportedly designed as "just something for the fans" while the band worked on the next "all new" album.

Years of turmoil (1992–2003)

After Decade of Decadence was released, Neil left the band in February 1992, at a time when other bands in the '80s glam metal scene ( Ratt , Stryper , White Lion , Winger (band)|Winger , Europe (band)|Europe & Britny Fox ) also broke up because of the rise in popularity of Grunge / Punk rock|Punk revival. A controversy exists to this day over whether Neil was fired or quit. Sixx has long maintained that Neil quit the band. However, Neil disputes this and insists that he was fired. Neil was replaced by John Corabi (formerly of Angora (band)|Angora and The Scream (band)|The Scream ). Mötley Crüe's commercial success waned throughout the 1990s, although their Mötley Crüe (album)|self-titled March 1994 release made the Billboard top ten (#7). Thaler would manage the band alone until 1994, at which time the band did a mass-firing when their album, Mötley Crüe (album)|Mötley Crüe , failed to meet commercial expectations.

The band reunited with Neil in 1997, after their current manager, Allen Kovac, and Neil's manager, Bert Stein, set up a meeting between Neil, Lee, and Sixx. Agreeing to "leave their egos at the door," the band released Generation Swine . Although it debuted at #4, and in spite of a live performance at the American Music Awards , the album was a commercial failure, due in part to the band's label's lack of support. The band soon left Elektra and created their own label, Mötley Records .

In 1998, Mötley Crüe's contractual ties with Elektra Records had expired, putting the band in total control of their future. This included the ownership of the masters of all of their albums. In announcing the end of their relationship with Elektra Records, the band became one of the few groups in history to own and control their publishing and catalogue of recorded masters. In 1999, the band re-released all their albums, dubbed as Crücial Crüe . The limited-edition digital re-masters included demos, live, instrumental, and previously unreleased tracks.

In 1999, Lee put his role in the band on hold to pursue a solo career due to increasing tension with frontman Neil. He was replaced by Randy Castillo , who drummed on several Ozzy Osbourne albums. Randy died of cancer on March 26, 2002. No replacement had been named, which sent the band into a hiatus following a 2000 tour in support of their studio release, New Tattoo . New Tattoo charted at #41 and sold fewer than 200,000 copies. Former Hole (band)|Hole drummer Samantha Maloney filled in on the tour to promote the album. The Salt Lake City performance of the tour is featured on the DVD Lewd, Crüed & Tattooed .

Within the following six years, Sixx played in the bands 58 (band)|58 and Brides of Destruction , while Lee formed Methods of Mayhem and performed as a solo artist. Neil continued touring on an annual basis as a solo artist, singing mostly Mötley Crüe songs. Mars, who suffers from a rare hereditary form of arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis , went into seclusion in 2001.

A 2001 autobiography entitled The Dirt packaged the band as "the world's most notorious rock band". The book made the top ten on The New York Times Best Seller list and spent ten weeks there.

Reunion and renewed success (2004–2007)

A promoter in England, Mags Revell, began clamoring for a Mötley Crüe reunion, ostensibly presenting himself as the voice of anxious fans waiting for more from the band. After meeting with management several times, in September 2004, Sixx announced that he and Neil had returned to the studio and had begun recording new material. In December 2004, the four original members announced a reunion tour which began February 14, 2005, in San Juan, Puerto Rico . The resulting compilation album, Red, White & Crüe , was released in February 2005. It features the band members' favorite original songs plus three new tracks, " If I Die Tomorrow ", " Sick Love Song " (co-written by Sixx and James Michael ), and a cover of The Rolling Stones ' classic " Street Fighting Man ". A small controversy was caused when it was suggested that neither Lee or Mars played on the new tracks (duties were supposedly handled by The Vandals|Vandals drummer Josh Freese ). However, a VH1 documentary of the band's reunion later showed that Lee did indeed play on some of the tracks. The Japanese release of Red, White & Crüe includes an extra new track titled "I'm a Liar (and That's the Truth)". Red, White & Crüe charted at #6 and has since gone platinum.

In 2005, Mötley Crüe was involved in an animation-comedy spoof Disaster! , which was written by Paul Benson and Matt Sullivan and which was used as the introduction film to concerts on their Carnival of Sins tour.

In 2006, Mötley Crüe went on the Route of All Evil Tour , co-headlining with Aerosmith and taking performers from Lucent Dossier Experience on the road with them. This was another well attended tour following the Carnival of Sins tour of 2005. In June 2007, Mötley Crüe set out on a small European tour. A lawsuit was filed by Neil, Mars and Sixx against Carl Stubner, Lee's manager. The three sued him for contracting for Lee to appear on two unsuccessful reality shows the band claim hurt its image. It was reported on Motley.com that the lawsuit has been settled.

Saints of Los Angeles (2008-2010)

On June 11, 2008, the band and manager Burt Stein filed suit against each other. Stein was Vince Neil's personal manager and also, according to the band and rival manager Allen Kovac, served as the band's manager at one time. The band and Kovac sued in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming Stein was not entitled to a cut of Mötley Crüe's earnings. Stein sued the same day in Nashville's federal court, saying he was entitled to 1.875 percent of what the band makes. Other litigation between the parties also ensued in Nevada. In July 2009, lawyers for both sides announced that the disputes had been "amicably resolved" through a "global settlement".

Mötley Crüe's ninth studio album, titled Saints of Los Angeles , was released in Japan on June 17, 2008 and in America on June 24, 2008. The album was originally titled The Dirt , as it was loosely based on the band's autobiography of the same name, but the title was later changed. Saints of Los Angeles features the band's original lineup. In the US, the album was released by Eleven Seven Music . Eleven Seven also took over US distribution of their back catalog.

In the summer of 2008, Mötley Crüe headlined the popular 'Crüe Fest' music festival, which included opening acts Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Trapt, and Nikki Sixx's successful side project, Sixx:A.M.

Mötley Crüe had announced that the movie The Dirt , based on the book written by Mötley Crüe and Neil Strauss , might be released in 2009. However, as of September 2009, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) lists 2011 as the probable release date. This is still subject to change, particularly because the "status" of the movie was listed as "unknown" in April 2009 (the date of IMDb's last update to "The Dirt").

iTunes picked " Saints of Los Angeles (song)|Saints of Los Angeles " in their "Best of 2008" in the Rock category as the number one song; the song was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Best Hard Rock Performance" category. The song was released in the music game series Rock Band as downloadable content the day the single was released. Additionally, the entire Dr. Feelgood (album)|Dr. Feelgood album was released as downloadable content in Rock Band as well, excluding "T.n.T. (Terror 'n Tinseltown)".

The band played the Download Festival in Donington Park (June 12–14, 2009), playing on the second stage on Friday night.

The band made a guest appearance in the season finale of " Bones (TV series)|Bones " on May 14, 2009 entitled "The End In The Beginning", performing the classic song " Dr. Feelgood (song)|Dr. Feelgood ".

Mötley Crüe headlined Crüe Fest 2 festival, which ran from July to September 2009. Supporting them were Godsmack , Theory of a Deadman , Drowning Pool , and Charm City Devils . In addition to performing a set featuring material from Saints of Los Angeles , the band also celebrated the 20th anniversary of Dr. Feelgood (album)|Dr. Feelgood by performing the album in its entirety on each night of the tour and re-releasing the album as a special 20th anniversary deluxe edition.

Mötley Crüe headlined Ozzfest in 2010, along with Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Halford .

Recent events (2011-present)

Mötley Crüe co-headlined a summer tour with Poison (band)|Poison and special guests New York Dolls in 2011 for Mötley Crüe's 30th Anniversary and Poison's 25th anniversary.

Asked in July 2011 if Mötley Crüe has begun writing new material, Lee replied, "Nikki's got some stuff kickin' around, I've got a few things kickin' around. Whether I'm writing solo stuff, electronic stuff or material for Mötley, I just write to write. I come up with it and put things in different piles. I guess some of the things I have could be for Mötley Crüe."

On the 30th of August 2011, Mötley Crüe, along with co-headliners Def Leppard and special guests Steel Panther , announced a UK Tour commencing in December 2011.

Asked in a November 2011 interview with Examiner.com if Mötley Crüe will be making another album in 2012 or plan another Crüefest tour, Vince Neil replied, "We're looking at another Crüefest. This tour doesn't end until November of next year." Tommy Lee commented on recording a new album, stating: "I'm sure we're due for one. All of us have been writing individually, I write, Nikki's been writing, and Mick as well, at some point here, we'll pull all of our ideas together as we always do, and then we'll start sorting through it at that point. But we haven't gotten to that point yet. I would imagine we'll probably get there some time in the next year and start working on that." http://loudwire.com/motley-crue-tommy-lee-interview-vegas-residency-new-album-more/

The band announced a three-week residency in Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas , with bassist Nikki Sixx stating, "This is the beginning of what will be the biggest probably four to five years of the band's career. We're negotiating with a couple of other extremely huge bands on doing a co-headline tour, something that's never happened before. There's new music in the future." Sixx also noted that the band may break-up in the near future: "The band sat down and had a pow-wow as brothers and friends and guys who've been doing this for over thirty years, and we said, 'When is it time? ' We've always said since we were kids we didn't want to hobble in to the sunset. So after the movie, at some point – whether it's within a year or a few years – we're probably gonna have that conversation about maybe it's time, maybe it's time to go out on top. If I'm watching my favorite boxer and he's just won the heavyweight championship of the world and he retires it kind of makes the guy a legend. I always respected Led Zeppelin , and I'd rather Motley Crue be thought of as that type of band rather than a band that's just going through the motions. We're a hundred percent engaged. We're sounding better than we've ever sounded musically. We're really proud of what we've done, whether critics like us or not, whether we've won Grammy s or not, whether any of that stuff. We're proud that we did it on our own terms." http://m.rollingstone.com/entry/view/id/20619/pn/all/p/0/? KSID=9840c37164579c1f36b0496552247871

Legacy

The band has been featured on a number of VH1 countdown shows, " Dr. Feelgood (song)|Dr. Feelgood " was ranked the #7 Greatest Air Guitar Song, "Live Wire" was ranked the #17 Greatest Metal Song Of All Time, and " Home Sweet Home (Mötley Crüe song)|Home Sweet Home " was ranked the #12 Greatest Power Ballad Of All Time. Mötley Crüe was featured several times on VH1's 100 Most Metal Moments, the highest spot being #3. VH1 included the Tommy Lee sex tapes, The Dirt , and Ozzy Osbourne 's and Nikki Sixx's pee. All featured in the countdown. Mötley Crüe has also been one of the many bands featured on VH1's Behind the Music . The band was also ranked #29 on VH1's list of the greatest hard rock bands. Mötley Crüe was also ranked tenth on MTV's list "Top 10 Heavy metal music|Heavy Metal Bands of All-Time".

Also, Mötley Crüe has influenced many bands and artists such as Slipknot (band)|Slipknot , Buckcherry , Poison , Skid Row , White Zombie , Marilyn Manson and Black Veil Brides among others.

Band members

;Current members

Mick Mars – guitar, backing vocals (1981–present)

Nikki Sixx – bass, backing vocals (1981–present)

Vince Neil – lead vocals (1981–1992, 1996–present)

Tommy Lee – drums, percussion, piano, backing vocals (1981–1999, 2004–present)

;Former members

John Corabi – lead vocals, guitar (1992–1996)

Randy Castillo – drums, percussion (1999–2002)

Samantha Maloney – drums, percussion (2002–2004, touring drummer)

Discography

Too Fast for Love (1981)

Shout at the Devil (1983)

Theatre of Pain (1985)

Girls, Girls, Girls (Mötley Crüe album)|Girls, Girls, Girls (1987)

Dr. Feelgood (album)|Dr. Feelgood (1989)

Mötley Crüe (album)|Mötley Crüe (1994)

Generation Swine (1997)

New Tattoo (2000)

Saints of Los Angeles (2008)

Tours

Anywhere, USA – Northern California Tour (1981)

Too Fast For Love Tour (1981–1982)

Crüesing Through Canada (1982)

Mötley Crüe World Tour (1983–1984)

Welcome To The Theatre Of Pain Tour (1985–1986)

Girls, Girls, Girls World Tour 87/88 (1987)

Moscow Music Peace Festival (1989)

Dr. Feelgood World Tour '89–'90 (1989–1990)

Monsters Of Rock Tour 1991 (1991)

Anywhere There's Electricity Tour Of The Americas 1994 (1994)

Anywhere There's Electricity Japan Tour (1994)

Live Swine Listening Party (1997)

Mötley Crüe vs. The Earth Tour (1997)

Greatest Hits Tour (1998–1999)

Maximum Rock Tour (with Scorpions (band)|Scorpions – 1999)

Welcome To The Freekshow Tour (1999)

Maximum Rock 2000 Tour (with Megadeth – 2000)

New Tattoo Japan Tour 2000 (2000)

Red, White & Crüe Tour 2005...Better Live Than Dead (2005)

Carnival Of Sins Tour (2005–2006)

Route of All Evil Tour (with Aerosmith – 2006)

Mötley Crüe Tour 2007 (2007)

Crüe Fest (with Buckcherry , Papa Roach , Sixx:A.M. and Trapt – 2008)

Saints Of Los Angeles World Tour (2008)

Saints Of Los Angeles Tour (2009)

Saints of Los Angeles European Tour (2009)

Crüe Fest 2 (with Godsmack , Theory Of A Deadman , Drowning Pool and Charm City Devils – 2009)

The Dead of Winter Canadian Tour (2010)

Ozzfest 2010 Tour (2010)

Sonisphere Festival (2010)

Glam-A-Geddon (2011) (with Poison (band)|Poison and New York Dolls )

Mötley Crüe 30th Anniversary Japan Tour (October 2011)

Awards and nominations

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Motley Crue

Motley Crue Photo by: image.listen.com


1. Ozzy Osbourne 2. Papa Roach 3. Poison 4. Skid Row 5. Great White 6. Autograph 7. Murderdolls

Metal Music Artists