Vince in his David Lee Roth look-alike early days.
Somewhere on the road during the THEATRE OF PAIN Tour, 1985-86.
Vinnie, drumstick & cowbell during the GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS Tour, 1987.
The Swingin’ Sportsman Wharton.
Dr. Vince. 1989-90.
Decadent Vince Neil. 1990-92
Vince & Mick Shout At the Devil, 1983-4.
Metal Magazine added this double-sided 4-page to their Motley tribute contents. The Shout At The Devil shot (top image) from their European tour in 1984 was the obvious choice for which side made my walls. The reverse side has some shots from the band’s then recent performance in Moscow in August of 1989 & a Tommy photo from 1987.
Another trademark of the Rock tribute mag was the live performance photo section. For some reason Metal Magazine only had access to photos from the Theatre to Dr. Feelgood tours (& a Tommy photo from the Feelgood video set).
Metal Magazine branched off from Creem in 1982, the year the Crue’s debut Too Fast For Love was re-released with a new mix by Elektra records & the magazine followed the band closely in the intervening 7 years. ‘The Totally Cool History of Motley Crue’ is a collection of various quotations from & concerning our Crue. Dig the vintage pics from the early days . . .
(click images to ENLARGE & READ)
Motley Crue trivia quizzes seemed to be legion in those days & we’ll be showcasing some more of ‘em down the road. Give this one a try & see how you do. By the way, just for the record, Re: question #1, I’m pretty sure NO ONE in the Crue is a mechanical genius. (I’ll flip the answers around the right way (below)).
Pictures of the Motleys in social settings with their then significant others (Emi, Sharise & Heather are all represented), members of Warrant & Ratt & the Nasty Habits round out a great Motley tribute from the good folks at Creem & Metal. More Crue tribute magazines in the future including one from 1985.
Metal magazine was an offshoot of Creem magazine & originally published a Motley tribute in 1986 (pieces of which I’ll be posting later).
Steven Page remarks on the Crue’s enduring appeal in his editorial & the tribute begins with a collection of fan letters, most of which are written in defense of the boys from their many detractors. As loved as the Crue were & are, they have always had their haters. There will be a future Sleaze Patrol File post of classic Motley fan letters from a variety of magazines.
J. Kordosh does a good job reviewing Motley’s first five records in ‘MC: For The Record’ & ranks Shout & Girls as their best efforts [this is a 1989 opinion]. Kordosh says of Girls, “ . . . this was the disc that established L. A.’s favorite sleaze gods as moneymakers on a par with the likes of Bon Jovi & Madonna (well, almost . . . the Crue, being as tough-sounding as they are, have never sold on the massive level that blander bands have).” Click the images below to enlarge & READ the rest of his review.
Most tribute magazines back in the day had the prerequisite band bio section, & here it is:
The centerpiece of the tribute magazine was the following ‘new’ interview with Mr. Sixx. He keeps up the Dr. Feelgood positivity & enthusiasm for the new record & talks about the success of Guns N’ Roses & then, suddenly, slags Metallica & boldly states, “ . . . I fucking hate Metallica. I think their music’s crap. It’s just garbage & they won’t be here in a few years . . . “ He continues on & you can read below the rest of his oh-so-inaccurate assessment of a band that would become the world’s most successful hard rock-metal act of all time. Nikki would have been reacting to the mechanical & progressive metal music Metallica were then (in 1988-89) writing with their album . . . And Justice For All & he could not have foretold the more pop metal & mainstream rock direction that band would take (influenced by Bob Rock’s work on Motley’s Dr. Feelgood no less). The irony of what would happen to Metallica’s career & what would not happen to Nikki’s was probably not lost on him in the 1990s. Metallica’s Black Album, released in 1991, is the best-selling record of the Soundscan era with 22 million copies sold worldwide.
