Group
Mötley Crüe
- From
- Los Angeles, United States
- Since
- 1981–present
- Rating
- ★ 4
- Releases
- 124
- glam metal
- hard rock
- heavy metal
- metal
- arena rock
About
Mötley Crüe (pronounced "motley crew") is an American heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sold over 100 million records worldwide. They have achieved seven platinum or multi-platinum certifications, nine Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart (including 1989's Dr. Feelgood, which is Mötley Crüe's only studio album to reach number one), twenty-two Top 40 mainstream rock hits, and six Top 20 pop singles.
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The members of Mötley Crüe are often noted for their hedonistic lifestyles and the wild, sometimes androgynous style they maintained. Following the hard rock and heavy metal origins on the band's first two albums, Too Fast for Love (1981) and Shout at the Devil (1983), the release of its third album Theatre of Pain (1985) saw Mötley Crüe joining the first wave of glam metal. The band employ elaborate live performances, which include flame thrower guitars, roller coaster drum kits, and the use of pyrotechnics such as fireworks and lighting Sixx on fire. Mötley Crüe's most recent studio album, Saints of Los Angeles, was released on June 24, 2008. What was planned to be the band's final show took place on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2015. The concert was filmed for a theatrical and Blu-ray release in 2016.
After 2½ years of inactivity, Neil announced in September 2018 that Mötley Crüe had reunited and was working on new material. On March 22, 2019, the band released four new songs on the soundtrack for its Netflix biopic The Dirt, based on the band's New York Times best-selling autobiography of the same name. The soundtrack went to number one on the iTunes All Genres Album Chart, number three on the Billboard Top Album and Digital Album sales charts, number ten on the Billboard 200, and Top 10 worldwide. The autobiography returned to the New York Times Best Seller list at number six on Nonfiction Print and number eight on Nonfiction Combined Print & E-Book. Mötley Crüe embarked on its first major tour in seven years during the summer and fall of 2022, co-headlining a North American tour with Def Leppard.
The band has experienced several lineup changes over the years, leaving Sixx as the only consistent member; these included the introduction of lead vocalist John Corabi (who was Neil's replacement from 1992 to 1996) and drummer Randy Castillo, who filled in for Lee following his departure from Mötley Crüe in 1999; the latter rejoined the band in 2004. In October 2022, after 41 years of service, Mars announced his retirement from touring with the band, with John 5 (formerly of David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie) replacing him.
Members
-
Vince Neil lead vocals, electric guitar, harmonica
-
Tommy Lee drums (drum set), background vocals, keyboard, piano
-
Nikki Sixx electric bass guitar, background vocals, keyboard, piano
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John 5 guitar
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DJ Larceny additional, turntable
-
Mick Mars background vocals, electric guitar
-
John Corabi electric bass guitar, electric guitar, keyboard, lead vocals, piano
-
Randy Castillo drums (drum set)
Discography
Albums
EPs
Singles
-
Home Sweet Home Apple Music
-
Fight for Your Right
-
Dogs of War Apple Music
-
The Retaliators Theme Song (21 Bullets)
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Like a Virgin
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All Bad Things
-
Hotter Than Hell Apple Music
-
Kiss the Sky Apple Music
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I Will Survive
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Mutherf*cker of the Year (radio single)
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1st Band on the Moon Apple Music
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Saints of Los Angeles Apple Music
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Confessions Apple Music
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Wreck Me Apple Music
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Rocketship Apple Music
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SEX Apple Music
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Porno Star Apple Music
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Home Sweet Home Apple Music
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Sick Love Song
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If I Die Tomorrow
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Bitter Pill
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Glitter
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Afraid Apple Music
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Afraid Apple Music
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Misunderstood
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Hooligan’s Holiday
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Primal Scream
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Home Sweet Home (’91 remix) Apple Music
-
Without You
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Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
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Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.) Apple Music
-
Kickstart My Heart
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Dr. Feelgood
-
Wild Side
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You’re All I Need
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Girls, Girls, Girls
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Smokin’ in the Boys Room
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Home Sweet Home Apple Music
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Keep Your Eye on the Money
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Helter Skelter
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Looks That Kill
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Stick to Your Guns / Toast of the Town
Live
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Smokin’ in the Boys Room (live in Long Beach)
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Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) (live)
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Turn Me Loose (Tucson 1983 broadcast)
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Looks That Kill (Live Pasadena ’82)
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The End: Live in Los Angeles
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Terror in Tinseltown
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Wild in the Night: Live Broadcast 1982
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Live Around the World 1989–1990
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Same Ol’ Situation (live) Apple Music
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White Punks on Dope (live) Apple Music
-
White Trash Circus
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Hell on High Heels Apple Music
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Kickstart My Heart (live)
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Carnival of Sins
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Live Wire
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Live: Entertainment or Death Apple Music
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Shoot to Kill
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Live USA & Switzerland
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After Burial
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Live USA
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Sixx Times Cruel
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Live USA
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Live USA
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Live in Fresno (1990), Volume 2
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Decadent Live
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Secrets of Tone
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2005-07-02: Live8, Park Place, Barrie, ON, Canada
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2005-03-05: Fleetcenter, Boston, MA, USA
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2012-02-03: The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, USA
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The Doctor Is In
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Live Wire (live in Gothenburg 1986)
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Complete Pasadena 1982
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2005-02-22: Gund Arena, Cleveland, OH, USA
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Hiroshima: 4/10/94
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Live in Fresno (1990), Volume 1
-
Hate Into Fire
Compilations
-
From the Beginning
-
Crücial Crüe: The Studio Albums 1981–1989
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Demos & Outtakes 1981–82
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The Dirt Soundtrack
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Greate$t Hit$
-
Colour Collection
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Rock Legends
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Red, White & Crüe
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Classic Mötley Crüe
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The Universal Masters Collection
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Music to Crash Your Car To, Volume II
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20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Mötley Crüe
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Greatest Video Hits
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Loud as Fuck!
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Music to Crash Your Car To, Volume I
-
Supersonic Relics
-
Crücial Crüe Sampler
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Supersonic and Demonic Relics
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Greate$t Hit$
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Monster Hits: The Very Best of Mötley Crüe
-
Decade of Decadence ’81–’91
-
Crücial Crüe
-
Running Wild (Shout at the Devil Demos and Unreleased Tracks)
Links
Listen
Official
Concerts
Reference
- AllMusic
- BBC Music
- Discogs
- IMDb
- Last.fm
- Genius
- muzikum.eu
- musixmatch.com
- id.loc.gov
- musicmoz.org
- catalogue.bnf.fr
- d-nb.info
- imvdb.com
- nla.gov.au
- openlibrary.org
- rateyourmusic.com
- livefans.jp
- metal-archives.com
- metalmusicarchives.com
- musik-sammler.de
- muziekweb.nl
- spirit-of-metal.com
- spirit-of-rock.com
- whosampled.com
- worldcat.org
- purevolume.com
- SecondHandSongs
- VIAF
- Wikidata
Instrumental supporting musician
Supporting musician
Tribute
Also known as
Motley Crue · Mötley Crue · モトリー・クルー
Tags
- album rock
- hair band
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- 26f07661-e115-471d-a930-206f5c89d17c
- ISNI
- 0000000123313331
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 5 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.