The group members, Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Mick Mars and Vince Neil are recognized for their bad boy capers and hard rock life styles. From the very start, these boys have either caused trouble or trouble found them. During their first circuit in 1982, they were actually apprehended at the Edmonton International Airport as they wore their spiked stage wardrobe through customs. Officials at the airport confiscated all of what the group carried that they considered indecent or unsafe. No concern for the group though, it was all a publicity prank and it worked like a charm!

During the 80's, Mötley Crüe was mired in a seemingly endless cycle of loose females, substance abuse and run-in's with the police. There was a night in '84, an allegedly intoxicated Vince Neil was involved in a horrid head-on collision. His passenger, Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley of the group Hanoi Rocks was killed in the crash. Neil was sentenced to 30 days, but spent a measley 18 days imprisoned for the incident. Later, the band turned disaster into music and released box sets irreverently named "Music To Crash Your Car To".

The alcohol & drugs were overtaking their lives in a major way. In 1987, Nikki Sixx actually was pronounced dead from an O.D.. His heart stopped and that could have been the end for him. Fortunately for Sixx, the paramedics did not give up and gave him 2 shots of adrenaline to his heart. Plainly, he lived to rock on. This small incident gave the band the stirring for the song 'Kick Start My Heart' from the 'Dr. Feelgood' release.

It wasn't long after Nikki's brush with death that the bands managers stepped in. It was time for a serious intervention if this band was going to keep going. The managers denied the group to go on a European circuit, dreading that more than one would die on the road. The reality of their behavior and the effects must have hit them hard. All the members finally got themselves sober. While the others preferred to go into a rehabilitation program, Mars chose to deal with his addictions on his own.

In spite of their larger-than-life battles with addictions during the 80's, they still managed, somehow, to put together several best-selling releases. To this very day songs from the releases, 'Shout At The Devil', 'Theatre Of Pain' and 'Girls, Girls, Girls' get alot of air-time. But it wasn't until 1989, with a clean and sober band that they were at long last able to produce a #1 album, 'Dr. Feelgood'. Everybody, even the group believed that their sober attempts were much improved over anything they had done before.

The 90's brought more trouble for the Crüe. They released their 6th studio album, 'Decade of Decadence' in 1991 and it hit the number 2 spot on the music charts. And then, in '92, Neil either left the group or was terminated, depending on who you listen to. He was promptly replaced and the group published a self-titled recording that reached #7 on the music charts. At last, in 1997, the group reunited and published yet another album, 'Generation Swine'. The album didn't do well commercially, which resulted in them departing their record label, Elektra.

In 1998, after their contract with Elektra had ran out, the group discovered themselves in a unique position. They are one of the select few bands to have full control both over their catalog of masters and publishing. With this newfound power, the band re-published all of their previous albums and included many demos and previously un-published songs.

In 1999, Tommy Lee departed the group to pursue his own solo calling and to avoid encouraging battle with Neil. He was substituted and the group continued to tour and hit the studio, but fell short of true success. Sixx also went his own direction and played for the bands "58" and "Brides Of Destruction". It took 5 years, but the band finally did reunite and got busy recording a fresh compilation release called 'Red White & Crüe'. They as well went on a couple of circuits, including their '05 tour, 'Carnival of Sins' and the 2006 'Route of All Evil' tour that they did with Aerosmith.

Just last month, Mötley Crüe published their latest recording, 'Saints of Los Angeles'. Critics say the recording is some of the best stuff they have ever produced! It is a serious flashback to the band's earlier style and a welcome one at that. It appears these "bad-boy" rockers are still going after their original mission to rock the public as hard as they can.

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