Tommy Lee
While rock historians imagine what Keith Moon or John Bonham could have achieved had they not checked out early, another legendary drummer (who despite his excesses managed to flip the finger to the Grim Reaper) is enjoying a heap of midlife success. His third solo album due in August along with a new TV show, not to mention a best-selling memoir and sold-out shows leading off the 2005 Mötley Crüe reunion tour, Tommy Lee hasn't simply beaten the odds. He's damn well thrashed them, making it improbable for any rock percussionist to follow. Did we mention he's happy, too??? His latest album stands as a sonic accomplishment by itself. Tommyland: The Ride, due on store shelves August 9, is a highly listenable collection of rock-driven tunes, some infused with pop, electronica and other flavors, that chart the foibles of romance, celebrity and life in general. The album follows two distinctly different solo efforts: Methods of Mayhem (1999), a mélange of rock, hard house, industrial and hip-hop that reflected Lee's desire "to do everything I ever wanted to do" after 20 years with the Crüe; and Never A Dull Moment (2002), a more focused, "from the heart" album including the tune "Blue," written for his father who had recently passed away. Tommyland: The Ride will satisfy rock devotees and others with its solidly constructed hooks and performances by such artists as Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction), Joel Madden (Good Charlotte), Carl Bell (Fuel), Derick Whibley (Sum 41), Andrew McMahon (Jack's Mannequin / Something Corporate), Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) and Butch Walker. The album's first single, "Trying To Be Me," is a driving-rock grievance against fame in the age of cell phone cameras. Its second, the yearning, mid-tempo "Good Times," will be the theme for Lee's new NBC show, offering an appropriate paean to his Crüe roots. Bearing Lee's mark as a writing collaborator with his guest artists, Tommyland also bears his vocal skills, heard with Andrew McMahon on the equally wistful and hopeful "Hello Again," as well as "Say Goodbye," a breakup ballad which surprisingly shares the microphone with pop icon Nick Carter ("It turns out he's a huge fan of rock music," says Lee, who originally wrote the song for Carter's solo album, then purloined it when The Backstreet Boys reunion sidetracked it). Another track revealing Lee's willingness to lampoon himself is "Tired," with Joel Madden belting the tongue-in-cheek chorus: "Tommy got tired of Pamela, Ed got tired of Salma, Puffy got tired of JLo and Ben did too," working its way to the everyman complaint, "I'm just tired of you." Comfortable with poking fun at his own celebrity, it's a purposely awkward, fish-out-of-water approach that defines "Tommy Goes To College," the NBC reality show to premiere August 16. The show, which Lee also produces, finds him spending an unlikely semester in middle America at the University of Nebraska: finding a roommate, trying out for the marching band, cramming for finals and, of course, finding the time to party (allowing some lucky Cornhuskers to boast, "Dude, I slammed one with TOMMY LEE!"). While the presence of a rock star in Lincoln, Nebraska had the desired effect, Lee experienced a degree of surprise when his American Literature professor elected during one class to dissect his autobiography Tommyland, which had recently landed on the New York Times best-seller list. The candid memoir recounts the personal details of an iconic rock rebel: from his childhood in suburban California to his meteoric rise as the drummer for Mötley Crüe, to his headline-making life in the fast lane. An unflinching glimpse behind the tattooed exterior of a man revealed as a passionate musician and devoted father, Tommyland remains in the Top 100 Memoirs of Amazon.com as of May 2005, more than seven months after its publication in October 2004. And then there's the reunion of Mötley Crüe, which has energized thousands of fans worldwide, recalling the zenith of the band's fame in the ‘80s and ‘90s. The "Red, White & Crüe Tour 2005: Better Live Than Dead," presented by VH1 and VH1 Classic, has already sold out U.S. arenas and is currently working its way toward Europe and Australia. It returns to the U.S. to hit more than 40 amphitheatres in August and September before wrapping up in southeast Asia this November and December. "After being away from each other for more than six years, I was real apprehensive about this tour," says Lee. "But it was comfortable the first day we got together, and given the fan response, the whole thing has been way above and beyond my expectations." Motley's recently released anthology album, Red, White & Crue, is certified platinum. A native of Athens, Greece who moved to Southern California with his parents two years later, Thomas Lee Bass surely raised expectations in his parents early on – when he was "tall enough to reach the silverware drawer" he wasted no time transforming eating utensils into drumsticks. While his parents provided young Tommy with drum and piano lessons, his father, a mechanic, showed an extra measure of support by giving up the garage and building his son a soundproof room within it to practice. The rest, of course, is rock history... At 17, Lee teamed with bassist Nikki Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars and singer Vince Neil, naming themselves Mötley Crüe (the umlauts were intended to make them look tough). With a knack for creating fists-in-the-air anthems, the band recorded their first album, Too Fast for Love, which was released in November 1981 on their own Leathür Records label. An insanely catchy, riff-driven record, TFFL turned rock fans' expectations upside-down and ultimately led to the formation of an entire glam-metal movement based in Los Angeles. Picked up by Elektra, the Crüe released a string of classic albums in the ‘80s, beginning with Shout at the Devil (1983), controversial for its satanic elements, and Theatre Of Pain (1985), a slightly darker, more introverted record. However, Girls, Girls, Girls (1987) was as rock ‘n roll as anything they'd done before and, together with 1989's enormous Dr. Feelgood, catapulted the band into the mainstream. By the 1990s Mötley Crüe was a full-blown stadium act, with all the freedoms and hindrances that that entailed. Neil left the band in 1992 and it was Scream singer John Corabi that provided vocals for the 1994 album Mötley Crüe, which attempted to match up to the angst and power of newer metal bands. However, by 1997's Generation Swine, Neil was back and the Crüe's fortunes revived, leading them to issue Greatest Hits (1998), Live: Entertainment Or Death (1999) and a rarities collection, Supersonic and Demonic Relics (1999). By New Tattoo (2000), the band was working at full steam again, though with a notable exception: that of Tommy Lee, who by then was recording and touring with his own band, Methods of Mayhem, and ducking the paparazzi in the wake of his home video high-jinx with his then-wife, Pamela Anderson. With each original member of Mötley Crüe contributing to their 2001 autobiography The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band, the book quickly took hold with readers and spent a record-breaking ten months on the New York Times best-seller list (it's currently being made into a feature film, to be released this year by MTV Films/Paramount). Finally, the fans themselves persuaded Lee to reunite with his bandmates, initially to record three new songs for their 2005 anthology album, Red White & Crüe, then to launch an official "reunion tour" which has been met with resounding success. Tommy Lee devotes most of his free time these days toward his two children, Brandon and Dylan. While appreciating a more normal life, he nonetheless bemoans the lack of originality among rock stars. "Everyone kind of sounds the same and looks the same. I mean, where are the Mick Jaggers, the David Bowies?" laments Lee, who also notes how comfortable rock performers have become. "In rock there's got to be some element of danger, like, ‘Is this guy going to make it through the show tonight?' Beyond the music, that's what makes it exciting. Come on, guys! Step it up a notch! "

Mick Mars
After playing for years in various bands around the Los Angeles area, Mars placed an ad in a local paper to which Mötley Crüe founder/bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee responded. Mars was hired on the spot. The band went on to add vocalist Vince Neil and proceeded to gig around Hollywood creating a buzz with their outrageous stage show. A show which included Mars' spitting blood à la Gene Simmons-style and Sixx lighting himself on fire. The band eventually landed a record deal with Elektra Records and Mars began what would become a very tempestuous but rewarding songwriting collaboration experience with Sixx -- one that would propel the band into super stardom. Mars was often perceived as the overly reclusive and quiet member of the band; however, this perception was created by a degenerative bone condition called ankylosing spondylitis. This disease caused the guitarist to appear hunched over on- and off-stage, resulting in his image as the shy and mysterious member. The disease also spawned a serious alcohol addiction that landed him in rehab years later. After signing their record deal, Elektra went on to reissue the band's self-produced first album, Too Fast for Love, in 1982.

The follow-up album, 1983's Shout at the Devil, put these Hollywood bad boys on the metal map as Mars and the band dominated '80s metal. They released three multi-platinum albums in a row; 1985's Theatre of Pain, 1987's Girls, Girls, Girls, and their most commercially successful album to date, 1989's Dr. Feelgood, the end result of Mars' catchy rock riffs (while frequently intoxicated) and Sixx's rebellious and sexually driven lyrics.

As the '90s loomed on the horizon, Mötley Crüe was at a crossroads. Neil left the band and alternative/grunge rock became mainstream. John Corabi soon replaced Neil, who in addition to singing was also an accomplished guitar player. Corabi proceeded to play some guitar parts on the band's 1994 self-titled album. This infuriated Mars. He didn't have to worry for too long, as Corabi was subsequently fired when the album did not sell. Neil was rehired, and the original lineup was once again intact. The reunion album, Generation Swine, was released in 1997 and New Tattoo followed in 1999. ~ Eric Linden, All Music Guide (VH1.com)

Mick was born Bob Allen Deal in Terre Haute, IN on May 4th, 1951. His family moved to California when he was eight years old.

Vince Neil
Mötley Crüe established itself in 1981, when it came roaring off the strip with Too Fast For Love, an independently recorded slab of crunch that mixed metal with punk and melodic pop sensibilities -- a blend that would become THE rock sound of the `80s and influence scores of other bands.
Too Fast For Love created a buzz around Mötley that culminated in a major label deal and 1983's Shout at the Devil, a triple-platinum blast that only added volume and velocity on subsequent multi-million sellers such as 1985's Theatre of Pain, 1987's Girls, Girls, Girls and 1989's Dr. Feelgood.

After over a decade fronting Mötley Crüe with great success, VINCE and the Crüe separated. VINCE signed a deal with Warner Bros., and released his first solo album Exposed in 1993, which was produced by Ron Nevison (Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne). With 11 tracks and multiple singles, the exposure for Exposed was strong. The first single (and video) was the successful "Sister of Pain". Other singles included "You're Invited But Your Friend Can't Come," "Can't Have your Cake" and "Look in Her Eyes".

VINCE's 2nd solo album, Carved in Stone attracted the Dust Brothers (Beastie Boys, Beck) as producers, taking VINCE into some newer directions. VINCE and the Dust Brothers experimented with hip-hop and industrial beats, layered onto the classic VINCE NEIL sound that draws his core audience.

Carved In Stone also featured "Skylar's Song," dedicated to the memory of his young daughter who passed away around the time of the album's release. For the last several years, VINCE has hosted an annual charity golf tournament in her honor, The Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament.

VINCE NEIL rejoined Mötley Crüe in 1995. Since then, Mötley has set up its own label, Mötley Records, and re-released expanded editions of its entire catalog as well as two new studio albums, Generation Swine and New Tattoo, a Greatest Hits CD and DVD, the Supersonic & Demon Relics rarities collection, the Live: Entertainment or Death concert album, and most recently a Greatest Video Hits DVD, and four disc boxed set, Music To Crash Your Car To, Vol. 1. Their best selling tell-all autobiography, The Dirt, will soon be made into a feature film.

While the band takes a well-deserved break, and before beginning work on a new Mötley Crüe album and tour, VINCE has been keeping busy with a number of side projects. In 2002, he filmed the hit reality show The Surreal Life for The WB, and has since been on a few other network TV shows, like CBS's Still Standing and The WB's Greetings From Tucson. He was recently a camp counselor at Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp in Los Angeles, and in between rounds of golf for the last couple of years, has been on the road performing solo concert dates. He recently released a live concert disc, Vince Neil Live at The Whisky, on Image Entertainment, chronicling his solo performance at the legendary Whisky A Go Go on Los Angeles' famed Sunset Strip.
Vince Neil was born Vincent Neil Wharton on February 8, 1961 in Hollywood, CA. Vince was the last to join Motley and he actually blew off the first audition because things where going pretty well with his band Rock Candy. A few weeks later Vince was asked to audition again and this time he came right over! Vince left Mötley Crüe in early February of '92 and released two solo projects. After disapointing records sales for both Vince and Mötley, Allen Kovac helped reunite the band in '96. The original Mötley Crüe line-up released their final Elektra album "Generation Swine" in '97.
Nikki Sixx
NIKKI SIXX was born December 11, 1958 at 7:11 a.m. (just like the White Trash Convenant Store, he says) in San Jose, California. In Mötley Crüe's The Dirt, Nikki described his mom Deanna Haight as "an Idaho farm girl with stars in her eyes… witty, strong-willed, motivated and extremely gorgeous… with an untamable wild streak." Like mother, like son. Sixx was named Frank Feranna by and after his father, who would abandon the family after a few years. Nikki learned later he also had a sister, Lisa, whom he was told he couldn't see because she was placed in a home for the mentally ill. Nikki wouldn't lay eyes on his sister, who was born with Down's Syndrome and blind, her growth stunted, until her death more than 35 years later. Nikki lived with his mom in Hollywood for awhile, but was often shipped out to stay with his grandparents, who moved between Texas, Idaho and New Mexico while Deanna lived the life of a gypsy. At various points in her life, she sang back-up in Frank Sinatra's band, dated Richard Pryor and was a card dealer in Sparks, Nevada. Today, Nikki insists his parents did the best they could with the tools they were given in life, but it wasn't always so easy for him to wax poetic about his relationships (or lack thereof) with his mother and father. While in high school, Nikki was taunted for his eclectic clothing style, a mix of glam and punk rock, which he reacted to with violent retaliation. His troubled upbringing came to a head, with Nikki eventually running away from home and getting kicked out of school. Looking back on that troubled upbringing has led to his compassion for other abandoned youngsters and his recent establishment of the "Running Wild in the Night" fund-raising initiative for Covenant House. "Having experienced life as a runaway myself, I wanted to do something to help kids put in this position through no fault of their own," said Nikki, who admitted that music was perhaps the single most important factor in saving him from an inevitable tragic death on the streets. He had to leave Seattle after getting arrested for selling drugs at a Rolling Stones concert. Nikki knew it was just a matter of time before he ended up locked up in juvenile detention until he was 21… which didn't exactly sit well with his dream of becoming a rock star. "All I had was an Aerosmith tape, a stolen, beat-up boom box, a Greyhound ticket to Idaho and my dreams," he says. Back in Idaho, Nikki hauled irrigation pipe on farms while living with his grandparents. He used the money he earned to buy a fake Gibson Les Paul guitar in a gun shop for $109 before catching yet another Greyhound , this time to L.A. to pursue his destiny. Cutting his teeth on L.A.'s late-'70s punk-rock movement with one foot firmly on the heart of '70s English glam and the other in heavy metal, Nikki looked for the perfect partners to take on the world. After a slew of auditions, false starts and a short run in a band called London, Sixx met drummer Tommy Lee in 1981. Responding to an ad in L.A.'s Recycler for a "loud, rude and aggressive guitarist seeking a band, the duo found what they were looking for in guitarist Mick Mars. Tommy then introduced them to a blond-haired surfer dude with a gnarly, high-pitched yowl named Vince Neil and Mars christened the resultant outfit Mötley Crüe. Mötley Crüe played their first show together January 17, 1981. That same year saw them record a debut album, Too Fast for Love, on their own Leathür Records label. Twenty-five years and some 40 million albums sold later, it all culminated in this year's "Red White and Crüe" and "Carnival of Sins" worldwide jaunt, named Pollstar's #6 grossing concert tour of the year. At this point, it looks like no end in sight for the Crüe's wild and colorful career. Sixx has also participated in a pair of solo projects, in 58 and Brides of Destruction, releasing albums that showed different sides of his songwriting ability. He supplied several songs to The Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Rock ‘n Roll Musical and recently co-wrote hit songs for Meat Loaf, Saliva and Marion Raven, among others. Sixx helped co-write the N.Y. Times best-seller Dirt, the history of the Crüe, which has become a sacred text and "bible" for rockers all over the world and will soon become a major motion picture through MTV and Paramount Films. In addition, Sixx's autobiographical The Heroin Diaries, compiled from his 1986-'87 writings during the height of his drug addiction, will be published by Simon and Schuster next year. Sixx plans on taking the concept of a book to a different level, and with Nikki, these words should not be taken lightly. As with all things Sixx, all we can do is wait and see.