(RockAndMetal.com) (01/05/05)

By Michael Bennett

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA - The raucous rulers of the sex-and-drugs-fueled nightlife on L.A.'s Sunset Strip have returned to their old stomping grounds.

All four original members of MOTLEY CRUE, the Rock and Metal gods who've sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and who paved the way for other seminal rock acts, have reunited for the first time in six years, announcing a new world tour -- "Motley Crue: Red White & Crue Tour 2005...Better Live Than Dead" -- and giving their fans a live taste of a new definitive 2-CD "Greatest Hits" collection entitled "Red, White & Crue" that chronicles Motley Crue's entire musical career.

The new compilation also includes three brand-new songs from the band, including the first single 'If I Die Tomorrow,' which has also been made into a highly stylized and autobiographically-driven music video.

Tickets went on sale for the first leg of the tour last month.

A press conference at the Hollywood Palladium took place in December as well, announcing the tour, the new album and the release of the brand new single.

The upcoming tour, which commences February 14th in Puerto Rico, results not only from strong demand by homegrown audiences, but has been largely fueled by the diligent efforts of Mags Revell, a UK promoter with Metropolis Music Group, who launched his own grass-roots campaign in the UK designed to get the band to reunite.

Taking the unprecedented steps of placing advertising in UK media and putting a hold on concert venues in the UK for June, 2005, Revell's efforts quickly gained traction with Motley Crue fans all across the world, who added fuel to the fire by taking to the internet and spreading the word.

Says Revell: "I honestly did not know until now whether Motley Crue would respond to our efforts."

"With the help of tens of thousands of fans in the UK and around the world, I wanted to show the band that there was a real demand for their reunion and I took a big risk."

"This is the band that we all never thought we'd have the chance to see live again and I strongly admire them for responding to their fans."

"It is the realization of a dream for so many people for whom Motley Crue represents what rock music is all about."

"Motley Crue are a gang of musicians that climbed the mountain of rock to success," Allen Kovac, CEO of Tenth Street Entertainment, said in a statement.

"This tour and new music delivers to all those who love one of rock's most passionate and aggressive bands."

Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee, the original members of Motley Crue, whose stature as one of the world's most infamous rock bands and was made legend in their NY Times best-selling autobiography "The Dirt," will kick off the U.S. portion of their new tour beginning February 17th in Ft. Lauderdale, FL at the Office Depot Center.

The upcoming trek is being presented by VH1 and VH1 Classic.

"We are thrilled to see Motley Crue together again and to be able to sponsor their first tour in six years," stated Rick Krim, Executive VP of Music & Talent for VH1.

"As one of the most influential acts of a generation, what The Rolling Stones were to rock music two decades before, Motley Crue opened the door for countless others, and we're only too happy to reunite them with their millions of fans worldwide."

Upon the conclusion of the first leg of the tour in the U.S. on May 1st, Motley Crue will travel to Latin America for a series of live dates during the month, followed by an arena and summer festival run in the UK and Europe in June.

Killing Joke have been announced as the opening act for the five UK dates, with additional dates in the rest of Europe to be announced shortly.

The band will then return to the United States for a massive 43-city amphitheater tour slated to begin in August (dates are yet to be finalized), which will include stops in Albany, Albuquerque, Atlanta, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Concord (CA), Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Hartford, Holmdel (NJ), Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Scranton, Seattle, Tampa, Toronto, Virginia Beach, Wantaugh (NY), Washington (DC) and West Palm Beach.

Lastly, the band will do yet another series of live dates in 2005 in Southeast Asia, including several in Japan, along with plans to hit Australia and New Zealand as well to round out the year.

The Motley Crue saga began in a musical era when rock was still recovering from the emasculation of disco and the punk rebellion had already begun to take root.

In 1981, bassist Nikki Sixx parted ways with L.A. Glam Rock band London, after which he met drummer Tommy Lee - both strung-out adolescents with a penchant for the party life and a knack for creating fist-in-the-air anthems.

With the recruitment of guitarist Mick Mars and singer Vince Neil, the band adopted the moniker "Motley Crue" after performing briefly as "Mottley Krew" and recorded their first album, "Too Fast For Love" in three days for $7,000, a paradigm-shifting effort which stoked the growth of the Glam Metal movement based in Los Angeles.

Originaly released regionally on the band's own label, Leathur Records, the band and album were both picked up by Elektra Records on the strength of their live show buzz in Los Angeles.

In the years following, Motley Crue released a string of classic albums such as "Shout At The Devil," "Theatre Of Pain," "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Dr. Feelgood," which yielded several hit singles throughout the 1980s including some very popular cover tracks as well in Brownsville Station's 'Smokin' In The Boys Room,' 'Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away),' and many others.

They were also selling out stadiums, eventually to the tune of over 10 million concert tickets.

Yet the forces that made Motley Crue's kick-ass music so authentic, namely their own reckless lifestyle of excess, gradually took its toll.

In 1989 Nikki Sixx was revived after flatlining from a heroin overdose, the most extreme example of the band's indulgences.

The band's current reunion comes at a time of re-growth for all of its members: Tommy Lee is currently shepherding his best-selling biography, "Tommyland," along with a new NBC reality show to debut this year.

Vince Neil, having toured continuously as a solo artist, has appeared on several TV sitcoms as well as the WB reality series "The Surreal Life."

Nikki Sixx has been touring and recording with Brides Of Destruction, writing songs, and is preparing to release his autobiographical "The Heroin Diaries."

Meanwhile Mick Mars, having struggled since his teens with a chronic, degenerative illness called ankylosing spondylitis, has been successfully recovering from hip replacement surgery.

A feature film based on "The Dirt," is also currently being developed by the band in conjunction with MTV Films/Paramount, with the screenplay being written by Rich Wilkes (XXX).

"Red White & Crue" Anthology Track Listing:

Disc One:
1. Live Wire
2. Piece Of Your Action
3. Toast Of The Town
4. Too Fast For Love
5. Black Widow
6. Looks That Kill
7. Too Young To Fall In Love (remix)
8. Helter Skelter
9. Shout At The Devil
10. Smokin' In The Boys Room
11. Use It Or Lose It
12. Girls, Girls, Girls
13. Wild Side
14. You're All I Need
15. All In The Name Of...
16. Kickstart My Heart
17. Without You
18. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
19. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)
20. Dr. Feelgood

Disc Two:
1. Anarchy In The UK
2. Primal Scream
3. Home Sweet Home (1991 remix)
4. Hooligan's Holiday (Brown Nose Edit)
5. Misunderstood (Successful Format Version)
6. Planet Boom
7. Bittersuite
8. Afraid (Alternative Rave Mix)
9. Beauty
10. Generation Swine
11. Bitter Pill
12. Enslaved
13. Hell On High Heels
14. New Tattoo (single version)
15. If I Die Tomorrow (new song)
16. Street Fighting Man (new song)
17. Sick Love Song (new song)

"Red White & Crue" North American Tour Dates (First Leg):

02/14 San Juan, PR [Coliseo De Puerto Rico]
02/17 Ft. Lauderdale, FL [Office Depot Center]
02/18 Tampa, FL [St. Pete Times Forum]
02/20 Greenville, SC [Bi-Lo Center]
02/22 Cleveland, OH [Gund Arena]
02/23 Toronto, ON [Air Canada Center]
02/25 Detroit, MI [The Palace]
02/27 Ottawa, ON [Corel Centre]
02/28 Hartford, CT [Hartford Civic Center]
03/03 New York, NY [Madison Square Garden]
03/04 Philadelphia, PA [Wachovia Spectrum]
03/05 Boston, MA [Fleet Center]
03/06 Washington D.C. [MCI Center]
03/08 Columbus, OH [Schottenstein Center]
03/10 Chicago, IL [Allstate Arena]
03/11 Moline, IL [The Mark]
03/12 Milwaukee, WI [US Cellular Arena]
03/14 Minneapolis, MN [Target Center]
03/15 Kansas City, MO [Kemper Arena]
03/17 Dallas, TX [Nokia Live]
03/19 Phoenix, AZ [Cricket Pavilion]
03/22 San Diego, CA [Coors Amphitheatre]
03/23 Los Angeles, CA [The Forum]
03/25 Reno, NV [Reno Events Center]
03/26 Oakland, CA [Oakland Arena]
03/27 Las Vegas, NV [The Joint]
03/29 Boise, ID [Idaho Center]
03/30 Spokane, WA [Spokane Arena]
04/01 Calgary, AB [Pengrowth Saddledome]
04/02 Edmonton, AB [Rexall Place]
04/05 Green Bay, WI [Resch Center]
04/07 Winnipeg, MB [MTS Center]
04/08 Grand Forks, ND [Alerus Center]
04/09 Madison, WI [Alliant Energy Center]
04/11 Des Moines, IA [Civic Center]
04/12 Omaha, NE [Qwest Center]
04/14 Oklahoma City, OK [Ford Center]
04/15 San Antonio, TX [SBC Center]
04/16 Bossier City, LA [CenturyTel Center]
04/18 New Orleans, LA [UNO Lakefront Arena]
04/20 Jacksonville, FL [Veterans Memorial Arena]
04/21 Greensboro, NC [Greensboro Coliseum]
04/23 Portland, ME [CC Civic Center]
04/24 Montreal, QC [Bell Centre]
04/26 London, ONT [John Labatt Centre]
04/27 Grand Rapids, MI [Van Andel Arena]
04/28 Peoria, IL [Civic Center]
04/30 Witchita, KS [Kansas Coliseum]
05/01 Fort Collins, CO [Budweiser Events Center]

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