The Pornographic Motley Crue, Part 1 - World Of Motley Crue
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Motley Crue's Songs, 1981 - World Of Motley Crue
The first Motley Crue set-list included originals Nikki wrote before the formation of the band in April 1981, new songs the band worked on together and cover songs they performed at their shows.
The
first four original Motley Crue songs were
Nobody Knows What It's Like To Be Lonely [aka I Got the Power]
Public Enemy #1 [co-written with Lizzie Grey]
Stick To Your Guns
Toast Of The Town
Nikki made a home recording of some of these tunes for vocalist Odean Peterson to hear sometime in February-March of 1981. By the end of March Nikki, Mick and Tommy spent three days in Crystal Sound Studio recording these tunes as well as a cover of the Raspberries song "Tonight." Odean recorded vocals for all the songs. In a 1984 testimonial he states that his vocals were erased from the 24 track master when Vince Neil joined the band and recorded his own vocals in early April. Friends told the band they thought "Toast Of The Town" and "Stick To Your Guns" sounded good so by the April 24-25th shows at the Starwood they had a 45 single of the tunes for sale ["That's the B-Side of our new single!"].
A choppy and very incomplete video bootleg exists of the first shows and gives us an idea of what they sounded like early on and what they played. It is the only live recording of the band that exists from their first six month existence. There are complete and incomplete versions of
Stick to Your Guns
Nobody Knows What It's Like To Be Lonely
Public Enemy #1
Toast Of The Town
Too Fast For Love
Paperback Writer [The Beatles]
Why You Killin' Yourself?
Tonight [The Raspberries]
"Why You Killin' Yourself?" is the only surviving version of this song. It sounds like it morphed into "Starry Eyes."
"Public Enemy #1" was co-written with Nikki's ex-London cohort Lizzie Grey. Here is a version of the song by one of Lizzie's bands from the 2010s. He died in August of 2019.
A circa May-June return to Crystal Studios yielded a recording of "Take Me To The Top." Odean stated he worked on all the aforementioned songs in March, except "Top" so it was possibly not recorded until this second session. The actual recording order and details of these early sessions is murky. "Public" and "Top" sound particularly rough and amateurish while the apparently first two recorded in April, "Nobody Knows" and "Tonight" sound more cohesive. Whatever they may have rerecorded on the other songs at this time is not known and may never be clarified.
Circa June they put together a four song demo to give to record labels. "Public Enemy #1," "Take Me To The Top," [these two had videos made by the band around this time] "Stick To Your Guns" and "Toast Of The Town."
The next surviving audio of the band is from October 2nd, live at The Country Club in Hollywood, California. They performed
Take Me To The Top
Two-Timer [Herman Rarebell]
Come On And Dance
Piece Of Your Action
Merry-Go-Round
Too Fast For Love
Toast Of The Town
Stick To Your Guns
Starry Eyes
Live Wire
Helter Skelter [The Beatles]
Jailhouse Rock [Leiber and Stoller-Elvis]
We hear tunes that will be recorded for the independently-produced Leathur "Too Fast For Love" LP in the next month and a few covers, two of which would make it to future Motley records. "Two-Timer" is actually "Hard Sensation" from Herman Rarebell's 1981 album "Nip In The Bud." There is no other Motley recording of this tune.
"Live Wire" makes its first appearance on a recording. The story was told (and filmed for the 2019 bio "The Dirt") that "Live Wire" was the first song the band worked on when they first jammed in April. Either that was a made up story or it took a while for the song to develop. It is a particularly more Heavy Metal-sounding tune, unlike their earliest material, so perhaps it wasn't actually written til later in the year.
MTV News caught up with the band at their November 12th performance at the Roxy where a brief clip of the band playing "Too Fast For Love" is shared. They had just finished recording and manufacturing their debut album on their own label and would sign a distribution deal with Greenworld who would soon have the album in stores and available through mail-order. The Leathur "Too Fast For Love" LP has the songs
Live Wire
Public Enemy #1
Take Me To The Top
Merry-Go-Round
Piece Of Your Action
Starry Eyes
Stick To Your Guns
Come On And Dance
Too Fast For Love
On With The Show
"Public Enemy #1," "Take Me To The Top" and "Stick To Your Guns" are recorded for a second time in 1981. All of these tunes would be performed and recorded live by the band in these years except "On With The Show" which wouldn't be played live for another 25 years!
On December 11th [Nikki's birthday] the band played The Whisky A Go-Go. They performed
Take Me To The Top
Running Wild In The Night
I Will Survive
Toast Of The Town
Starry Eyes
Piece Of Your Action
Come On And Dance
Too Fast For Love [without the intro]
Merry-Go-Round
Live Wire
Two new songs are performed: "Running Wild In The Night and "I Will Survive." Crue fans know these tunes from the "Shout At The Devil Demos" that have floated around bootleg circles since the 1980s and were recorded circa December 1982. With their first album completed the band must have been anxious to write and perform some new material. It would be almost two more years before the next album was released.
LOST SONGS
Nikki had songs written, rehearsed and perhaps even performed by the band that are only now represented by a mention on a surviving set-list or a lyric sheet. Odean recalled a tune called "Can't Stop The Music" that has never materialized ["Toast Of The Town" was titled "Talk Of The Town" in these early days]. "Why You Killin' Yourself?" seems to have become "Starry Eyes."
Crue collector Ryan Anderson adds "Breakdown Your Heart," "On My Video" "I'm In Hell"/"Welcome to Hell" and "TV and Violence." The last title had legs: it was considered for the title to albums that became known as "Shout At The Devil" and "Girls, Girls, Girls."
This article and research copyright Mick Funz, 2020
Nobody Knows What It's Like To Be Lonely [aka I Got the Power]
Public Enemy #1 [co-written with Lizzie Grey]
Stick To Your Guns
Toast Of The Town
Nikki made a home recording of some of these tunes for vocalist Odean Peterson to hear sometime in February-March of 1981. By the end of March Nikki, Mick and Tommy spent three days in Crystal Sound Studio recording these tunes as well as a cover of the Raspberries song "Tonight." Odean recorded vocals for all the songs. In a 1984 testimonial he states that his vocals were erased from the 24 track master when Vince Neil joined the band and recorded his own vocals in early April. Friends told the band they thought "Toast Of The Town" and "Stick To Your Guns" sounded good so by the April 24-25th shows at the Starwood they had a 45 single of the tunes for sale ["That's the B-Side of our new single!"].
Stick to Your Guns
Nobody Knows What It's Like To Be Lonely
Public Enemy #1
Toast Of The Town
Too Fast For Love
Paperback Writer [The Beatles]
Why You Killin' Yourself?
Tonight [The Raspberries]
"Why You Killin' Yourself?" is the only surviving version of this song. It sounds like it morphed into "Starry Eyes."
"Public Enemy #1" was co-written with Nikki's ex-London cohort Lizzie Grey. Here is a version of the song by one of Lizzie's bands from the 2010s. He died in August of 2019.
A circa May-June return to Crystal Studios yielded a recording of "Take Me To The Top." Odean stated he worked on all the aforementioned songs in March, except "Top" so it was possibly not recorded until this second session. The actual recording order and details of these early sessions is murky. "Public" and "Top" sound particularly rough and amateurish while the apparently first two recorded in April, "Nobody Knows" and "Tonight" sound more cohesive. Whatever they may have rerecorded on the other songs at this time is not known and may never be clarified.
Circa June they put together a four song demo to give to record labels. "Public Enemy #1," "Take Me To The Top," [these two had videos made by the band around this time] "Stick To Your Guns" and "Toast Of The Town."
The next surviving audio of the band is from October 2nd, live at The Country Club in Hollywood, California. They performed
Take Me To The Top
Two-Timer [Herman Rarebell]
Come On And Dance
Piece Of Your Action
Merry-Go-Round
Too Fast For Love
Toast Of The Town
Stick To Your Guns
Starry Eyes
Live Wire
Helter Skelter [The Beatles]
Jailhouse Rock [Leiber and Stoller-Elvis]
We hear tunes that will be recorded for the independently-produced Leathur "Too Fast For Love" LP in the next month and a few covers, two of which would make it to future Motley records. "Two-Timer" is actually "Hard Sensation" from Herman Rarebell's 1981 album "Nip In The Bud." There is no other Motley recording of this tune.
"Live Wire" makes its first appearance on a recording. The story was told (and filmed for the 2019 bio "The Dirt") that "Live Wire" was the first song the band worked on when they first jammed in April. Either that was a made up story or it took a while for the song to develop. It is a particularly more Heavy Metal-sounding tune, unlike their earliest material, so perhaps it wasn't actually written til later in the year.
MTV News caught up with the band at their November 12th performance at the Roxy where a brief clip of the band playing "Too Fast For Love" is shared. They had just finished recording and manufacturing their debut album on their own label and would sign a distribution deal with Greenworld who would soon have the album in stores and available through mail-order. The Leathur "Too Fast For Love" LP has the songs
Live Wire
Public Enemy #1
Take Me To The Top
Merry-Go-Round
Piece Of Your Action
Starry Eyes
Stick To Your Guns
Come On And Dance
Too Fast For Love
On With The Show
"Public Enemy #1," "Take Me To The Top" and "Stick To Your Guns" are recorded for a second time in 1981. All of these tunes would be performed and recorded live by the band in these years except "On With The Show" which wouldn't be played live for another 25 years!
On December 11th [Nikki's birthday] the band played The Whisky A Go-Go. They performed
Take Me To The Top
Running Wild In The Night
I Will Survive
Toast Of The Town
Starry Eyes
Piece Of Your Action
Come On And Dance
Too Fast For Love [without the intro]
Merry-Go-Round
Live Wire
 |
| Vince at the Whisky, 1981 |
LOST SONGS
Nikki had songs written, rehearsed and perhaps even performed by the band that are only now represented by a mention on a surviving set-list or a lyric sheet. Odean recalled a tune called "Can't Stop The Music" that has never materialized ["Toast Of The Town" was titled "Talk Of The Town" in these early days]. "Why You Killin' Yourself?" seems to have become "Starry Eyes."
Crue collector Ryan Anderson adds "Breakdown Your Heart," "On My Video" "I'm In Hell"/"Welcome to Hell" and "TV and Violence." The last title had legs: it was considered for the title to albums that became known as "Shout At The Devil" and "Girls, Girls, Girls."
This article and research copyright Mick Funz, 2020
1981 Discography - World Of Motley Crue
Nikki,
Tommy and Mick were demoing tunes in circa March 1981 and were working
with a vocalist named O'Dean Peterson. At the same time they were
looking for other singers and Tommy gave Vince a demo tape. Vince joined
the band and recorded his own vocals in April. By their first shows at
The Starwood on April 24th-25th they had pressed a single 45 of the
tunes "Toast Of The Town" and "Stick To Your Guns." In the next few
months the band put together four songs on a cassette for promotional
purposes. The two songs from the 45 as well as "Public Enemy #1" and
"Take Me To The Top." These last two tunes were possibly demoed in circa
May and the band made video performances of the songs. In the 21st
century fans were treated with the discovery and release of two songs
from Motley's first April sessions: "Nobody Knows What It's Like to Be
Lonely" and a cover of the Raspberries song, "Tonight." Some Crue fans
had already heard these songs back in the day as they are performed on
the April 24-25th Starwood video bootleg.
Recorded March-April, 1981 at Crystal Sound Studios at 1014 Vine St, Hollywood with engineer Laura Livingston.
1. Nobody Knows What It's Like To Be Lonely
[aka "I Got The Power"]
-First and only official release in 2001 on the Lewd, Crued and Tattooed DVD. This song was not even in bootleg circles previous to this release. The only other surviving performance of this song is from the April 24-25th Starwood bootleg. The song sounds to be playing back at a slow speed and could be tweaked to play slightly faster. This is also the longest song the band ever recorded (approx. 7 minutes).
2. Tonight [originally recorded by The Raspberries]
-First officially released in 1999 on the "Crucial Crue" [Motley Records] "Too Fast For Love." This was not even in bootleg circles previously. The only other Motley performance of this song is from the April 24-25th The Starwood bootleg. It is also included on the 2003 Motley/Hip-O Records "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" box set (Disc 2).
3. Toast of the Town
-First released on the April 1981 "Leather Records" 45 rpm single. Side B to Side A's "Stick To Your Guns." Then on the c. June 1981 "Coffman & Coffman" promo cassette along with "Stick To Your Guns," "Public Enemy #1," and "Take Me To The Top." In 1999 it was re-released/remastered on the "Crucial Crue" "Too Fast For Love" (bonus track) as well as 2003's "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" Box Set (Disc 2) and 2005's "Red, White And Crue" (Disc 1). "Toast" was remastered in the digital age and is slightly different than previous versions but it is all from the single original recording from early 1981.
4. Stick To Your Guns
-First released on the April 1981 "Leather Records" 45 rpm single. Side A to Side B's "Toast Of The Town." Then in June 1981 on the "Coffman & Coffman" promo cassette along with "Toast Of The Town," "Public Enemy #1," and "Take Me To The Top."
Recorded circa May, 1981 at Crystal Sound Studios at 1014
Vine St, Hollywood with engineer Laura Livingston.
5. Public Enemy #1
-only official release on the June "Coffman & Coffman" promotional cassette.
6. Take Me To The Top
-only official release on the June "Coffman & Coffman" promotional cassette.
[Motley filmed promotional videos for both songs at International Rehearsal Studios circa May, 1981.]
*****The above information for Motley's first six recordings is as close to accurate as I've been able to estimate what with the skimpy info they've provided regarding their early recording sessions. The often told story that Vince was so new to the band that you can hear the pages turning on the recording as he sings along to lyric sheets is funny but I've never heard those pages. "Public Enemy #1" and "Take Me To The Top" do sound like Vince is new to the material and the band. He's out of tune periodically and seems to not know lyrics despite the cheat sheets! "Nobody Knows" and "Tonight" are supposed to be the first two songs the band recorded and they sound surprisingly competent, considering, so I wonder what the actual order and state of these tracks is. Their first singer, Odean Peterson, stated in 1984 that he demoed all of the aforementioned tunes with them in March, except "Take Me To The Top" so it could be from the second session in May. *****
Paul Miles gives a circa October-November 1981 date for the Leathur "Too Fast For Love" recording session "over a drunken four days at Hit City West Studios on the corner of Pico and La Cienega boulevards." Wikipedia says it happened in October. "German producer Michael Wagener is brought to the helm of the brand-new Soundcraft 2400 series console board."
The following photo of Wagener with Vince comes from the amazing Crue collection of Ryan Anderson.
October-November, 1981, Hill City West Studios, L. A., CA
Too Fast For Love [Leathur Records]
1. Live Wire
2. Public Enemy #1
3. Take Me To The Top
4. Merry-Go-Round
5. Piece Of Your Action
6. Starry Eyes
7. Stick To Your Guns
-1999 "Crucial Crue" "Too Fast For Love" (bonus track).
8. Come On And Dance
9. Too Fast For Love
-1999 "Crucial Crue" "Too Fast For Love" (bonus track).
-2003 "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" box set (Disc 2).
10. On With The Show
-The album was released November 10th. See below for more versions and later releases.
-2003's "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" has a needle-drop of the full Leathur LP (Disc 1).
Before the band signed with Elektra in 1982 and the album was edited and re-released there were several printings of the Leathur version. An Italian Cruehead made a page explaining the different pressings.
****************************
The Vince and Michael Wagener photo is from Motley fan Ryan Anderson who has a Facebook group called "The Leathur Lair - Motley Crue Collection" where he shares his one-of-a-kind images and memorabilia from the 1981-1982 era. Ryan's collection is a stunning gathering of Coffman-era Crue collectibles and the group has become a kind of meeting place for fans and early Motley associates who share memories and their own rare memorabilia. Ryan is very open with his rarities and he has graciously allowed me to share some of his watermarked images at this blog. If you want to see the amazing Crue memories at his group just search and join at Facebook.
Recorded March-April, 1981 at Crystal Sound Studios at 1014 Vine St, Hollywood with engineer Laura Livingston.
1. Nobody Knows What It's Like To Be Lonely
[aka "I Got The Power"]
-First and only official release in 2001 on the Lewd, Crued and Tattooed DVD. This song was not even in bootleg circles previous to this release. The only other surviving performance of this song is from the April 24-25th Starwood bootleg. The song sounds to be playing back at a slow speed and could be tweaked to play slightly faster. This is also the longest song the band ever recorded (approx. 7 minutes).
2. Tonight [originally recorded by The Raspberries]
-First officially released in 1999 on the "Crucial Crue" [Motley Records] "Too Fast For Love." This was not even in bootleg circles previously. The only other Motley performance of this song is from the April 24-25th The Starwood bootleg. It is also included on the 2003 Motley/Hip-O Records "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" box set (Disc 2).
3. Toast of the Town
-First released on the April 1981 "Leather Records" 45 rpm single. Side B to Side A's "Stick To Your Guns." Then on the c. June 1981 "Coffman & Coffman" promo cassette along with "Stick To Your Guns," "Public Enemy #1," and "Take Me To The Top." In 1999 it was re-released/remastered on the "Crucial Crue" "Too Fast For Love" (bonus track) as well as 2003's "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" Box Set (Disc 2) and 2005's "Red, White And Crue" (Disc 1). "Toast" was remastered in the digital age and is slightly different than previous versions but it is all from the single original recording from early 1981.
4. Stick To Your Guns
-First released on the April 1981 "Leather Records" 45 rpm single. Side A to Side B's "Toast Of The Town." Then in June 1981 on the "Coffman & Coffman" promo cassette along with "Toast Of The Town," "Public Enemy #1," and "Take Me To The Top."
Recorded circa May, 1981 at Crystal Sound Studios at 1014
Vine St, Hollywood with engineer Laura Livingston.
5. Public Enemy #1
-only official release on the June "Coffman & Coffman" promotional cassette.
6. Take Me To The Top
-only official release on the June "Coffman & Coffman" promotional cassette.
[Motley filmed promotional videos for both songs at International Rehearsal Studios circa May, 1981.]
*****The above information for Motley's first six recordings is as close to accurate as I've been able to estimate what with the skimpy info they've provided regarding their early recording sessions. The often told story that Vince was so new to the band that you can hear the pages turning on the recording as he sings along to lyric sheets is funny but I've never heard those pages. "Public Enemy #1" and "Take Me To The Top" do sound like Vince is new to the material and the band. He's out of tune periodically and seems to not know lyrics despite the cheat sheets! "Nobody Knows" and "Tonight" are supposed to be the first two songs the band recorded and they sound surprisingly competent, considering, so I wonder what the actual order and state of these tracks is. Their first singer, Odean Peterson, stated in 1984 that he demoed all of the aforementioned tunes with them in March, except "Take Me To The Top" so it could be from the second session in May. *****
Paul Miles gives a circa October-November 1981 date for the Leathur "Too Fast For Love" recording session "over a drunken four days at Hit City West Studios on the corner of Pico and La Cienega boulevards." Wikipedia says it happened in October. "German producer Michael Wagener is brought to the helm of the brand-new Soundcraft 2400 series console board."
The following photo of Wagener with Vince comes from the amazing Crue collection of Ryan Anderson.
October-November, 1981, Hill City West Studios, L. A., CA
Too Fast For Love [Leathur Records]
1. Live Wire
2. Public Enemy #1
3. Take Me To The Top
4. Merry-Go-Round
5. Piece Of Your Action
6. Starry Eyes
7. Stick To Your Guns
-1999 "Crucial Crue" "Too Fast For Love" (bonus track).
8. Come On And Dance
9. Too Fast For Love
-1999 "Crucial Crue" "Too Fast For Love" (bonus track).
-2003 "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" box set (Disc 2).
10. On With The Show
-The album was released November 10th. See below for more versions and later releases.
-2003's "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" has a needle-drop of the full Leathur LP (Disc 1).
Before the band signed with Elektra in 1982 and the album was edited and re-released there were several printings of the Leathur version. An Italian Cruehead made a page explaining the different pressings.
****************************
The Vince and Michael Wagener photo is from Motley fan Ryan Anderson who has a Facebook group called "The Leathur Lair - Motley Crue Collection" where he shares his one-of-a-kind images and memorabilia from the 1981-1982 era. Ryan's collection is a stunning gathering of Coffman-era Crue collectibles and the group has become a kind of meeting place for fans and early Motley associates who share memories and their own rare memorabilia. Ryan is very open with his rarities and he has graciously allowed me to share some of his watermarked images at this blog. If you want to see the amazing Crue memories at his group just search and join at Facebook.
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