Motley Crue

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Motley Crue Hair Metal Band

In their very early days, Motley Crue was just about as scary as Twisted Sister, with the make-up, crazy looking outfits, Satanic over-tones, drugs, wild PR stunts, crazy women, and nutty stage antics.  Motley Crue was an L.A. band that formed back in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee.  Although initial incarnations of the band did not include vocalist Vince Neil or guitarist Bob Deal (Mick Mars), the two were still hired in 1981 (Vince and Tommy knew each other from high school).  Indeed the band's name is a purposeful miss-spelling of the phrase "motley crew", and word has it the metal umlauts above the letters O and U (Mötley Crüe) were an allusion to Löwenbräu (yes, the beer).

Motley Crue self-produced their first album in 1981 (Too Fast for Love), although it was re-released in 1982 after the band signed with Elektra Records.  While on touring in Canada to support the release, there were several staged PR stunts that had the effect of getting the band international attention, as well as getting them banned from Edmonton.  As many of you know, Motley Crue has also had their share of wild issues.  In 1984, while driving drunk, Neil killed Hanoi Rock's drummer Razzle Dingley (more detail on this are available on the Hanoi Rock's page).  In 1987, Sixx nearly died due to a heroin overdose.  Technically, he was dead for 2 minutes.  However, the medic shot adrenaline into his heart which revived him (this incident was the inspiration for the song "Kick Start My Heart"). 

As MTV became more and more popular, so did Motley Crue.  Albums such as Shout at the Devil (1983), Theatre of Pain (1985), and Girls, Girls, Girls (1987) had the band rolling.  By 1989, all members had been through rehab, and their highest charting album, Dr. Feelgood (1989), stayed number 1 on the album charts for 109 weeks.  In 1992, Vince Neil left the band (according to Sixx) or was fired (according to Neil).  Motely Crue hired a new vocalist, John Corabi, and one album was released in 1994 with John.  By 1997, Vince was back.  In 1999, Lee left the band temporarily, but was back by 2005.  Since then, Motley Cure has continued to tour and produce new material.  We really think fans of Motely Crue will like the 2008 release, Saints of Los Angeles (we were pleasantly surprised by it).

At the time of this writing, the Motley Crue Discography was as follows:

Listen for free or download any Motley Crue track for just 12 cents per song!

  • 1981: Too Fast for Love
  • 1983: Shout at the Devil
  • 1985: Theatre of Pain
  • 1987: Girls, Girls, Girls
  • 1989: Dr. Feelgood
  • 1994: Motley Crue
  • 1997: Generation Swine
  • 2000: New Tattoo
  • 2008: Saints of Los Angeles