The outrageous US heavy-rock band was formed in 1980 by Nikki Sixx (bass), Tommy Lee (drums) and Vince Neil (vocals). Mick Mars (guitar) was later added to the line-up. Their first single, ‘Stick To Your Guns’/’Toast Of The Town,’ was issued in 1981 on their own Leathur label, followed by their self-produced debut, ‘Too Fast For Love.’ The band signed to Elektra Records in 1982, and the album, was remixed and reissued that August.

The following year they recorded a new set, “Shout At The Devil’, with producer Tom Werman. He stayed at the helm for the two albums, which broke them to a much wider audience in the USA, ‘Theatre Of Pain’ (which sold more than two million copies) and 1987’s ‘Girls Girls Girls’.

The band topped the US charts in 1989 with ‘Dr. Feelgood’, which yielded two Top 10 singles with the title track and ‘Without You. The band has often been noted for their hard-living lifestyles; all members have had numerous brushes with the law, spent time in jail, suffered long addictions to alcohol and drugs, had countless escapades with women, and are heavily tattooed.

Vince Neil was sacked in 1992. His replacement for 1994’s self-titled album was John Corabi, although the band’s problems continued with a record label/management split and disastrous North America tour. Neil was working with the band again in autumn 1996, after Corabi was also sacked. Lee became the focus of much press attention as a result of his explosive marriage to actress Pamela Anderson, helping boost interest in ‘Generation Swine’. Lee eventually left the band in 1999 to concentrate on his new outfit, ‘Methods Of Mayhem’. Randy Castillo who debuted on the following year’s ‘New Tattoo’ replaced him.

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Acts such as Papa Roach, Linkin Park, Marilyn Mason, Nine Inch Nails, Moby, Slipknot, Belladonna, and Vains of Jenna have all cited them as an influence in recent years, most notably for “Too Fast For Love”and “Shout At The Devil”. Disturbed drummer Mike Wergner has also cited Tommy Lee as an influence to his drumming. They've also been parodied for their early look in music videos by a variety of artists such as Bowling for Soup, Beck, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Aerosmith and the Backstreet Boys. In 2005, Motley Crue involved in an animation-comedy spoof 'Disaster!' written by Paul Benson and Matt Sullivan and was used as the introduction film to concerts on their Carnival of Sins tour.

Mathew Jones

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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