Editing Mötley Crüe (section)

===1983–1991: International fame and addiction struggles===
{{main|Shout at the Devil|Theatre of Pain|Girls, Girls, Girls (Mötley Crüe album)|Dr. Feelgood (album)}}
The band became rapidly successful in the United States after playing at the [[US Festival]] on May 29, 1983,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Gavin |title=Flashback: Motley Crue Rocks the US Festival in 1983 |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/news/flashback-motley-crue-rocks-us-festival-1983-191800424-rolling-stone.html |website=Yahoo! Entertainment |access-date=22 June 2020 |archive-date=June 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625042808/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/news/flashback-motley-crue-rocks-us-festival-1983-191800424-rolling-stone.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and also with the aid of the new medium of [[MTV]]. Their second album, ''[[Shout at the Devil]]'', was released on September 26, 1983.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shout at the Devil – Mötley Crüe |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/shout-at-the-devil-mw0000190978 |website=Allmusic |access-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-date=July 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704052331/https://www.allmusic.com/album/shout-at-the-devil-mw0000190978 |url-status=live}}</ref> The album represented the band's mainstream breakthrough and would eventually be certified 4× platinum.<ref>{{cite web |title=Motley Crue |url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Generation%20Swine&artist=Motley%20Crue&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924153013/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Generation%20Swine&artist=Motley%20Crue&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-09-24 |website=Recording Industry Association of America}}</ref> The album generated controversy for its [[Shout at the Devil (song)|title track]] and album imagery, both of which invoked [[Satanism]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Motley Crue farewell tour: Nikki Sixx shares stories behind the songs |url=https://ew.com/article/2015/12/22/motley-crue-nikki-sixx-stories-behind-songs/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103172214/https://ew.com/article/2015/12/22/motley-crue-nikki-sixx-stories-behind-songs/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How Motley Crue Staked Their Claim With 'Shout at the Devil' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/30-years-ago-motley-crues-shout-at-the-devil-released/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=September 26, 2015 |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=March 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328005242/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/30-years-ago-motley-crues-shout-at-the-devil-released/ |url-status=live}}</ref> They then gained the attention of then-former [[Black Sabbath]] singer [[Ozzy Osbourne]] and found themselves opening for Osbourne on his 1984 [[Bark at the Moon Tour|tour]] for ''[[Bark at the Moon]]''. The band members were well known for their backstage antics, outrageous clothing, extreme high-heeled boots, heavily applied make-up, and seemingly endless abuse of alcohol and drugs.<ref>{{cite web |title=35 Years Ago: Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue Start Debauched Tour |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ozzy-osbourne-motley-crue-1984-tour/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=January 11, 2019 |access-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620141256/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ozzy-osbourne-motley-crue-1984-tour/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The band members also had their share of run-ins with the law. On December 8, 1984, Neil was driving home from a liquor run in his [[De Tomaso Pantera]], which ended in a head-on collision; his passenger, then-[[Hanoi Rocks]] drummer [[Razzle (musician)|Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley]], was killed.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Day Hanoi Rocks Drummer Razzle Was Killed in a Car Crash |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/razzle-hanoi-rocks-killed/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=December 8, 2015 |access-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617164456/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/razzle-hanoi-rocks-killed/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Neil, charged with a [[Driving under the influence|DUI]] and [[Manslaughter#Vehicular or intoxication manslaughter|vehicular manslaughter]], was sentenced to 30 days in jail (although he served only 18 days) and subsequently was sued for $2,500,000. The short jail term was negotiated by his lawyers, enabling Neil to tour and pay the civil suit.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rock 'n' Roller's Song Sobered by Fatal Crash |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-21-cb-7225-story.html |newspaper=LA Times |date=July 21, 1985 |access-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617164454/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-21-cb-7225-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The band's third album, ''[[Theatre of Pain]]'', was released on June 21, 1985, and dedicated in Dingley's honor, and it started a new [[glam metal]] phase in the band's style.<ref>Harrison 2011, p. 40.</ref> ''Theatre of Pain'' was commercially successful, reaching number 6 on the ''Billboard'' album charts<ref>{{cite web |title=Artist Chart History – Motley Crue |url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/312021/m-tley-cr-e/chart?page=1&f=305 |website=Official Charts |access-date=9 December 2019 |archive-date=May 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504163253/https://www.billboard.com/artist/312021/m-tley-cr-e/chart?page=1&f=305 |url-status=live}}</ref> and eventually being certified quadruple platinum.<ref>{{cite web |title=RIAA Searchable Database: search for Motley Crue |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Generation%20Swine&artist=Motley%20Crue&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |website=RIAA |access-date=9 December 2019 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924153013/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Generation%20Swine&artist=Motley%20Crue&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, the recording of the album was fraught with tension in the wake of Neil's accident and Sixx's growing addiction,<ref>{{cite web |title=Motley Crue's 'Theatre of Pain' at 30: Classic Track-by-Track |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6605561/motley-crues-theatre-of-pain-30-anniversary |website=Billboard.com |access-date=12 December 2019 |archive-date=August 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802183151/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6605561/motley-crues-theatre-of-pain-30-anniversary |url-status=live}}</ref> and members of the band have said that they consider it a creative disappointment.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vaziri |first1=Aidin |title=Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil reflects on 30-year run |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Motley-Crue-s-Vince-Neil-reflects-on-30-year-run-2368449.php |website=SF Gate |date=June 12, 2011 |access-date=12 December 2019 |archive-date=December 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212130201/https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Motley-Crue-s-Vince-Neil-reflects-on-30-year-run-2368449.php |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mötley Crüe spent most of the next year on a world tour in support of ''Theatre of Pain''. In February 1986, while in [[London]], [[England]], Sixx suffered a near-fatal heroin overdose, and the person who sold him the drugs dumped his unconscious body in a [[dumpster]]. The incident inspired Sixx to write the song "Dancing on Glass" for their next album.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Greatest 80s Song Inspired By An Overdose And A Rock Star Left For Dead |url=https://culturacolectiva.com/music/nikki-sixx-motley-crue-dancing-on-glass |website=Culture Collectiva |date=September 15, 2017 |access-date=29 December 2019 |archive-date=February 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202225655/https://culturacolectiva.com/music/nikki-sixx-motley-crue-dancing-on-glass |url-status=live}}</ref>

The band's fourth album, ''[[Girls, Girls, Girls (Mötley Crüe album)|Girls, Girls, Girls]]'', was released on May 15, 1987, and debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200.<ref>{{cite web |title=Girls, Girls, Girls – Mötley Crüe |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/girls-girls-girls-mw0000194959 |website=Allmusic |access-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626224624/https://www.allmusic.com/album/girls-girls-girls-mw0000194959 |url-status=live}}</ref> Sixx has said in interviews that he believes the album would have debuted at number 1, if not for behind the scenes maneuvering by [[Whitney Houston]]'s record label.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nikki Sixx Isn't So Sure Whitney Houston Fairly Beat Mötley Crüe for a Number 1 Album |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7890233/motley-crue-girls-girls-girls-album-anniversary-nikki-sixx |website=Billboard.com |access-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626224623/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7890233/motley-crue-girls-girls-girls-album-anniversary-nikki-sixx |url-status=live}}</ref> The band again changed their look for the album and subsequent tour, trading the glam elements of the previous album for a [[Outlaw motorcycle club|biker]] aesthetic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Revisiting Motley Crue's Game-Changing 'Girls, Girls, Girls' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/motley-crue-girls-girls-girls-25th-anniversary/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=May 15, 2015 |access-date=16 December 2019 |archive-date=December 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216162551/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/motley-crue-girls-girls-girls-25th-anniversary/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The band faced many of the same personal issues that plagued the recording of ''Theatre of Pain'' and Sixx has complained that those issues compromised the album's quality,<ref>{{cite web |title=32 Years Ago: Motley Crue Release 'Girls, Girls, Girls' |url=https://loudwire.com/motley-crue-release-girls-girls-girls-anniversary/ |website=Loudwire |access-date=16 December 2019 |archive-date=October 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019034026/https://loudwire.com/motley-crue-release-girls-girls-girls-anniversary/ |url-status=live}}</ref> although he has spoken more positively about the record in subsequent years.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Nikki Sixx on Motley Crue's 'Girls, Girls, Girls' at 30 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/motley-crue-on-girls-girls-girls-at-30-it-was-like-caligula-121895/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 24, 2017 |access-date=16 December 2019 |archive-date=September 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929102840/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/motley-crue-on-girls-girls-girls-at-30-it-was-like-caligula-121895/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

On December 23, 1987, Sixx suffered a heroin overdose. He was declared clinically dead on the way to the hospital, but the paramedic, who was a Mötley Crüe fan, [[cardiopulmonary resuscitation|revived]] Sixx with two shots of adrenaline.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mötley Crüe and the Real Story of Nikki Sixx's Overdose: Going Beyond 'The Dirt' |url=https://www.newsweek.com/motley-crue-nikki-sixx-overdose-dirt-1368786 |website=Newsweek |date=March 22, 2019 |access-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626224639/https://www.newsweek.com/motley-crue-nikki-sixx-overdose-dirt-1368786 |url-status=live}}</ref> His two minutes in death were the inspiration for the song "[[Kickstart My Heart]]", which peaked at No.&nbsp;16 on the Mainstream U.S. chart, and which was featured on 1989's ''[[Dr. Feelgood (album)|Dr. Feelgood]]'', their first U.S. number one album. From 1986 to 1987, Sixx kept a daily diary of his heroin addiction and eventually entered rehab in January 1988, prompting the band to cancel their planned tour dates for that year.<ref>{{cite web |title=The strangest reasons gigs have been cancelled |url=https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/x-lists/cancelled-gigs-tours/ |website=Radio X |access-date=19 November 2023 |language=en |archive-date=November 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118215131/https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/x-lists/cancelled-gigs-tours/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

While 1988 was the first year that Mötley Crüe did not tour, controversy again hit the band that year in the form of a lawsuit by Matthew Trippe. Trippe claimed that Sixx was hospitalized in 1983 after a car crash involving drugs and that he had been hired as Sixx's [[doppelgänger]]. The suit was regarding the loss of royalties from his time in Mötley Crüe and the case was not closed until 1993 when Trippe dropped his charges and disappeared from public view.<ref name="weebly1988">{{cite web |url=http://klassickerranginterviews.weebly.com/matthew-trippe---may-1988.html |title=Matthew Trippe – May 1988 – Klassic Kerrang Interviews |publisher=Klassickerranginterviews.weebly.com |date=December 10, 1993 |access-date=February 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130108161123/http://klassickerranginterviews.weebly.com/matthew-trippe---may-1988.html |archive-date=January 8, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Their decadent lifestyles almost shattered the band until managers Thaler and McGhee pulled an intervention and refused to allow the band to tour in Europe, fearing that "some [of them] would come back in bodybags".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Whalen |first1=Andrew |title=Mötley Crüe and the Real Story of Nikki Sixx's Overdose: Going Beyond 'The Dirt' |url=https://www.newsweek.com/motley-crue-nikki-sixx-overdose-dirt-1368786 |website=Newsweek |date=March 22, 2019 |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626224639/https://www.newsweek.com/motley-crue-nikki-sixx-overdose-dirt-1368786 |url-status=live}}</ref> Shortly after, all the band members jointly entered [[drug rehabilitation]] in an effort to move forward as a band.<ref>{{cite web |title=Motley Crue Remembers 'Dr. Feelgood' on Its 30th Anniversary |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8530014/motley-crue-dr-feelgood-anniversary-30-years |website=Billboard.com |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=December 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216005921/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8530014/motley-crue-dr-feelgood-anniversary-30-years |url-status=live}}</ref>

After finding sobriety, Mötley Crüe reached its peak popularity with the release of their fifth album, the [[Bob Rock]]-produced ''[[Dr. Feelgood (album)|Dr. Feelgood]]'', on September 1, 1989. Rock and the band recorded the album in [[Vancouver]], with the band members recording their parts separately for the first time to reduce infighting and to focus on individual performance. [[Aerosmith]] lead singer [[Steven Tyler]], who was recording the album ''[[Pump (album)|Pump]]'' at the same studio, provided backing vocals.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Basner |first1=Dave |title=20 Things You Might Not Know About Motley Crue's 'Dr. Feelgood' |url=https://www.iheart.com/content/20-things-you-might-not-know-about-motley-crues-dr-feelgood-2017-08-30/ |website=iHeartRadio |access-date=29 December 2019 |archive-date=February 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202225657/https://www.iheart.com/content/20-things-you-might-not-know-about-motley-crues-dr-feelgood-2017-08-30/ |url-status=live}}</ref> On October 14 of that year, it became a No.&nbsp;1 album and stayed on the charts for 114 weeks after its release.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nikki Sixx Biography|url=http://www.biography.com/people/nikki-sixx-20854163|website=Biography.com|access-date=January 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208191631/http://www.biography.com/people/nikki-sixx-20854163|archive-date=February 8, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The band members each stated in interviews that, due in no small part to their collective push for sobriety, ''Dr. Feelgood'' was their most solid album musically to that point.<ref>{{cite web |title=10 Facts You May Not Have Known About Motley Crue's 'Dr. Feelgood' |url=https://loudwire.com/facts-about-motley-crue-dr-feelgood/ |website=Loudwire |access-date=29 December 2019 |archive-date=December 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220035604/https://loudwire.com/facts-about-motley-crue-dr-feelgood/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The title track and "Kickstart My Heart" were both nominated for Grammys in the Best Hard Rock Category in 1990 and 1991, respectively, but lost both years to songs by [[Living Colour]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/grammy/hardrock.htm |title=Grammy Awards: Best Hard Rock Performance |publisher=Rock on the Net |access-date=June 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312094206/http://www.rockonthenet.com/grammy/hardrock.htm |archive-date=March 12, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The band did find some success at the [[American Music Award]]s, as ''Dr. Feelgood'' was nominated twice for Favorite Hard Rock/Metal Award, losing once to [[Guns N' Roses]]' ''[[Appetite for Destruction]]'', but winning the following year, beating out [[Aerosmith]]'s ''[[Pump (album)|Pump]]'' and [[Poison (American band)|Poison]]'s ''[[Flesh & Blood (Poison album)|Flesh & Blood]]''. Mötley Crüe was also nominated twice for Favorite Hard Rock/Metal Artist.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/amas/metal.htm |title=American Music Awards: Favorite Heavy Metal / Hard Rock Artist |publisher=Rock on the Net |access-date=June 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726012225/http://www.rockonthenet.com/amas/metal.htm |archive-date=July 26, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1989, McGhee was fired after the band alleged he had broken several promises that he made in relation to the [[Moscow Music Peace Festival]], including giving his other band, [[Bon Jovi]], advantages in terms of slot placement. Thaler then assumed the role of sole band manager.<ref>{{cite web |title=That Time Western Rockers Played the Moscow Music Peace Festival |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/moscow-music-peace-festival/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=August 12, 2015 |access-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621114933/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/moscow-music-peace-festival/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mötley Crüe spent the fall of 1989 and most of 1990 on a massive world tour, the band's biggest to that point. It was a major financial success but left the band feeling burnt out.<ref>{{cite web |title=How Motley Crue Hit a New Peak With 'Dr. Feelgood' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/motley-crue-dr-feelgood/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=September 2015 |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=March 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329144907/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/motley-crue-dr-feelgood/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In April 1990, Lee suffered a concussion during a mishap involving a rappelling drum kit stunt during a live concert in [[New Haven, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Motley Crue Drummer Injured During Concert |url=https://www.apnews.com/e06e3e42abb126a5f147b7109ad97de5 |website=Associated Press |access-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620183943/https://www.apnews.com/e06e3e42abb126a5f147b7109ad97de5 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 1, 1991, the band's first compilation album, ''[[Decade of Decadence 81–91]]'', was released. It peaked at No.&nbsp;2 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart. It was reportedly designed as "just something for the fans" while the band worked on the next "all new" album.<ref>{{cite web |title=Decade of Decadence – Motley Crue |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/decade-of-decadence-mw0000265080/releases |website=Allmusic |access-date=June 15, 2019 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626224632/https://www.allmusic.com/album/decade-of-decadence-mw0000265080/releases |url-status=live}}</ref>