Motley Crue have lived the hard rock life on and off stage. There’s been brushes with the law, drug and alcohol addictions, beautiful women– and more tattoos than a South Central LA holding cell. In the process, ‘The Crue’, as they are affectionately known by their millions of fans, have sold more than 80 million albums worldwide. Chris Sullivan met up with the rhythm section, Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee, for a tête-à-tête.
How would you sum up the Crue?
Tommy Lee: Oh Boy – A lot of bad crazy things .I think we stand for…Ah shit. Such a crazy question to ask…
Nikki Sixx: Well you know, what when we started it was like looking at a big cocktail - we were one part Sex Pistols two parts AC/DC, three parts Aerosmith/Rolling Stones and two parts Ramones. But now we are just a rock ‘n’ roll band. We’ve been doing it so long that we can’t sound like anyone else even if we wanted to.
With your lifestyle, did you think you’d still be at it?
NS: I didn’t think I’d even be alive never mind performing. Anything after 25 was inconceivable. When I had my 30th it was like ‘Wow! This is what old age is like’. Then you look across the room and you see this crazy-looking gypsy pirate dude and it’s Keith Richards and you’re like ‘if he can do it so can we’. Because there’s no age limits now. The older artists get the more eccentric they get. I just love that.
TL: I knew man from a kid that I would do this shit till I die… whenever that was – and at one point it looked sooner rather than later.
How was it to have a reputation as some of the biggest party animals on the globe and have the success, fame and all that goes with it?
TL: Well, for one thing, man, it certainly doesn’t suck… although when you get pulled over by a police officer for speeding it’s not so fun as the guy is like ‘hey it’s fucking you!’ Get out of the car!’ There are a few downsides but, to be honest, it is pretty fucking amazing.
When did you last play the UK?
TL: Have you ever seen that film with the guppy init with the short-term memory problem? Well I have that.
Are you looking forward to playing?
NS: Fuck yeah man... are you kidding..? I’ve had the greatest times in England. I remember saying 'Jesus when did the British girls get so hot. ' During my 20s and 30s, I remember the chicks were not like now. Even my English stud friends would say: 'They're are not the hottest, try the Swedes or the French!' But the last few times man, I’m like ‘What the fuck happened?’
TL: It’s a really cool line up at Knebworth man. A lot of the other guys on the bill are our friends so we’re going to have a shit load of fun. I know it’s crazy right – The Stooges, Placebo... Reel them off man – hell somebody’s getting pregnant that weekend and that’s for suuure.
Sonisphere
Do you like playing festivals?
NS: I love playing at festivals man. You get to meet all these other bands you don’t know and you meet some great people. It’s like a really big event and I like that the most. When we do our own shows it’s like a support band and us and that’s it. And although we all love the performance part it’s like ‘OK let’s all go out to a club or back to the hotel,’ but when you do the festivals you can hang out all night with different bands backstage and their friends and it’s just GREAT. I love it.
What do you think of modern rock bands that don’t drink or go out at all?
TL: There is definitely a different new batch of musicians and I don’t know or understand them. Maybe they’re just thinking that by doing the opposite to what we did they are being rebellious. I’m not really sure where they are coming from but I feel sorry for them because you are only here once and this shit is great so you have to make the most of it.
Have you left all the wild party days behind you?
TL: Hell no – the guys in the band put me at the end of the corridor. I’m still the wild guy with the stereo up really loud and the entire partying going on. I am still the same as I ever was.
NS: He said it, dude.
Any weird experiences on stage?
TL: Yeah man, we’ve seen some weird shit. I once had a huge eyeball from some kind of animal thrown at us and it got lodged in the top of the drum riser. We’ve had knives thrown at us and they’ve stuck in the stage like, ‘doinnngg’.
NS: People get drunk and do stupid shit. I have pretty much seen it all.
Motley Crue headline The Saturn Stage at Knebworth on August 1, followed by Scandinavia and then the US.
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