You guys were considered a menace to society from the very day you banged in your lipstick, mascara, war paint and hairball gear into the music mainframe back in 1981. Shreds of colourful yarn were stuck together to garishly complement your messy get-up, and also to cover your painted skin. You made the drug-infested metal scene so damn sober with your ‘live fast die young’ brand of sleaze and felt proud to earn the title of the most notorious rock ’’ roll band in the world. You were instantly noticed by critics who slammed your music, calling you Kiss clones and Aerosmith rip-offs with no soul, while fans thought you were so damn cool in attitude, and that somehow took your music to adulating levels. You quickly gathered megastar wattage whereas someone like Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden who heralded some of the most successful chapters in the metal era was made to look like a standby celebrity.

You screamed lyrics like ‘Better lock up your daughters when the Motleys hit the road’, infuriated parents nearly did that and hated you for all the aggression you were able to inject into their ‘Crue-kids’. But collectively you were a rock outfit that was hard to put down, and were able to churn out multi-platinum album after another. You didn’t have a rhythm of your own but were able to fashion a cult fan following with a charismatic display of energetic hard rock that instantly connected with the youth of the 80s. From seedy rag dolls, you turned into gods of glam rock and were in a way responsible for the birth of acts like Poison, Warrant, Faster Pussycat and even Guns and Roses, most of whom disappeared into oblivion.

Individually, you guys obviously led reckless lives, lapping up the perks of fame like it would all be over in the next couple of hours. Nikki, you were a pretty good songwriter but never the acclaimed bassist your fans still swear by. You were once stoned so bad that doctors had to pronounce you clinically dead for a good two minutes. Something, and God only knows what, saved you. Vince, you had the voice and the suave of a genuine rock star but you too were high on life and other things. One fateful day you rammed your car head-on, taking the life out of Razzle (Hanoi Rocks drummer). You shocked the rock world when a survivor quoted to the press that you were solely responsible for the crash, and hence the death. As fate would have it, you lost your 4-year-old daughter Skylar to cancer and that turned your life around.

Mick, you were always a great guitarist but the swanky charisma of the band never really let your true talents emerge. You had a huge alcohol problem which nearly claimed your life, obviously slowing you down. Tommy Lee, the less said about you the better. Beating up scribes and displaying your weenie to the world besides rocking millions with an upside down drum-kit, you have that weird magnetism and we have to give it to you. You gotta have something to have the likes of Pamela Anderson and Heather Locklear on your fulfilled wish list; even if you’re a cheapskate like Tommy Lee. You lost steam in the early 90s like most other bands of your genre. Vince, you were replaced by John Corabi but were back in the group due to popular demand by the fans. Tommy, you were thrown out of the band and were replaced by Randy Castillo who died within a few years of joining the band. You grappled for your roots and released New Tattoo with Castillo, which did rather okay considering the rock-less times during which it was launched.

Cut to 2001 and Motley Crue were history, until ran a teaser headline on VH1 late in 2004 ‘Guess the band you thought you’d never see live again’. As it turned out you had reunited, with Tommy coming back and a massive world tour being announced. You got rocking again, selling out arenas like the way you did in the 80s. Still looking somewhat youthful and retaining much of the energy, you have become synonymous to the term ‘rock band’. For a true rock band is one that rolls for its fans. It inevitably suffers a downfall like all things else, and emerges like a rock that was never meant to crumble. As of now your latest anthology ‘Red White and Crue’ is doing brisk business the world over. And your fans are loving it.