Biography
The evening Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee told prospective frontman Vince Neil that the group had caught his set with Rock Candy at the legendary Hollywood venue Starwood and felt immediate excitement, Neil hesitated because he remained content in his present group yet accepted an audition the following weekend so as not to offend Lee. Once inside the lineup he stayed, and the quartet launched a ten-year stretch of heavy-metal excess that produced four straight multi-platinum albums.
Born Vince Neil Wharton on February 8, 1961, in Hollywood, CA, Neil served as the visual centerpiece of the band thanks to his waist-length peroxide hair and piercing vocal shriek. Although untrained as a singer, he embodied the archetypal Los Angeles “surfer dude” look that suited the era’s ideal heavy-metal frontman, an image reminiscent of David Lee Roth.
After entering Mötley Crüe in 1981, the musicians self-produced Too Fast for Love, which drew the interest of Elektra Records executive Tom Zutaut. The label signed them, and the 1983 major-label debut Shout at the Devil became a multi-platinum breakthrough that propelled the band to superstardom. Following the subsequent tour supporting Ozzy Osbourne, Neil caused a fatal drunk-driving crash in Redondo Beach, CA, when his vehicle struck an oncoming car; passenger Nicolas “Razzle” Dingley of Hanoi Rocks died and the two occupants of the other car sustained serious injuries. Neil received a sentence to a drug-and-alcohol rehabilitation facility, avoided prison, and was ordered to compensate the victims.
Undeterred, Mötley Crüe issued Theatre of Pain in 1985, another multi-platinum release, then repeated the feat with 1987’s Girls, Girls, Girls and 1989’s Dr. Feelgood, the latter becoming the band’s commercial peak. After the exhaustive Dr. Feelgood tour, Neil was dismissed; accounts of the reasons differ among the members. He subsequently pursued a modestly successful solo path, enlisting former Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens for the 1993 album Exposed, which sold adequately, and the Dust Brothers-produced Carved in Stone in 1995, which underperformed. Mötley Crüe’s own 1994 self-titled effort also fell short of earlier heights, prompting the band to invite Neil back in 1997.
Generation Swine appeared that same year with Neil restored alongside guitarist Mick Mars, bassist Nikki Sixx, and drummer Tommy Lee. The reunion proved brief; Lee departed in 1999. The remaining lineup released New Tattoo in 2000. In 2003 Neil joined the cast of VH1’s debut season of The Surreal Life and issued the concert recording Live at the Whisky: One Night Only. His third solo album, Tattoos & Tequila, followed in 2010.
Born Vince Neil Wharton on February 8, 1961, in Hollywood, CA, Neil served as the visual centerpiece of the band thanks to his waist-length peroxide hair and piercing vocal shriek. Although untrained as a singer, he embodied the archetypal Los Angeles “surfer dude” look that suited the era’s ideal heavy-metal frontman, an image reminiscent of David Lee Roth.
After entering Mötley Crüe in 1981, the musicians self-produced Too Fast for Love, which drew the interest of Elektra Records executive Tom Zutaut. The label signed them, and the 1983 major-label debut Shout at the Devil became a multi-platinum breakthrough that propelled the band to superstardom. Following the subsequent tour supporting Ozzy Osbourne, Neil caused a fatal drunk-driving crash in Redondo Beach, CA, when his vehicle struck an oncoming car; passenger Nicolas “Razzle” Dingley of Hanoi Rocks died and the two occupants of the other car sustained serious injuries. Neil received a sentence to a drug-and-alcohol rehabilitation facility, avoided prison, and was ordered to compensate the victims.
Undeterred, Mötley Crüe issued Theatre of Pain in 1985, another multi-platinum release, then repeated the feat with 1987’s Girls, Girls, Girls and 1989’s Dr. Feelgood, the latter becoming the band’s commercial peak. After the exhaustive Dr. Feelgood tour, Neil was dismissed; accounts of the reasons differ among the members. He subsequently pursued a modestly successful solo path, enlisting former Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens for the 1993 album Exposed, which sold adequately, and the Dust Brothers-produced Carved in Stone in 1995, which underperformed. Mötley Crüe’s own 1994 self-titled effort also fell short of earlier heights, prompting the band to invite Neil back in 1997.
Generation Swine appeared that same year with Neil restored alongside guitarist Mick Mars, bassist Nikki Sixx, and drummer Tommy Lee. The reunion proved brief; Lee departed in 1999. The remaining lineup released New Tattoo in 2000. In 2003 Neil joined the cast of VH1’s debut season of The Surreal Life and issued the concert recording Live at the Whisky: One Night Only. His third solo album, Tattoos & Tequila, followed in 2010.
Albums
Live
