Renowned just as much for their hedonistic behavior as their hair metal, Motley Crue are one of the true survivors of the 80s rock scene. But after a 30-year career plagued by drug addiction, alcoholism, prison time and in-fighting, the notorious hell-raisers have recently hinted that they intend to go their separate ways for good once their busy schedule has come to an end.
Of course, it’s not the first time that the future of the band has been up in the air. The band may have defined the sleazier side of the 80s metal scene with the likes of Shout At The Devil, Theatre Of Pain and Girls, Girls, Girls. But after finally reaching the top of the Billboard charts with 1989’s Dr. Feelgood, they then spent the resulting decade in total disarray.
First frontman Vince Neil was replaced by The Scream’s John Corabi in 1992, only for his successor to be fired four years later when he suggested that Neil should rejoin the band. Manager Doug Thaler was also given the push after 1994’s self-titled efforts failed to prevent the commercial decline inevitably engineered by the rise of grunge.
A brief reformation with the original line-up didn’t improve matters either with Generation Swine limping to sales of just half a million, prompting the group to leave Elektra Records to start their own eponymous label. The unrest continued with drummer Tommy Lee departing for an ill-advised solo career, while lead guitarist Mick Mars then went into seclusion in 2001 after being diagnosed with a rare form of arthritis. Following the dismal commercial fortunes of New Tattoo, it was presumed that the group’s best days were well behind them.
But the Motley Crue camp has remained a lot more stable since their full-blown reunion in 2004. Compilation Red, White and Crue returned them to the US Top 10 for the first time in seven years. Both their own Carnival Of Sins tour and co-headlining Route of All Evil tour alongside Aerosmith proved that they were still a huge live draw, while 2008’s Saints Of Los Angeles became their biggest-selling album in nearly 20 years.
However, despite the continuing success of their own festival, Crue Fest, and the confirmation that their critically-acclaimed autobiography, The Dirt, is to be made into a full-length feature film, the Crue have spent the last few years professing their uncertainty over the band’s future.
After initially teasing the prospect of a tenth studio effort, Lee then questioned the whole concept of the traditional studio album in a 2012 interview, claiming that he would prefer to record a four-song E.P. instead due to the dramatic drop in sales. Neil then appeared to echo his bandmate’s sentiment during an interview at the beginning of 2013. But despite initially contradicting the pair on Facebook with a message stating that there would be a new record, it was Nikki Sixx who first hinted that the band’s career was coming to its natural end.
Citing the likes of Led Zeppelin as an example, the bassist admitted that he would rather Crue go out on top than simply go through the motions before hobbling off into the sunset. But without any concrete announcement, the band continued to be as busy as ever, scheduling the biggest Canadian tour of their career whilst also joining KISS for a series of headline shows in Australia.
But shortly after, Sixx gave the biggest indication that the group were soon set to call it a day, telling themusic.com.au that they wanted to finish work on the movie, put out its accompanying soundtrack and release a final LP before returning to the stage for one mammoth farewell tour.
Considering the apparent lack of communication between the band, expect another member to announce any minute now that the Crue have no intention of splitting up. But whatever happens, with several projects in the pipeline, it doesn’t look like Motley Crue will be disappearing for good any time soon.
Are Motley Crue Truly Splitting Up?
Renowned just as much for their hedonistic behavior as their hair metal, Motley Crue are one of the true survivors of the 80s rock scene. But after a 30-year career plagued by drug addiction, alcoholism, prison time and in-fighting, the notorious hell-raisers have recently hinted that they intend to go their separate ways for good once their busy schedule has come to an end.
Of course, it’s not the first time that the future of the band has been up in the air. The band may have defined the sleazier side of the 80s metal scene with the likes of Shout At The Devil, Theatre Of Pain and Girls, Girls, Girls. But after finally reaching the top of the Billboard charts with 1989’s Dr. Feelgood, they then spent the resulting decade in total disarray.
First frontman Vince Neil was replaced by The Scream’s John Corabi in 1992, only for his successor to be fired four years later when he suggested that Neil should rejoin the band. Manager Doug Thaler was also given the push after 1994’s self-titled efforts failed to prevent the commercial decline inevitably engineered by the rise of grunge.
A brief reformation with the original line-up didn’t improve matters either with Generation Swine limping to sales of just half a million, prompting the group to leave Elektra Records to start their own eponymous label. The unrest continued with drummer Tommy Lee departing for an ill-advised solo career, while lead guitarist Mick Mars then went into seclusion in 2001 after being diagnosed with a rare form of arthritis. Following the dismal commercial fortunes of New Tattoo, it was presumed that the group’s best days were well behind them.
But the Motley Crue camp has remained a lot more stable since their full-blown reunion in 2004. Compilation Red, White and Crue returned them to the US Top 10 for the first time in seven years. Both their own Carnival Of Sins tour and co-headlining Route of All Evil tour alongside Aerosmith proved that they were still a huge live draw, while 2008’s Saints Of Los Angeles became their biggest-selling album in nearly 20 years.
However, despite the continuing success of their own festival, Crue Fest, and the confirmation that their critically-acclaimed autobiography, The Dirt, is to be made into a full-length feature film, the Crue have spent the last few years professing their uncertainty over the band’s future.
After initially teasing the prospect of a tenth studio effort, Lee then questioned the whole concept of the traditional studio album in a 2012 interview, claiming that he would prefer to record a four-song E.P. instead due to the dramatic drop in sales. Neil then appeared to echo his bandmate’s sentiment during an interview at the beginning of 2013. But despite initially contradicting the pair on Facebook with a message stating that there would be a new record, it was Nikki Sixx who first hinted that the band’s career was coming to its natural end.
Citing the likes of Led Zeppelin as an example, the bassist admitted that he would rather Crue go out on top than simply go through the motions before hobbling off into the sunset. But without any concrete announcement, the band continued to be as busy as ever, scheduling the biggest Canadian tour of their career whilst also joining KISS for a series of headline shows in Australia.
But shortly after, Sixx gave the biggest indication that the group were soon set to call it a day, telling themusic.com.au that they wanted to finish work on the movie, put out its accompanying soundtrack and release a final LP before returning to the stage for one mammoth farewell tour.
Considering the apparent lack of communication between the band, expect another member to announce any minute now that the Crue have no intention of splitting up. But whatever happens, with several projects in the pipeline, it doesn’t look like Motley Crue will be disappearing for good any time soon.
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