This page also available in the book: Chronological Crue Vol.2 - The Nineties

5/1/99
Tour dates for the second leg of Mötley’s Greatest Hits tour begin surfacing as the band prepares to play shows in northern U.S.A. and Canada.

Former Crüe front-man John Corabi is one of many musicians that attends the first of two sold-out Black Sabbath reunion shows at Los Angeles’ Great Western Forum.

14/1/99
Nikki Sixx and Donna D’Errico return home to Malibu from a long overdue honeymoon, having wed on Christmas Eve 1996.

The Mötley retail store S’Crüe on Melrose Ave in Hollywood is set to close at the end of the month, once the three-month lease is up. Merchandise is instead planned to be sold through S’Crüe Online on the band’s official website. The website also plans to provide a return of the S.I.N. fan club, with paid memberships allowing users access to exclusive photos, monthly contests, monthly interviews from band members, plus more, all online. Unfortunately there is not enough support for the concept at this time so it doesn’t get off the ground.

19/1/99
Tommy Lee fronts a regular review hearing of his probation with the office of the Court Clerk. Malibu Municipal Court Judge Lawrence Mira orders the probation department to investigate whether an article published in The New York Post is true. The story indicates that Tommy had been drinking with Mötley Crüe band-mates at a nightclub in Florida on 11 December 1997; an alleged breach of his probation conditions. Tommy had thirty three random drug and alcohol tests while on the road and a further six at home. All tests showed he has had no alcohol or drugs.

IEG announces they will be releasing a sequel to last year’s best-selling stolen honeymoon tape. Pam and Tommy Lee: Hardcore and Uncensored hits the Internet later this week and will be in stores on Valentine’s Day. The new ninety-minute video is said to contain thirty percent more graphic sex scenes that were “too spicy to show in the first edition”, as well as footage from their one-year anniversary party in 1996 where all the guests came dressed as their favourite alien.

21/1/99
Tommy has spent the first weeks of the year working solidly on his solo album, tentatively titled Real School. He says U-God from Wu Tang Clan has rapped on a track called You And I vs. All. Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock have also recorded a track titled Get Naked with him after Tommy invited Durst over to his home one night and Kid Rock tagged along. He is preparing to commence working with The Crystal Method and MixMaster Mike from the Beastie Boys early next week. Other participants include DJ Bobby B of Kottonmouth Kings, Danny Lohner of Nine Inch Nails and DJ Product from the band (hed) pe.

31/1/99
Nikki says the debut from his 1958 side project is now complete and will be released around August/September this year, titled Diet For A New America. First signing to his Americoma Records label Laidlaw is expected to have their debut album called First Big Picnic released around the same time.

Forthcoming Mötley concerts continue to sell very well, consistently placing them in Ticketmaster’s list of top ticket sellers in the U.S. Since the start of the year, the Crüe’s Greatest Hits release has risen from #217 to #142 on the U.S. national album sales chart, signaling the first time since the early ‘90s that a Mötley Crüe album has climbed after its chart debut.

4/2/99
Due to a missing probation report, Malibu Municipal Court Judge Lawrence Mira postpones issuing a ruling until March 8 on whether Tommy violated his probation. The judge says the district attorney’s preliminary investigation, which involved telephone conferences with key witnesses, indicates the news reports saying he was drinking alcohol in Florida late last year were unfounded. Tommy arrives in court with a new beaded hairstyle and refuses to speak with reporters, leaving that to spokesman Allan Mayer who tells reporters Tommy has absolutely been in compliance with all the terms of his probation.

10/2/99
Mötley Crüe commences the second leg of their Greatest Hits tour at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Since his release from jail, Tommy has been constantly writing songs for his solo album with rapper Tim Murray (later named TiLo) from Springfield, Ohio, who most recently played with Newport Beach punk-rap band (hed) pe. What was initially going to be one day of trying to write a song with him turned into five months of living together and fourteen tracks to date. The two men were both having problems with the women in their lives, so they became roomies. The bass player is Tom Dades, aka Non-Treble, who hails from Minneapolis and was discovered by Tommy when his band Coup de Grace opened for Mötley Crüe as winners of the Kickstart Your Career competition. Scott Pfaff, aka Pfaff 2k, from Fantastic Planet is playing guitar on the tracks. Heavy guitar players are now being auditioned as a search goes out for a second drummer to play alongside Tommy. He also wants to have a DJ on board, which Mix Master Mike from the Beastie Boys has said it would be something he’d like to do part-time.

19/2/99
Mötley takes their Greatest Hits Tour to Canada where they continue to delight audiences. This second leg sees the addition of two lesbian back-up dancers who make out onstage, simulate oral sex, flash the audience, and grope each other. At one point in the show, zippers are undone to reveal a huge purple strap-on dildo that is the focus of simulated sex onstage between the girls. Noise Therapy is the support act playing on this leg of the tour, along with local winners of the Kickstart Your Career contest.

23/2/99
The Alice Cooper tribute album Humanary Stew is released in the U.S. and features Vince Neil and Mick Mars on a version of the classic track Cold Ethyl from Alice’s 1974 album Welcome To My Nightmare. Other members that play on the track are former David Lee Roth and Mr. Big member Billy Sheehan, former Nazareth drummer Simon Phillips, and Bob Kulick, formerly in WASP and of course brother of Bruce Kulick from Kiss and Union.
John’s band Union are voted 1998’s Best New Artist in the Thirteenth Annual Metal Edge Readers’ Choice Awards.

8/3/99
Municipal Judge Lawrence Mira rules that there is no evidence to be found that Tommy violated his probation, based on claims that he allegedly consumed alcohol at a Miami nightclub last year against judge’s order. The judge gives Tommy a stern warning, stressing that he is not to even enter a place where alcohol is sold during his three-year probation, and a mistake could see him imprisoned for three years. Nikki attends court to support Tommy and aids his defense by saying that it was a case of mistaken identity, as it was him who was drunk, not Tommy. Nikki pointed out that the original gossip column report that said Tommy was being carried out of a bar drunk, had mentioned he was wearing a cowboy hat. In reality the hat was being worn by Nikki.

Vince and Mick are interviewed on U.S. syndicate radio show Rockline by Bob Coburn for ninety minutes. After spending the day at the Yellow Rose strip club in Austin, Texas, the pair arrives at radio station KLBJ in separate limos; Vince walking in with a two-thirds empty tequila bottle and four strippers. Vince convinces one of the strippers Jozie Di Maria to go on the air with him. Clearly heavily intoxicated, Vince has trouble answering questions and is close to incoherent during much of the interview. When asked what his favourite Mötley Crüe song is, Vince slurs “barbecue pork and beans.” During the interview two of the other ladies perform oral sex on each other in full view of station personnel and contest winners invited to meet the band. Mick finishes the interview alone, telling listeners Vince has left on a bathroom break. The incident stirs emotions amongst fans.

12/3/99
It is reported on Howard Stern’s radio program that rumours about Tommy and Carmen Electra dating and having sex are confirmed as being accurate. It seems that after Carmen caught her new husband and basketball’s tattooed bad boy Dennis Rodman cheating on her, she told him she was going to visit her sick grandmother but instead went to Mötley Crüe’s after-show party at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Dayton, Ohio with Tommy, checking into a room under the name Heywood Jablowme. A former Prince protégé that released an album that bombed in 1992, Carmen went on to pose nude for Playboy and work as an MTV host in 1996 before replacing Pamela Anderson Lee in Baywatch. She has also appeared as a national U.S. spokesperson for Budweiser beer. Tommy has recently been playing his drums with a picture of Carmen taped to them. Carmen’s real name is Tara Patrick.

Later in the night at the annual Austin Music Awards that kicks off the South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference, Mötley Crüe wins 1998 Concert of the Year for their show at the Austin Music Hall on 1 December 1998. Austin is reputedly the Live Music Capital of the World and Mötley triumphs over nominees Ben Folds Five, Dave Matthews Band, Barenaked Ladies, Garbage, Lyle Lovett, Goo Goo Dolls, Billy Bragg, Elton John and Ani DiFranco.

16/3/99
A Mötley Crüe 1/64th die cast toy car (Issue #2T) limited to a production of 9,999 is available exclusively from Target stores in the U.S.A. The black Pro Stock Pontiac Firebird is part of Racing Champions’ Hot Rockin’ Steel Series and comes emblazoned with red Mötley Crüe logos in the Too Fast For Love album style.

17/3/99
At the Las Vegas airport on the way back to California, Tommy talks with Crüe publicist Ashley Smith at the ticket counter when a drunk Vince approaches and demands his boarding pass from her and says she can kiss Tommy’s ass later. They then sling obscenities at each other with Vince knowing Tommy can’t do much since he is on probation. Tommy grabs him around the neck before Vince punches him in the jaw. Tommy then tackles Vince to the ground with his fist ready to hit him. Tommy’s security guard Hawk drags him off Vince and away from the scene onto the plane to protect his probationary situation. As Tommy heads to the plane, Vince starts yelling out for police saying he has been assaulted to try and have Tommy arrested and put back in prison.
Tommy tells Nikki on the plane that Mötley will need to find a new drummer, before sitting as far away from Vince as possible while sulking and crying. Back in Los Angeles, Nikki talks Tommy into finishing the Greatest Hits Tour, as he and Vince don’t speak with each other to resolve their differences. Tommy then gets his own tour bus and dressing room for the remaining shows and travels on different planes to Vince. Tommy insists that management ensures that he and Vince do not come into contact at any time before or after the shows.

25/3/99
As the Crüe arrives in Canada for the final three shows of the second leg of this tour, Nikki says the band will take the next two months off to prepare their masters for re-release. It will be called The Mötley Millennium Series and is being released in a limited edition with digitally remastered tracks. The first four albums, Too Fast For Love, Shout At The Devil, Theatre of Pain and Girls, Girls, Girls are expected to be released in June as the band embarks on a North American Amphitheatre tour with the Scorpions. The following month will see the re-release of Dr. Feelgood, Mötley Crüe and Generation Swine, as well as a new CD called Leftovers that Nikki says will contain lots of unreleased goodies. Leftovers was the original title of the Quaternary disc that was released in limited edition with their self-titled album five years ago this month.

29/3/99
Nikki says the remastered albums soon to be released will have unreleased songs on each album. The new CD Leftovers has already had its name changed to Supersonic & Demonic Relics. The Mötley Crüe Box Set is due later in the year and will include a live album recorded on the Greatest Hits tour.

31/3/99
Mötley has licensed the song Shout At The Devil for inclusion in the forthcoming movie Idle Hands, scheduled to hit cinemas in the U.S. on the last day of next month. The track will also be included on the soundtrack along with bands including Blink 182, Offspring, Rob Zombie, Zebrahead, Vandals, The Living End, Waking Hours, Static X, Unwritten Law and Lionrock.

3/4/99
Mötley Crüe is confirmed to play the four-day annual Chippewa Valley Rock Fest in Cadott, Wisconsin on July 16. Mötley is to play on day two with Def Leppard, Scorpions and Kansas. Other acts to be part of the event include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blue Oyster Cult, Poison, Sammy Hagar, Survivor, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Pat Benetar, Journey and Foreigner.

6/4/99
Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra agree to end their six-month marriage and file divorce papers. It seems that Carmen has now moved into Tommy’s Malibu home with him. Tommy hires bodyguards as Rodman tries to get backstage at recent Crüe shows to have a word with him.

7/4/99
Another Mötley Crüe 1/64th die-cast toy car hits toy shelves in the U.S.A. (Issue #17T) as part of Racing Champions’ Hot Rockin’ Steel Series. Again limited to a production run of 9,999 this issue is a candy red metallic 1969 Camaro and comes emblazoned with Mötley Crüe logos on the sides in the Decade of Decadence style and a Primal Scream decal on the roof. A larger 1:24 version is also made available.

12/4/99
After arriving back home from Seattle where he attends his sister Ceci’s wedding with wife Donna D’Errico, Nikki says a large portion of tunes on Mötley Crüe’s next album Supersonic & Demonic Relics have never been heard before, even by diehards. The band prepares to enter the studio next Tuesday to cut a Spanish version of Glitter, which is also likely to end up on the Relics album due in July. As the Crüe plans to get together next week to also make some new music, word is Tommy has been talking to rapper Snoop Doggy Dog about collaborating on some music for his solo album.

Nikki also says it seems Noise Therapy will be signing to his Americoma Records label. He plans to go to Vancouver soon to spend some time with them before they go back in the studio for a couple of extra tracks. Noise Therapy supported Mötley on the recent second leg of the Greatest Hits tour.

13/4/99
Beyond Records releases Musicians Choice, a compilation CD of tracks from a dozen unsigned acts discovered in the Guitar Centre sponsored Kickstart Your Career contest. It also includes Mötley Crüe’s Kickstart My Heart as well as an unreleased track from Sponge titled Today, Tomorrow.

14/4/99
As Pamela Anderson Lee’s spokeswoman confirms that Pam’s breast implants were removed last week, it is also stated that she has asked for the end to the restraining order against Tommy, to allow him visitation time with their two sons whilst in her presence. This follows Pamela’s recent phone calls to Tommy, and spending more and more time together when Tommy goes to her place to pick up his boys for visits, once she found out he was dating Carmen Electra. Tommy and Pam are practically a married couple again and today he asks Pam to move back into his Malibu home.

16/4/99
Vince Neil attends the Twenty Fifth Anniversary of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, California. This is the largest street circuit motor sports event in North America and California’s number one annual sports special event. Vince signs autographs at the Bad Bones booth over most of the weekend, as well as doing radio interviews promoting his Bad Bones clothing company.

22/4/99
The Third Annual Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament is held at the Malibu Country Club. Runner-up on the day is Vince’s son Neil Wharton, who plays his round with the son of actor Clark Gable. Monies raised benefit The Neil Bogart Memorial Laboratories for Children’s Cancer Leukemia and Aids Research at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

John has been working on tunes for Union’s second studio album, as they prepare to hit the studio to begin laying down tracks in the next month or so. The ESP (Eric Singer Project) CD that features the vocals and guitar work of John is soon to be released in America and Japan. The American release will be repackaged to include two new tracks called Twenty Flight Rock and The Who’s classic Won’t Get Fooled Again. The Japanese release will have the same packaging as the European and Australian release but will also have two further bonus cover tracks from the ESP demos included called American Band and Snortin’ Whisky.

25/4/99
As Nikki checks out some bands including Noise Therapy in Vancouver, Canada, he says he and wife Donna have purchased a forty-acre ranch in Agoura Hills. Located at 31978 Hidden Highland Road, they purchased the Spanish-style SoCal villa for $985,000 on April 6. The secluded 5,269 sqft, six-bedroom and two-bathroom house was built in 1982. No longer having his Butt Cheese West home studio, he also plans on building a new studio on his ranch soon so bands he’s working with can escape the city. Mick and Nikki have been writing tons of tunes recently, as Nikki says he’s really back into nasty rock’n’roll again. Tour rehearsals are to commence soon for the upcoming Maximum Rock tour with the Scorpions. Ticket sales for the tour have commenced well with ten thousand tickets being sold in five minutes for the Detroit show.

27/4/99
The hit VH1 production Behind the Music: Mötley Crüe is released on home-video. The run time is approx sixty minutes, including ten minutes of additional footage. This episode was the highest-rated in the VH1 series.

28/4/99
On the U.S. syndicated TV show Access Hollywood, Pamela says that she and Tommy are working on rebuilding their family. When asked whether she would re-marry him she replies, “I guess we kind of have to, don’t we? It’ll be more fun now.” She also says Tommy supported her a lot with her recent breast implant removal surgery.

29/4/99
Talking live on Los Angeles alternative rock station KROQ, Pamela Anderson Lee states that Tommy has officially left Mötley Crüe. Soon after, a press release is issued by Mötley’s management confirming that Tommy will not be touring with the band this summer on their Maximum Rock Tour and that he has given notice to leave the group. In the release, Tommy says, “I wish the guys all the best of luck this summer. I will miss them and the fans, but it’s time for me to totally embrace my family and my new projects.” Speaking about Tommy’s decision, Nikki says, “We support Tommy in his decision to take some time off from touring and trust he will enjoy success in whatever he sets out to accomplish”, which makes Tommy’s move sound more like a break than an exit.

While Tommy plans to work on his solo project called Methods of Mayhem, Mötley Crüe asks former The Cult and Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum, who has been with the Neurotic Outsiders since 1995, to fill in for the tour.

The first-ever Mötley Crüe show without Tommy is set to take place on July 29 in Washington. Mötley Crüe’s Tour Manager says the band is planning on extending the tour with the Scorpions through September. He also adds that they are trying to work things out, since Pamela is trying to make Tommy quit, as she has attempted before.

30/4/99
During a morning on-air interview with Los Angeles alternative radio station KROQ, Tommy announces that his new Methods of Mayhem project has been asked to join the Family Values tour that is to be headlined by Limp Bizkit this year. He says the new solo album should be completed by August, which would coincide nicely with the tour. Tommy also debuts a new Methods of Mayhem song called Get Naked that features him rapping over some heavy beats, as well as guest vocals from Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit. Referring to his decision to leave Mötley, he tells KROQ, “As an individual, a creative person, I couldn’t do another year of this. It’s like an artist using the same brush and the same palette of colours. I just can’t do it.” In another interview later in the day, he says he had agreed to do several legs of a Greatest Hits Tour in late ‘98 and then to leave the group, which was received amicably. Not surprisingly then Beyond Records backed away from supporting his Yummy Records label. He also says another motivation for leaving Mötley Crüe was his belief that music is headed more in a kind of hybrid direction and that it became difficult to play the same songs over and over for nearly twenty years. This radio interview is how Vince and Mick find out that he has actually left.

Tommy’s new band features him on drums, Beastie Boys’ DJ MixMaster Mike (real name Mike Schwartz) on turntables, and three other musicians: a rapper, a bassist and a guitarist, which he plans to take on the road with him this summer. Already recorded is a song entitled Ill Behavior that Tommy says was totally inspired by his life. The song features MixMaster Mike on the turntables, as well as former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna, NIN members Charlie Clouser and Danny Lohner, as well as rapper Snoop Dogg (real name Calvin Broadus). Tommy is now also being managed by Snoop’s manager Michael Loren. A few weeks ago, Tommy spent some time with Snoop near Atlanta where he recorded a song for Snoop Dogg’s side project The Outsiderz, which is expected to be on that group’s mid-1999 release. Also involved in the Methods of Mayhem album are electronica duo The Crystal Method, hyperkinetic rapper Busta Rhymes (real name Trevor Smith) who is ready for upcoming sessions on a song titled Electra; and former Helmet guitarist Page Hamilton who is expected to play on a song called Hypocritical. Tommy says he also hopes to record more tracks with Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst and that he has been in talks with representatives of big-beat electronica star Fatboy Slim (real name Norman Cook) about doing a track together.

While Entertainment Tonight reports that Tommy will be doing guest appearances on Pamela’s TV show V.I.P. next season, Nikki says he’s sorry this has had to happen to the fans, and that he doesn’t understand it completely himself. He also says he really believes Tommy just needs some time for himself to explore and that the final Crüe chapter hasn’t been written yet, but he also can’t wait around for other people. Nikki also says Tommy told him that he wanted to come and see Mötley perform on the forthcoming tour.

The movie Idle Hands premieres in U.S. cinemas and features the Mötley Crüe classic song Shout at the Devil, both in the movie and on the soundtrack.

2/5/99
As Mötley Crüe’s fans are angered by the timing of Tommy’s departure announcement, the Crüe’s current Tour Manager Gordon Spencer says, “Everyone including Tommy agreed to be committed to this tour ‘til the end of September 1999. Tommy’s leaving before that was a total surprise to all of us. The plan was to tour till then and go into the studio to do a new album.”

The third in the series of Racing Champions limited edition die-cast Mötley Crüe cars hits store shelves. This issue #21 of the Hot Rockin’ Steel Series is a green ‘57 Chevy Bel Air with a black roof and red interior. Decal logos from the Dr. Feelgood era adorn the vehicle.

3/5/99
During an Internet chat on AOL, Nikki says he hasn’t talked with Tommy since he quit the band as he’s changed his phone number and won’t talk with the rest of the band. He also feels that Pamela Anderson Lee is behind a lot of the recent happenings, saying she hates everyone in, and to do with, the band. While he feels like he’s lost a friend and a band member, he continues to move forward and says, “I’m not letting the Crüe die”. Nikki says the songs he’s writing with Mick are, “like Feelgood meets Shout.” Tommy didn’t want to work with producer Bob Rock, so now that he’s departed, Bob tells Nikki earlier in the day that he wants to produce the next studio album. Vince recently quit drinking and has now lost twenty five pounds as he prepares to kick ass on the forthcoming tour. A new band on Nikki’s Americoma Records label called Flash Bastard will open shows on the tour. Nikki says their style is ‘Guns N’ Roses meets early Crüe and Sex Pistols’ and they’re currently mixing their album at Bob Rock’s studio.

With more interviews being released, Tommy says he has record company people from Sony, Atlantic and Interscope interested in Methods of Mayhem. Live shows are set to feature Tommy on an acoustic drum set and former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna on an electric kit. Vrenna previously programmed some backing sequences for the Crüe’s 1997 Mötley Vs. The Earth tour in support of the band’s Generation Swine album. MixMaster Mike will be on turntables for Methods of Mayhem with Tim Dog of hed (pe) on vocals and Tom Davies on bass. Tommy is currently looking for a guitarist as his new band has now also been offered a spot on a KROQ event in Los Angeles.

Some further song titles for Tommy’s album are mentioned including Breathe, a song about being locked up; another title is Metamorphosis. Tommy says he’s looking to record the vocals of Lil’ Kim to the track Get Naked later this month. Most of the tracks were recorded in his mobile studio alone in his hotel room on the Mötley Crüe Greatest Hits Tour, having spawned from his recent jail time for spousal abuse last year when he would call home to sing melodies onto his answering machine tape to get ideas down. Tommy says when Nikki visited him in jail, he told him that his Crüe appetite was gone, saying, “I can’t do this anymore, dude. I just can’t. I can’t f@cking do it. I’m dying.” He also says he gave notice to the band several weeks ago and asked the Crüe’s management company Left Bank and record label Beyond Records to announce his departure before tickets went on sale for the Mötley Crüe and Scorpions summer tour. It seems that Mötley Crüe fans hoping that Tommy is just taking a little time off from the group to pass his time in a side project are sadly mistaken as Tommy says, “It’s permanent. This is the music I’m into and it’s not just a side project for kicks.”

4/5/99
A press release from Mötley Crüe announces their digitally remastered back-catalogue is set for release next month on Mötley Records/Beyond. The complete re-issued Mötley Crüe catalogue, now titled Crucial Crüe instead of The Mötley Millennium Series, will include all studio albums with new liner notes by the band members reflecting on each album and extra tracks included. These extra bonus tracks will offer demos and unreleased songs from the same time period that the accompanying album was originally issued. This is said to include the original demos for classics such as Looks That Kill, Home Sweet Home and Kickstart My Heart, plus songs never before made available to the public. The series will be capped with the release of a new album titled Supersonic & Demonic Relics that is to include remastered tracks from Decade of Decadence, selections from the Quaternary EP, a live version of Dr. Feelgood and an eleven-minute industrial mix of Hooligan’s Holiday amongst the fifteen tracks.

5/5/99
Pamela Anderson Lee invites Tommy on stage as she hosts the World Music Awards in Monaco by saying, “I want to introduce the love of my life.”

6/5/99
Mötley Crüe announces hard hitting rock drummer Randy Castillo will join them on the forthcoming tour, replacing Tommy. Randy received a phone call three days earlier (on his Mom’s birthday) from Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon, telling him to phone Nikki because Mötley Crüe is looking for a new drummer. Randy and Nikki talk on the phone for an hour before Nikki calls him back ten minutes later to offer him the drum seat, after quickly conferring with Mick and Vince. Randy previously took over the skins with the Vince Neil Band after the departure of Vikki Foxx. His best known work has been with Ozzy Osbourne from 1986 until the recent reunion of Black Sabbath. Ironically, it was Tommy who actually got him the gig in Ozzy’s band. Castillo’s other credits include work on former Nikki Sixx girlfriend Lita Ford’s 1984 album Dancin’ On The Edge, as well as last year’s soundtrack to Poison front-man Bret Michaels’s film Letter From Death Row. Randy also plays percussion in a Spanish flamenco side project called Azul, which means blue in Spanish.

14/5/99
Tommy says that Pamela has asked him to do some music for the next season of V.I.P., which starts filming in June or July. With the timing being in the middle of his Methods of Mayhem recording schedule, he feels he could, “get together some crazy beats and some cool sounds” since he doesn’t think he’ll have the time for the writing of any full-blown songs. Meanwhile rapper Snoop Dogg and Tommy have strengthened their alliance and plan to record an album that mixes their signature rap and metal sounds to be released under the name the Outsiderz. Its release date is not yet scheduled, but seems likely to come out on Snoop’s Dogg House Records. In a recent recording session in a New Orleans studio, Tommy laid down vocals for an Outsiderz song tentatively titled We’re Gettin’ High in This Motherf@cker. The sessions also featured Danny Lohner and Charlie Clouser from Nine Inch Nails.

17/5/99
Nikki says Americoma Records artist Flash Bastard will be supporting Mötley on the next leg of the Greatest Hits tour instead of Noise Therapy. He also says he’s got an album worth of new material he’s been working on, which is in an aggressive, old school, hard rock vein and sounds like classic Crüe from the Shout at the Devil era. Mick also has about ten songs. After this tour they plan to work on laying down the tracks, so a new studio album can be released mid-2000.

18/5/99
Union releases a live album on Cleopatra Records titled Live In The Galaxy. The album was recorded live in Santa Ana, California at The Galaxy over two sold-out nights on October 10 and 11 last year. The CD is mixed by Johni’s former The Scream band-mate Bruce Bouillet, along with Bruce Kulick. Tracks include covers of The Jungle and I Walk Alone from Kiss’ Carnival of Souls album, Man in the Moon by The Scream, Cheap Trick’s Surrender and a version of Mötley Crüe’s Power to the Music. Two additional bonus acoustic tracks complete the album: October Morning Wind and Hide Your Love Away by The Beatles.

20/5/99
Vince seems set to appear on a tribute album for legendary rock ‘n’ roll band The Crickets, which is being recorded at the Tennessee home farm studio of Crickets drummer Jerry Allison. Vince will be singing the classic I Fought the Law while other artists include Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash fame and Sir Paul McCartney who is scheduled to record Rave On next month. The project, being called The Crickets: Pickin’ Under the Influence, is also being filmed for a possible future documentary. After the tragic death of Buddy Holly in 1959, his band The Crickets regrouped and continued to record and tour to this day, however no releases have yet seen the light to date.

Union’s self-titled debut album is re-released on Spitfire Records. The reissue is remixed and includes an additional bonus track titled Oh Darling.

25/5/99
Tommy says his judge is going to consider putting him on summary probation, which would see the lifting of his spousal abuse probation condition that ordered him not to take drugs or alcohol, or even go to any place that serves alcohol including restaurants. Tommy is due back in front of the judge on July 6 in Malibu, California.

Nikki’s side project 1958 seems set to create all the music for the PC video game Half-Life 2, as well as featuring in the game. Similarly, the Beavis and Butthead Do U CD-ROM game recently released contains the Union track Old Man Wise in its soundscape.

1/6/99
Mötley Crüe re-releases the first four albums of their catalogue, dubbed Crucial Crüe, as a limited edition with digitally remastered tracks and unreleased songs. Too Fast For Love contains the tracks from their first independent 7” single Stick To Your Guns and Toast of the Town. A third unreleased song is their cover of the Eric Carmen-penned Tonight; a song they used to play live in the early days. The original was on the 1973 album Side Three by The Raspberries, who have recently reformed after twenty five years and are about to commence a summer reunion tour. Shout at the Devil includes the unreleased I Will Survive as well as Hotter Than Hell, which was later reworked and released on their next album as Louder Than Hell. The cover features a picture of the four band members, rather than the original pentagram cover. The new Theatre of Pain CD features demos of songs already on the album, including an instrumental version of Home Sweet Home. Girls, Girls, Girls contains just the one additional track titled Rodeo, which was actually a track that missed out on inclusion on Dr. Feelgood back in the day. The CD artwork is the same as the original Elektra releases with an additional page of liner notes from all band members, except Tommy.

The digital remastering was performed at Future Disc Systems, one of the world’s largest mastering facilities, by baking the original analog session tapes to eliminate shedding, and then enhanced with a bit of analog EQ and compression before conversion to hi-res digital using Pacific Microsonics converters. Further digital processing then created the new CD masters, ready for pressing.

Marketing initiatives to support the releases include a selection of promo video clips and major hits being aired at NASCAR and NHRA motor races from March through November ‘99 and in NHL arenas through the ice hockey play-offs, as well as featuring on the NHL TV show Cool Shots. In the fall, they will air in NFL stadiums and on the NFL TV show Blast.

2/6/99
The Crüe has been confirmed to appear on the third season of VH1’s Hard Rock Live, which begins July 31.

3/6/99
Tommy says he will be recording with Jane’s Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro on Sunday, as work continues on his Methods of Mayhem album. Scott Humphrey is producing the disc, who produced Mötley’s last album Generation Swine. He also recently produced the successful solo effort from Rob Zombie that featured Tommy on two tracks.

4/6/99
A cover version of Mötley Crüe’s Too Fast for Love is released on Get Skintight, the latest album from all-girl punk rock band The Donnas. Recorded at Toast Studios in San Francisco, the band’s sound draws comparisons to The Ramones along with Joan Jett and Lita Ford’s early band The Runaways.

5/6/99
Nikki says rehearsals have been a blast as the band prepares some older songs for the tour, including Red Hot. The band is also working on two new songs for the next record, as they plan to keep writing during their forthcoming tour so they can commence pre-production as they come off the road and aim to have recording completed by the end of the year.

Work on Nikki’s 1958 project continues as he will be mixing the last of the songs over the next two days, including a new tune titled El Paso, written by Dave Darling with Nikki reading some writings from his journal over the top as the lyrics. In an Internet post titled Greed later in the evening, Nikki says, “We’ve decided against the box set at this time”.

8/6/99
The lawsuit of former Mötley front-man John Corabi is postponed until September 8, following a hearing today in a Los Angeles courtroom. John alleges that he received no credit for composing or contributing to “at least eighty percent” of the Generation Swine album.

It seems that News Radio TV show actor Andy Dick and Vince have been on adjacent treadmills at the Pacific Athletic Club in Los Angeles as they both participate in their enrolment with Promises, a Malibu-based rehab treatment program.

13/6/99
In New York City for negotiations on a possible solo deal with Epic Records, Tommy brings a man to follow him around three to four feet behind, burning a bouquet of twenty or so incense sticks.

Union begins recording new tracks with producer Bob Marlette, who last worked on Black Sabbath’s Reunion album in 1998. Some of John’s new song titles are Never Coming Down, Who Do You Think You Are?, and Dear Friend. A full tour is being targeted for August.

15/6/99
Nikki says rehearsals in Burbank are now complete as the band prepares to begin tour pre-production in an auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. He says he hasn’t seen the band so happy in awhile and it’s exciting to be playing a lot of the vintage Crüe tunes again like All In The Name Of and Too Young To Fall In Love. Work on the hardcover book The Dirt: The Autobiography of Mötley Crüe is about halfway through as they struggle to have it completed for release at the same time as the live album that’s scheduled for release this October.

17/6/99
Tommy inks a deal with MCA Records for Methods of Mayhem. His new band is likely to be debuted on the MTV Awards on September 9. Further tracks set for inclusion on the forthcoming debut album are Best Friend about wife Pamela, and Hypocritical, which features guitar from Helmet’s Page Hamilton. Other tentatively titled tracks include Narcotic featuring The Crystal Method and Feel What I Feel featuring Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst. Tommy says he’s going to ask Stone Temple Pilots front-man Scott Weiland to also come down and sing.

Gibson Guitars plans to release Nikki’s own model of his bass called the Sixxbird, which is essentially a black Thunderbird with a toggle and his wiring set up. Nikki has the first ten numbered NS 001 - NS 010, of which the first four will be put away for his kids, one for each band member, while the rest will be taken on tour with him.

20/6/99
Nikki’s daughter Storm drew a heart with a star in it for her dad on Father’s Day, which he has tattooed poolside while their kids swim. He also has a frog inked on the inside of his calf by his flower tattoo with Storm’s name. Wife Donna gets a sun tattooed on her upper arm, as they BBQ a rattlesnake they killed earlier in the day. Nikki says two weeks ago he had a dragonfly also tattooed above the flower, while Donna got her son’s name Rhyan tattooed, as well as Nikki’s name on the back of her neck.

23/6/99
The Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 soundtrack is said to perhaps include a song titled Lucky by Tommy and Snoop Dogg, but it never eventuates.

24/6/99
John and Eric Singer visit Japan for a promotion of their ESP CD where they are guests of DJ Masa Ito on FM-Fuji before performing live at Miyaji Gakki.

25/6/99
The ESP CD titled Lost & Spaced is released in Japan on the Big MF/Zain Records label. The Japanese release has two additional songs and different packaging than the US version. John and Eric Singer do a meet and greet at the Hard Rock Café with Masa Ito, followed by a live performance at HMV Shinjuku to wind-up their short promotional tour of Japan.

27/6/99
Nikki says Mötley is releasing their cover of the Tommy Bolin song Teaser to radio this summer. The track was first released on the Stairway To Heaven - Highway To Hell compilation in December 1989, before being included as part of 1991’s Decade of Decadence compilation.

28/6/99
Pamela Anderson Lee is reportedly working on a multi-million-dollar offer in which viewers would pay fifty dollars to watch a live wedding ceremony to Tommy on TV, followed by the couple sharing sexy, but not explicit, romantic moments together. Pam and Tommy haven’t committed to the tempting deal yet.

Famed Hollywood spiritualist Father Gilberto recently performed a twenty-minute exorcism on Tommy to release the demons that Pamela’s psychic says made him turn bad. Tommy’s television acting debut will occur on Pamela’s show V.I.P. when he appears from nowhere during a fight scene brandishing two guns, before jumping out of a window after saying, “You haven’t seen the last of me.” Tommy scores a recurring role on V.I.P. as Pamela writes him in so he can share her fame instead of being jealous. She orders a $760,000 trailer complete with a king bed so they can spend time alone between scenes. Tommy recently gave Pamela a $13,000 ring as a symbol of his renewed love for her.

29/6/99
The summer amphitheatre Maximum Rock Tour commences with Flash Bastard and the Scorpions supporting Mötley Crüe at Merriweather Post in Columbia. The show is the first-ever Crüe gig without Tommy hitting the skins. The show opens with In The Beginning and includes the first-ever live performance of the latest single Teaser. The familiar Tommy Lee piano intro to Home Sweet Home is played by Mick on acoustic guitar. No new songs from the Greatest Hits CD or any tracks from Generation Swine are played. Two lesbian dancers who previously worked with Jane’s Addiction, Jozie Di Maria and Ette Lau (who later marries front-man Perry Farrell), have some fun on stage with whipped cream during Same Ol’ Situation. The lewd scene caught Howard County Police by surprise, prompting them to ban the band from returning to the Columbia venue. Police who granted the band a permit to perform there unknowing of the strip act say they plan to inform police departments in cities where the band is touring, so they won’t be caught by surprise too, however they say no one was arrested in connection with the performance.

Mötley re-releases the final albums in their back catalogue, namely Dr. Feelgood, Mötley Crüe, Generation Swine and a new CD called Supersonic & Demonic Relics. The latter features fifteen tracks from 1991’s Decade of Decadence, the 1994 Quaternary EP, as well as more previously unreleased and demo tracks including Sinners and Saints, So Good So Bad, Mood Ring, as well as Monsterous and Say Yeah that never made the final Dr. Feelgood album.

The new Dr. Feelgood CD includes the previously unreleased Get It For Free that was demoed for that album, along with three demo versions of their biggest hits from the album. The re-release of Mötley’s 1994 self-titled album contains three songs previously released on singles and EP’s. Generation Swine sees the inclusion of two previously unreleased songs Wreck Me and Kiss The Sky, as well as yet another version of Afraid and an early demo of Rocketship.

30/6/99
Vince loses his bid to reinstate a lawsuit against a lawyer for allegedly botching his bankruptcy case. Superior Court Judge for the County of Los Angeles, Alan Buckner, tells Vince’s current attorney David Cordrey that the motion is utterly without merit. Vince claimed attorney Joseph Eisenberg of JMBM failed to advise him “honestly and appropriately” during his personal bankruptcy case and it cost him “a large amount of money in settlement.” In May, Buckner dismissed Vince’s lawsuit filed mid-December last year that sought unspecified damages for professional negligence.

4/7/99
Nikki says Mötley Crüe is planning a huge New Year’s Eve show in either Fiji or the U.S.A. (depending on the performance payment offered) to bring in the new millennium. They tout the idea to play the entire Shout at the Devil album from start to finish then come back out after a break and play for over two hours. They also plan to film the event in its entirety.

7/7/99
A week after its release, Mötley’s new single Teaser ranks number one as the most-added track at U.S. Rock Radio, as well as coming in at number six at Active Radio.

Tommy says his Methods of Mayhem album on MCA Records is three-quarters complete as a tentative release date of November 9 is set.

15/7/99
In the Malibu Municipal Court for his regular six-month progress hearing as a condition of his probation for assault charges, Tommy is commended for his recent behaviour, including reuniting with his family. Despite the positive progress report, the judge refuses a plea from Tommy’s lawyer to dismiss probation restrictions entirely. He will still be required to undergo regular drug tests; he can not travel without notifying the court; he must continue to attend his weekly two-hour anger-management counselling meetings until he logs fifty two hours and must complete his community service with an organisation that plants trees. Judge Lawrence Mira eases the terms of Tommy’s three-year probation by no longer barring him from entering or performing in places that sell liquor. This means he can now walk into restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations, as well as bars if it’s for a legitimate business purpose.

The other former Mötley member John Corabi may hit the road with his band Union towards the end of August with Ratt and Great White.

16/7/99
Mötley Cröe plays on day two of the four-day annual Chippewa Valley Rock Fest in Wisconsin, sharing the bill with Def Leppard, Scorpions and Kansas. Other acts that are a part of the event include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blue Oyster Cult, Poison, Sammy Hagar, Survivor, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Pat Benetar, Journey, and Foreigner.

18/7/99
In a Chicago hotel room, Nikki wakes up with a song in his head that he calls Dented Halos. He works on it on his mobile studio and says it’s on its way to being song number five for the next studio record.

22/7/99
On Dee Snider’s new radio show, MTV VJ turn front-man Jesse Camp says he is to play some dates with Mötley in the future. He needs to find a new bass player though as former Hanoi Rocks and now his current bassist Sami Yaffa refuses to play shows with Mötley Crüe.

24/7/99
Nikki says Flash Bastard will play their final Crüe support show in their hometown Vancouver on August 1, as relations become strained between them and the Scorpions. Taking a powerful dislike to them both on and off stage, Scorpions lead singer Klaus Meine issues Nikki an ultimatum in, “either Flash Bastard goes or we go.” Nikki is forced to remove the band from the tour but not before making the Scorpions begrudgingly agree to let Flash Bastard stay on until their hometown show.

Mötley Crüe graces the cover of the October issue of Guitar World magazine. The issue presents the forty-greatest metal albums of the eighties, as well as a reflective interview with Nikki and posters of Mötley and The Ramones.

30/7/99
At the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, Flash Bastard lead singer Donal Finn has yet another angry clash with Klaus Meine from the Scorpions in the hallway backstage calling him a “little bitch” and threatening immediate bodily harm. Soon after, Flash’s dressing room is stormed by security sent by Klaus, who forcefully remove Donal from the premises. The band is then not allowed to play their last two shows of the Maximum Rock tour, including their scheduled home-town final show in Vancouver.

2/8/99
Flash Bastard spends the day in the studio with Nikki as they cut a nasty rock song that Nikki co-wrote with them titled Burnem Up, about fabricated, phony corporate bands like N’Sync and Backstreet Boys.

5/8/99
Mötley’s newest member Randy Castillo catches former Crüe member John Corabi on stage with Union at Los Angeles’ Key Club as part of a monthly Gazzarri’s Night. John says work on Union’s second studio album is nearing completion and he likens it sonically to a combination of the band’s self-titled debut and the album he did with the Crüe.

A Maximum Rock tour support replacement for Flash Bastard is announced in Nikki’s Americoma Records label-mates Laidlaw.

7/8/99
In Bakersfield, California, Mötley’s show comes to a close when Vince is hit in the throat mid-note by a Tequila bottle hurled from someone in the crowd. Paramedics attend to him backstage and say it doesn’t look good as Vince is unable to talk. The cancellation of some shows becomes a possibility.

9/8/99
Vince recovers well from the bottle incident to allow all remaining shows on the tour shows to continue. Nikki says the band will take a few weeks off after the remaining dates scheduled in America, before heading off to play some shows in Japan to complete the tour. His Outlaw clothing line will be launched in Japan during the tour. A couple of weeks later towards the end of October, rehearsals will commence for the new Mötley studio album, hopefully at Nikki’s new home studio if building works are completed enough. He says the band’s dream is to record the album on his ranch.

10/8/99
In Salt Lake City, local police issue warrants for Mötley Crüe’s arrest before they hit the stage, so if they breach any laws they’ll all go to jail for fourteen days without bail. The show goes off without a hitch.

Meanwhile Nikki finishes a deposition to aid defense of a $50 million lawsuit stemming from the incident in Greensboro late-October 1997 during the tour supporting Generation Swine.

11/8/99
Nikki spends the night in Clark County Detention Centre for “provoking a breach of peace”, after he is arrested around midnight after Mötley’s sold-out show at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for derogatory comments made on stage about the Las Vegas Police Department. A conviction of the misdemeanour charge could carry with it a fine of up to $1,000 and a sentence of up to six months. Nikki tells the crowd that every time Mötley comes to Las Vegas the police tell them they can’t be themselves saying, “The f@cking cops won’t let us be f@cking Mötley Crüe! If they don’t like it, we can start flipping over cop cars like we did a couple of years ago.” Police say the eight-thousand-strong crowd began to respond violently and several people attempted to pick up folding chairs to throw them. Three members of the band’s crew are also arrested and charged: Geoff Perren and Christopher Reynolds for obstruction of justice, and John Gabrielli for battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, as police attempt to arrest Nikki. The following morning Nikki is released on $200 bail. Prior to the band’s performance, Nikki and the band were warned not to make any comments that might endanger public safety during the performance.

13/8/99
Vince files a multi-million dollar lawsuit in a U.S. District Court against Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power, a subsidiary of the Boeing Company, for contributing to the wrongful death of his daughter Skylar who mysteriously died of cancer at the age of four in August 1995. The suit claims Rocketdyne deliberately dumped toxic waste and other hazardous material on property adjacent to Vince’s former Simi Valley home during the early ‘90s. Other residents have been currently pursuing claims against the company because of the increased cancer rates in the community, although Rocketdyne has steadfastly denied that its operations have contributed to the rise. Rocketdyne ran ten nuclear reactors at its Santa Susana Field Laboratory, fifty miles northwest of Los Angeles during the 1950s to the 1980s. There were several accidents, including a partial fuel meltdown in 1959. Nuclear research was halted in 1989 but rocket engine and fuel tests continue. Vince says, “I’m stunned to learn about the things Rocketdyne did. I am prepared to fight for my child since she no longer can.” His attorney says Skylar’s cancer was very rare and the cause was unknown. She underwent five operations and radiation treatment, clocking up almost $2 million of medical expenses. More than two hundred thousand people have filed a class-action lawsuit against Rocketdyne.

Backstage V.I.P. guests at the Mötley show in Los Angeles’ Universal Amphitheatre include John Corabi. He and Nikki have buried the hatchet now that the lawsuit between the Crüe and John has finally been settled in an undisclosed manner.

20/8/99
Union has now finished mixing their new album at A&M Studios and are preparing for mastering and sequencing, as well as finalising art work and credits over the next two weeks. The song titles on the new album are: Shine, Do You Know My Name?, I Wanna Be, Everything’s Alright, Dear Friend, Who Do You Think You Are?, No More, Do Your Own Thing, Dead and Hypnotize.

Tommy says he will be filming the video in two weeks to the forthcoming first single Get Naked from his Methods of Mayhem album.

21/8/99
Nikki says the forthcoming Mötley Crüe live album Entertainment or Death will consist of songs spanning shows from 1982 to 1999. A photo for the album’s packaging is taken during their show at the Starplex Amphitheatre in Dallas, Texas the previous night. If time permits before the planned November 23 release date, the band wants it to be a double live CD for the price of a single CD. Nikki also says he hasn’t been able to address the reasons behind his recent arrest in Las Vegas due to legal reasons, as he prepares a case against authorities. Nikki is also working on creating the score to Half-Life 2; a sequel to the groundbreaking 1998 PC game.

23/8/99
Nikki and his bass tech Kevin Briers are toured through the Gibson custom shop factory in Nashville where plans are finalised for production of the Nikki Sixx signature bass guitar, now dubbed the Blackbird instead of Sixxbird. Presented in a flat black finish, the bass will have pickups wired to Nikki’s specs as well as iron crosses inlayed in sterling silver up the neck. A black case inside and out will also be standard with the release and some other value-adds like Nikki’s custom picks and Mötley Crüe bass tabs will also be included. A limited amount of custom shop basses will be signed as well.

Around twenty two songs have been put together for Mötley’s double live album that is now ready for mixing. Songs include Public Enemy #1, Starry Eyes, Piece of Your Action, Bastard, Merry-Go-Round and Without You.

As forthcoming dates for the Family Values tour are released, Tommy says recording is still continuing on his Methods of Mayhem album so if he is to join the tour, it won’t be until the shows towards the end of the string of dates.

25/8/99
During Mötley’s show at the Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Nikki asks the security guy in front of him to stop shining his flashlight in the fans’ faces every time they put their hands up. He looks back at Nikki and mouths ‘f@ck you’ while holding up his middle finger. Nikki then says, “No f@ck you” and pokes him with his bass. The guard leaves the area and the show continues. After the show, police advise Nikki that he is being placed under arrest for battery. He is then told that for $5,000 he can make it all go away, so he gives in to the blackmail to finalise the situation.

Las Vegas District Attorney Stewart Bell says prosecutors examined the material forwarded by police and have decided to pursue the misdemeanour charge against Nikki stemming from the concert there, which carries a fine of up to $1,000 and a jail sentence of up to six months. He also says prosecutors have decided to pursue misdemeanour charges filed against two members of the band’s road crew.

28/8/99
Tommy says the first Methods of Mayhem video for his track Get Naked was shot last night on the back lot at Universal Studios. In keeping with the track’s title, there were naked people everywhere; naked dirt bike riders, surfers, skaters, and cops. Tommy was butt-naked during his shots while wife Pamela also bared it all for the video. Even the production and film crew were naked. Tommy says, “It is gonna be hands-down the most insane video ever!” The song is about the stolen Tommy and Pam home-video, including lyrical reference to an article in the Wall Street Journal about how $77 million has been generated from sales of the video.

1/9/99
In St. Louis, Nikki is toured around the Ampeg factory as plans begin on an Ampeg SVT-Sixx bass rig. After playing Ampeg bass amps for twenty five years, Nikki is thrilled to be involved in his own series with the amp head being built to his specs. Nikki also says promoters for the current tour are begging the Crüe to stay on tour a few more months, saying it’s one of the biggest tours of the year, but the band wants to stop to make a new record.

3/9/99
After the concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, Nikki is arrested on outstanding warrants for charges of inciting a riot at a Greensboro concert in October 1997, after North Carolina lawmen waited nearly two years for him to return to the state. A Guilford County Sheriff says warrants were never served because of the cost of extradition. Nikki was charged with felony rioting and misdemeanours of inciting a riot, simple assault and disorderly conduct. He posts $7,500 bond early the next morning, saying he was never informed of the charges. Tommy is also wanted on simple assault and battery charges from the incident, but was not arrested because he is no longer playing in Mötley Crüe. Local law officers say they hope to arrest Tommy next time he comes to North Carolina. Nikki says he’ll fight the lawsuit in Greensboro and appeals to fans that may have been at the show in ‘97 to come forward as witnesses if they want to help by telling what they saw.

6/9/99
The U.S. Maximum Rock tour ends in West Palm Beach, Florida. More than $9 million has been grossed in ticket sales since the start of the Greatest Hits Tour in October 1998, with the final ten shows earning more than $1.6 million themselves.

7/9/99
Tommy says he’s taking every chance to spend time with his seventy-five-year-old father who is terminally ill with Myeloma and has cancer in his bloodstream.

An Aerosmith tribute record titled Not the Same Old Song and Dance is released on Cleopatra Records. It includes a version of Chip Away the Stone featuring Vince on vocals. Other players on the song are former Poison guitarist Blues Saraceno; former Babys, Ted Nugent and Bad English bass player Ricky Phillips; Mr. Big drummer Pat Torpey; Paul Taylor on keyboards; and former Guiffria front-man David Glen Eisley on backing vocals. New Crüe drummer Randy Castillo also features on the track Sweet Emotion. Vince also recorded a song for an Ozzy Osbourne tribute album when he recorded this song.

9/9/99
Tommy presents an award with Christina Aguilera during the MTV Awards at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Tommy says he was going to rip open his trench coat on stage but decided it was not worth three years in prison since there were police everywhere at the Awards and he is currently on probation. Later in the night, he asks Pamela to marry him again.

Nikki and wife Donna D’Errico promote their Outlaw clothing company at San Diego’s two-day A.S.R. Clothing Convention.

14/9/99
Nikki won’t be prosecuted for his misdemeanour charge of provoking a breach of the peace following his arrest after Mötley Crüe’s show last August in Las Vegas. After prosecutors reviewed videotape of the incident, District Attorney Stewart Bell said that while Nikki’s statement may have been offensive to some, it was protected by the First Amendment.

15/9/99
Nikki says the first single from his 1958 album will be called Piece of Candy. The album titled Diet For A New America is now mastered and he is deciding on the best release date for it, which may be sometime in January 2000. The single Burnem Up from his Americoma Records band Flash Bastard has recently been mixed by Dave Ogilvie and Foo, and is expected to be released in the near future. The other band on his label Laidlaw is set for their album to be released on October 26. Their first single is going to radio now and features Steve Perry from Journey and the background singers from Lynyrd Skynard. Eddie Van Halen recently told a band member that lead guitarist Buzzy James is one of the best players he’s ever seen on slide.

Newspaper reports say a carefully-worded news release signed by District Attorney Stewart Bell and Sheriff Jerry Keller admit that arresting officers erred by misinterpreting Nikki’s reminders of violence during a 1997 concert as an attempt to urge new violence, which led to his recent post-concert arrest in Las Vegas. Although the criminal charges were dropped, Nikki’s court days in Nevada may not be over because he could still file a civil lawsuit, as Nikki’s lawyer says the arrest cost him a contract with a video game company and he had to pay legal costs to fight the criminal charges.

16/9/99
Mötley Crüe plans to release a DVD called This Shit Ain’t Brain Surgery along with their live album. It will contain the entire catalogue of Crüe video clips, including videos for Enslaved, Afraid, Teaser, Misunderstood, Hooligan’s Holiday, Smoke The Sky, along with band members’ solo videos You’re Invited But Your Friend Can’t Come, Sister Of Pain, Can’t Have Your Cake and Welcome To Planet Boom. The band will do all the intros and outros for the songs with information or stories on each video. There will also be interview footage plus rare bootlegs and never-before-seen goodies from the band’s personal video cameras.

22/9/99
Mötley Crüe’s Greatest Hits album is certified Gold after now having sold half-a-million copies in the U.S.A.

25/9/99
Nikki says tickets to the forthcoming Japanese tour sold out on the first day as the promoters really underestimated the band this year. In preparation for the tour, Nikki has his hair dyed bright red all over. November’s live album Entertainment or Death will include twenty one songs, and Nikki says the CD contains minimal fix-ups, unlike a lot of other artists’ live albums. The band has decided to play VH1’s Hard Rock Live and Jay Leno’s Tonight Show on Thanksgiving Day to promote the live album. Their barrage of press is also likely to include VH1’s Rock Show and Conan O’Brien’s TV show. The band has also decided to delay the release of their DVD and VHS video This Shit Ain’t Brain Surgery until next year, as they have too much footage to go through in production preparation prior to the live album. Also pushed back until next year is the autobiographical book The Dirt, which is now scheduled for release on 1 August 2000. As soon as Tommy finishes his part of the book, it will be ready for release.

A photo shoot is set to take place early next week for 1958 as all band members are finalised. Joining Nikki and guitarist Dave Darling is Bucket on drums and Steven Gibb on guitar. The album cover and a video will be shot when Nikki returns from Mötley Crüe’s tour of Japan. The song Kill Your TV is no longer on the album’s track listing.
Nikki says the most important thing right now though is the new Mötley Crüe album. He says the new tunes are very Shout at the Devil era, blended with Primal Scream and some of the 1994 self titled album. Mötley will be the first band to record at Americoma Studios set up on Nikki’s forty-acre Californian ranch.

28/9/99
Nikki reveals more information on his diverse 1958 band members, prior to leaving for Japan. Born and bred in Miami where he worked as a tattoo artist and piercer, guitarist Steven Gibb is the son of Bee Gees front-man Barry Gibb. After playing with Boz Scaggs for a few years, new drummer Bucket Baker recently finished work on the new Michael Jackson record. Guitarist David Darling, who played on Mötley’s Generation Swine album, just produced the new album for Meredith Brooks. Nikki says he’s not into doing any live shows with the band, perhaps apart from some online broadcasts.

1/10/99
Donna D’Errico takes a plane to Japan, the day after husband Nikki. She falls into a deep sleep after her usual routine of taking a sleeping pill and a glass or two of wine, and has to be carried from the plane when she doesn’t wake. She collapses and is taken to the airport’s medical room where she finally wakes and wants to leave, but is not allowed to. After remonstrating with the authorities, she is held down and given a shot with a needle. Since Nikki is doing a TV show and an in-store at Shibuya Tower Records, an employee of Mötley’s Japanese promoter goes to the airport to take Donna to the band’s hotel. Upon Nikki’s return to the hotel, Donna’s breathing is very sporadic from the shot, before she stops breathing altogether. Nikki gives her mouth to mouth as they race her down the hotel hallway on a gurney, while the Crüe’s security chief Hawk phones for an ambulance. On the way to hospital with IV’s in her arms and an oxygen mask on her face, her pulse flat-lines for a second before being brought back to life. At the hospital, medics give her something that brings her to. Donna asks Nikki where she is and what happened, before asking if he wants to go out.

2/10/99
Mötley Crüe attends a dinner to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Japanese radio show PowerRock before heading to Club Chitta, where they hook up with Def Leppard.

3/10/99
Tommy finishes the Methods of Mayhem CD on his birthday.

Vince’s label VNS Records plans to release his past two solo albums at some stage in the future. Vince features on a Warner Bros movie soundtrack to be released on his label at some stage, as well as recently performing the theme song for the upcoming Miramax film Reindeer Games that is due out around Christmas and stars Ben Affleck from Armageddon.

4/10/99
The Japanese Maximum Rock Tour kicks off in Fukuoka with Vince telling the crowd, “I’ve lost my voice, so I’m gonna do the best I can.” Japanese TV airs an advert for the show that features a live video of Enslaved.

7/10/99
On Japanese national TV and radio, Nikki presents a bass guitar to the Hard Rock Café in Tokyo. Nikki’s bass tech says the release date of the signature Gibson Blackbird bass is still pending. The original plan was to unveil the bass at the Tokyo Music Fair on October 16 but that didn’t eventuate due to time constraints and progress with the second prototype. It now seems likely that the bass will be launched at NAMM 2000 in Los Angeles next January.

8/10/99
It seems Mötley Crüe will be co-headlining two shows with Def Leppard on New Year’s Eve in both Chicago and Milwaukee.

Tommy says the Methods of Mayhem CD will be enhanced with the uncensored video version of Get Naked and an electronic press kit featuring the making of the album. Meanwhile rumours abound that Tommy will re-marry Pamela in a nude ceremony on a Malibu beach this New Year’s Eve. Nudity is said to be a prerequisite for attendance. Tommy addresses the publicity as simply being “more wack rumours!” while others see it as promotional hype to draw more attention to his Methods of Mayhem single Get Naked. The couple may also soon feature in a segment of a new MTV series called Diary, in which artists narrate their life stories.

9/10/99
The release date of the Methods of Mayhem CD is pushed back to December 7 with a tour looking likely for January 2000 in the U.S. and Canada.

11/10/99
Accompanied by his attorney, Tommy turns himself over to police in North Carolina, surrendering on an outstanding warrant for assault at a 1997 concert in Greensboro. He is released on $5,000 bond. The trial is set for sometime in November when he will face charges of felony rioting and three misdemeanour charges of disorderly conduct, assault, and inciting a riot.

12/10/99
A Guns N’ Roses covers remix album titled Appetite for Reconstruction is released and features John singing Rocket Queen. The album is ‘electronica vs. metal’ style with all vocals laid over guitar tracks performed by Tracii Guns.

The guys from heavy metal band Testament catch up with Mötley Crüe backstage in Tokyo.

13/10/99
The son of Vince’s manager Burt Stein dies after apparently stumbling head first into a cinder block wall while running sprints at basketball training. Twenty-year-old Adam Stein of Nashville dies from a brain aneurysm at around 6pm in the Warren Wilson school gymnasium. Told of the news upon Heidi’s 5am phone call to Nagoya, Japan, Vince is shattered as Burt was with him through the ordeal of losing his daughter Skylar. Nikki says, “We’re not supposed to bury our children, they’re supposed to bury us.”

15/10/99
Nikki and Randy visit the Atomic Bomb Museum in Hiroshima before going shopping. Nikki buys a Pokemon Pikachu alarm clock for his kids and some platform boots for wife Donna, while Randy buys clothes, some boots and a watch.

16/10/99
As they head back to the U.S. from Japan, the Crüe cancels their New Year’s Eve show due to their burnt-out state and wanting to keep working on their new album. With the conclusion of the Japanese tour, Nikki says he found himself going insane for a while due to the rigours of touring. He started drinking again on the road after a sober six years, thinking it would lighten his load. Through his wife Donna and her strength, he realises that his life falls apart when he drinks. Nikki says it’s all good again now.

Vince heads to Nashville to be with his manager Burt Stein to support him through the loss of his child, as he did for Vince. The loss of life reminds him how short love is and he decides to finally marry his fiancée Heidi.

The official title for Union’s sophomore album is The Blue Room. Currently scheduled to be released on February 22 next year, the CD will feature ten songs. Bruce Kulick shares lead vocals on the track Dear Friend with John.

17/10/99
John Corabi and ESP play at the First Annual Dallas Kiss Expo in Dallas, Texas before making themselves available for photos and autographs.

18/10/99
Methods of Mayhem’s video for the premiere single Get Naked debuts on MTV. The video stars Tommy and TiLo plus special guest appearances by MixMaster Mike of the Beastie Boys, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, George Clinton and Lil Kim in a screamingly raunchy romp through the naked city. The video is directed by Chris Hafner and produced by Dawn Rose for Brass Knuckles Productions.

20/10/99
In a press release, Mötley Crüe announces the release of the band’s first live album Live: Entertainment or Death, due out November 23 on Mötley Records/ Beyond Music, the same day as a Gun N’ Roses live album. Live: Entertainment or Death will be a double-CD collection featuring Mötley Crüe concert favourites and rarities from the original line-up. As a reward to their fans, Mötley will offer the double CD at a single CD price with the value of twenty two tracks.

21/10/99
Mötley Crüe performs in New York’s Sony Studios for a television taping by VH1 for their program Hard Rock Live. The show is tentatively scheduled to air on Nikki’s birthday.
Union plays three new songs from their forthcoming album during their show at Brick By Brick in San Diego. Brent Fitz says that Mötley’s Power To The Music will soon be added back into to their live set list.

22/10/99
Nikki and Tommy get somewhat of a reprieve since they now won’t have to appear in a North Carolina court on 1997 charges of inciting a riot until January 19. This means they’ll be able to participate further in promoting their respective November releases.

26/10/99
The first album released on Nikki’s Americoma Records is Laidlaw’s First Big Picnic, produced by Nikki. The album cover depicts a 1950s-style family picnic scene and features Nikki’s daughter Storm and his step-son Rhyan. The band formed in 1990 in Orange County by slide guitarist Buzzy James and guitarist Craig DeFalco, who supported himself during leaner years of the band as a guitar tech for Tesla, Kiss and Van Halen. His last tech job was for Nikki. When DeFalco gave Nikki a demo of Laidlaw, he subsequently listened to it and saw the band at a showcase, before signing them as the first on his new label.

Nikki and wife Donna take a hiatus of sorts from the entertainment industry as the couple plans to have their first child together soon.

27/10/99
Kicking off a promotional tour in Minneapolis, Tommy says his Methods of Mayhem has secured the opening slot for nine shows with Metallica and Kid Rock that begins after Christmas, and includes a huge New Year’s Eve show at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit. Joining him are TiLo, Steven Perkins from Jane’s Addiction, MixMaster Mike from Beastie Boys, Chris Chaney from the Alanis Morrisette band and Kai Markus from Noise Therapy, the Vancouver band that supported Mötley Crüe on their Greatest Hits tour. Tour rehearsals commence soon at a top-secret location.

2/11/99
Randy is currently laying down all the drum tracks for a forthcoming Def Leppard tribute album on Deadline Records. Erik Turner and Jerry Dixon from Warrant are laying down the rest of the tracks with Tracii Guns, while a host of rockers will add their vocals, including John on the opening track Wasted. John is also set to add his vocals to Another Piece of Meat on the label’s forthcoming tribute to the Scorpions.

3/11/99
Nikki says while he touched up his bass track on one song on the forthcoming Live album, Vince touched up three songs where there were flaws due to him jumping or running around. Mick’s guitar work remains totally untouched.

As MTV puts his Get Naked video into power rotation playing it six times per day, Tommy says his record company had him cancel his New Year’s Eve gig in Detroit instructing him to go and promote the CD worldwide during that time instead.

8/11/99
Metal Edge magazines reports that Deadline Records is putting the finishing touches on Shout At The Remix; a Mötley Crüe remix disc that features guitars by Tracii Guns and Keri Kelli, with vocalists including Steve Summers, Jizzy Pearl, Taime Downe, Rob Chaos, Stevie Rachelle, Marq Torien, Joe Leste, Gilby Clarke and Lizzie Grey, along with remixes by Brian Haught, Martin Atkins, Matt Green, Lee Fraser, Gunter Schulz and others.

9/11/99
After reading a recent interview with Tommy in R&R where he claimed he wrote the song Girls, Girls, Girls, Nikki says, “It’s getting harder to keep saying I support Tommy Lee when he continues to slag and lie.” He also says he’s heard a rumour that Tommy’s record company MCA recently pulled Methods of Mayhem’s tour support with Metallica and Kid Rock as his first single isn’t really working at radio.

10/11/99
Mötley Crüe’s first live album titled Live: Entertainment or Death is released in Japan through Polydor.

12/11/99
On Los Angeles radio station KROQ, Tommy says ex-Jane’s Addiction and Porno For Pyros member Stephen Perkins has been selected as the new touring drummer for Methods of Mayhem. Tommy says when he comes out from behind the drum kit to play lead guitar, Perkins will take over the main drumming duties with also a possibility that he and Perkins may drum at the same time. Methods of Mayhem will hit the road sometime in the spring of 2000. Former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna, who was originally tipped as the Methods of Mayhem touring drummer, will now remix the upcoming single Hypocritical. According to Vrenna, the band would like a clubby version of the track for use on possible 12” releases and special downloads on the Methods of Mayhem website.

19/11/99
Mötley Crüe’s Live: Entertainment or Death CD debuts at number forty nine on the Soundscan charts in Japan, the second biggest music market in the world. The only two other American artists to feature in the Top 50 are Mariah Carey and Eric Clapton. Mötley also charts on the International Confidence Chart in Japan (equivalent of the US Billboard charts) at number ten.

22/11/99
Nikki says the first week of rehearsals for the new studio album has produced some new songs ready for demoing soon, titled Time Bomb, American Sham, 1st Band On The Moon and I’m In Love (With a Porno Star). He feels it’s the best Crüe music ever made. Nikki also says his Americoma Records label band Laidlaw will tour with Jackyl in a few weeks, prior to playing some dates with Ted Nugent.

Responding to an Edmonton Sun newspaper question regarding the reported reason Tommy quit Mötley Crüe was so he could spend more time with his family, Tommy answers, “That came from the Crüe’s publicity camp. That was never my reason for leaving. My reasons were creative and some personal issues with one of the members.”

23/11/99
Mötley Crüe’s first live album Live: Entertainment or Death is released in the U.S. The double-CD contains twenty one tracks spanning their career, as well as liner notes from Chronological Crue’s Paul Miles.

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Maynard F. Swanson Jr. sets April 10 for a civil court trial involving Nikki, after concert-goer Josephine Allen sued him and the band’s management team, Mötley Crüe Touring Inc., on July 9 last year, alleging Nikki hit her in the head with a stray piece of his guitar when Mötley Crüe played the Livestock VII concert at Festival Park in Zephyrhills during 1997.

25/11/99
Union kicks off a tour of Sweden and Norway running until December 5.

27/11/99
Nikki says he just wrote a song called Crash-o-matic as the band prepares to demo the new tunes next Wednesday. He also says that he hung out with John when Laidlaw played in Los Angeles last week. Nikki says, “It was great to see him. I’m so glad all the bad vibes (LAWYERS) are gone. I’d like to do something with John again someday.”

28/11/99
Spending lots of time on the golf course now that the Mötley Crüe tour is over, Vince plays golf with his BadBones partner Steve Dobernic at the Westin in Palm Desert. The outing also includes testing their golf cart racing skills, which the course operators don’t appreciate.

29/11/99
On Los Angeles radio station KROQ, Kid Rock talks about his contribution to Tommy’s new record and says the track they did together New Skin wasn’t their first choice, as the original track they recorded was lost when Tommy’s computer crashed.

2/12/99
Mötley Crüe’s Live: Entertainment or Death double-CD debuts on the US Billboard chart at number one hundred and thirty three. Metallica’s S&M live album debuts at number two with Korn’s Issues sitting at number five in its second week.

3/12/99
Vince and Randy step inside the website of Internet sex legend Danni Ashe called Danni’s Hard Drive to host three outrageous young women stripping naked to the newly-released Crüe live album. Fans chat with Vince and Randy, as they control the cameras that stream images across the Internet, in making sure fans get all the best possible angles. Danni is the Guinness World Record Holder for title of The Most Downloaded Woman on the Internet.

6/12/99
Tommy begins a one-month guest VJ/host of MTV’s new thirty-minute daily rock show called Return Of The Rock that spotlights the hardest and heaviest videos from contemporary rock bands. The show airs at 11am with an encore presentation later that night. Tommy also participates in an AOL chat.

7/12/99
Tommy’s Methods of Mayhem is released on MCA Records. U.S. techno outfit The Crystal Method add an edge to the songs Narcotic and Spun, while Who The Hell Cares features guest rapper Snoop Dogg. Kid Rock contributes his vocals to New Skin.

13/12/99
Nikki says the title of new track American Sham has been changed to American Zero.

14/12/99
The Crüe releases their first DVD, titled Mötley Crüe: VH-1 Behind the Music. It includes an additional never-before-seen live video for Enslaved, additional footage from the Behind the Music special, a discography, interactive menus and DVD-Rom features.

15/12/99
Tommy’s Methods of Mayhem debuts at number seventy one on the Billboard charts, selling forty four thousand copies in the U.S.A.

Mötley Crüe allows fans to download a full demo version of new track 1st Band On The Moon in MP3 format from their official website.

16/12/99
Tommy becomes irate during a live radio interview on Q-107 in Toronto while promoting his Methods of Mayhem album. DJ Hungryman Cogan asks about Tommy’s infamous home-video and why he’s chosen more rap than rock before Tommy unloads profanities that hit live mikes, including a couple of personal insults as he storms out of the afternoon drive slot interview into his waiting limo.

Tommy may be re-marrying Pamela on Valentine’s Day, but says they’re just trying to find a good spot where the craziness of his album launch and touring mellows. Tommy also says, “We’re starting to rehearse for the tour on January 3. We are going out and headlining fifteen shows. Then we head off to Europe, Japan and Australia for promotion and then we come back to North America and we’ll see what goes on from there. There are a lot of tours I hope to be a part of and hopefully jump onto. Nine Inch Nails are hitting the road, as are Korn.”

17/12/99
Nikki says he’s setting the Flash Bastard album up for a February or March 2000 release on his Americoma Records label. A Xmas Song from Flash Bastard will soon be downloadable from their website. John Bush from Anthrax will soon start doing some A&R for Americoma, continuing with Nikki’s core passion of artists working with artists.

23/12/99
Tommy says almost one hundred thousand copies of the Methods of Mayhem record have been sold in the two weeks since its release.

25/12/99
As a Christmas gift to the fans from Nikki, MP3 versions of new Crüe tunes 1st Band On The Moon, Time Bomb and I’m In Love With A Porno Star are made available for download from the band’s official web site for a limited period. Fans react very favourably to the direction of the demos.

Vince and fiancée Heidi Mark have a quiet Christmas and New Year’s Eve with friends and family at home in Beverly Hills. They spend a few days in Palm Springs after Christmas.

26/12/99
Mick becomes a grandfather for the third time when his daughter Stormy gives birth to Chandler. Mick’s doctor recently prescribed him Zoloft and Wellbutrin for depression, which causes him to hallucinate for three weeks. He sees a psychiatrist who diagnoses him as a schizophrenic and gives him more pills, and asks his orthopedic specialist to take him off his pain medication so he doesn’t become addicted. The side effects of the new drugs cause his hand to swell so much that he can’t play guitar. His brother moves in to his house for a while to help take care of him, and Mick soon asks his orthopedic specialist to put him back on his pain medication as his shoulders and neck have completely stiffened. His doctor feels his Ankylosing Spondylitis disease is winning the battle of his body and he prescribes a lightweight psychological Valium to help him deal with it.

31/12/99
Tommy and Pamela spend the night at home on New Year’s Eve to welcome in the new millennium. Celebrating the fifth anniversary of their meeting and what feels like a new beginning, they share a bottle of champagne in their Jacuzzi.

Only time will tell what the new millennium will collectively bring the members of Mötley Crüe. Will the original line-up ever be able to reunite and take on the world once again, or have they seen the best of their days?

Choose the year:
The Eighties: pre-'81 / '81 / '82 / '83 / '84 / 85 / '86 / '87 / '88 / '89
The Nineties: '90 / '91 / '92 / '93 / '94 / '95 / '96 / '97 / '98 / '99
The Naughties: '00 / '01 / '02 / '03 / '04 / '05 / '06 / '07 / '08 / '09
The Onesies: '10 / '11 / '12 / '13 / '14 / '15 /
'16 / '17 / Home / Site Map