Motley Crue

Mötley Crüe) is a heavy metal band formed by Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee in 1981 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

The band is one of the best-selling of all time, with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, including 25 million in the USA.
In search of members to complete their lineup, the band's founders soon met guitarist Mick Mars (Robert Deal), who later suggested Vince Neil as the band's vocalist. After his initial reluctance to join, he was eventually persuaded to participate. The name "Mottley Cru" was proposed for the band, but Neil decided it should be spelled with an umlaut, becoming Mötley Crüe. And so, in November 1981, their debut album, titled Too Fast for Love (1981), was released, quickly selling 20,000 copies and leading to a contract with Elektra Records, under whose umbrella they recorded their next album – Shout at the Devil from 1983. It went platinum, but the band's ascent was temporarily overshadowed by an unfortunate incident.
The band's vocalist was involved in a severe drunk driving accident in which his friend Nicholas Dingley from Hanoi Rocks died. Neil was imprisoned for 30 days (of which he served 18), sentenced to community service, and paid enormous compensation. Around this time, the band's third album, Theatre of Pain (1985), was released, which propelled them to stardom. The same album featured their first Top 40 hit – a cover of Brownsville Station's "Smokin' In the Boys' Room."

In 1986, Tommy Lee married actress Heather Locklear. Another album was released – Girls, Girls, Girls (1987). On December 23, 1987, Nikki Sixx overdosed on heroin and was declared dead on the way to the hospital, but a paramedic, who was also a fan of the band, brought him back to life. All European dates were canceled. The two minutes of death led to the creation of the song "Kickstart My Heart," which reached 16th place on the Mainstream U.S. chart. In 1988, all four musicians underwent treatment for drug addiction.

A year later, now "clean," they returned with their new album Dr. Feelgood (1989), which was their only album to reach number 1 on the U.S. charts. It was nominated for Favorite Hard Rock/Metal Album but lost to Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction. However, the following year it won against Aerosmith's Pump and Poison's Flesh & Blood. In 1991, the compilation Decade of Decadence was released, reaching second place on the charts.