Thirty-eight years ago today, notorious Los Angeles-native rock band Mötley Crüe made their official debut onto the bustling Sunset Strip music scene at the Starwood Club. The Starwood, centrally located on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Crescent Heights Blvd. in West Hollywood, was home to a number of legendary acts including punk acts like The Runaways and The Germs. But on the night of their first show, no one in the crowd was ready for what Mötley Crüe would bring to the table.
It all starts with a big thanks to bassist Nikki Sixx, who had worked at the Starwood and performed there with his first band London. Thanks to Sixx's dedication and incessant pestering to get his new band on stage, the Crüe were finally allowed to open for established hard rockers, Y&T.
While most bands have a more calm introduction to their story, Mötley Crüe entered the music scene kicking and screaming in chaos... literally. In the band's autobiography, "The Dirt," lead singer Vince Neil recalls that the band did not even play a complete show rehearsal prior to their debut performance.
"People were yelling 'F--- you!' and flipping us the bird" during the kickoff song, 'Take Me to the Top,'" Neil wrote. "Then one meathead, in a black AC/DC shirt, hocked a loogey that landed on my white leather pants. Without even thinking, I leapt off the stage mid-phrase and put him in a headlock and started pummeling him."
Defending their lead singer, Sixx also joined the brawl. Even before they performed their first song, the L.A. rockers proved they could live up to their fantasy of the rock-n-roll lifestyle. Sixx even began swinging his white Thunderbird bass around the audience, going as far as cracking it over someone's shoulder blade.
In between the chaos, Mötley Crüe played a slew of tracks from their soon-to-be first album Too Fast For Love, which debuted a few months later in November 1981. Of the 10 tracks performed that night, the band performed "Stick To Your Guns," "Too Fast For Love," and "Public Enemy #1" before moving into covers. Of the few covers performed that night, the Crüe did The Beatles' "Paperback Writer" as well as the Raspberries' "Tonight," which officially made it onto the band's debut album!
Check out a video of them performing at the concert, below!
Check out Mötley Crüe's setlist from their performance at the Starwood in 1981:
With the release of their on-screen adaptation of their biography, The Dirt, the band has welcome new song releases, including the film's title track featuring rapper Machine Gun Kelly, who starred as Tommy Lee. Even though this sparked rumors of a reunion and possible tour, that is far from happening any time soon sadly.
Listen to the new song below:
The band might officially be retired from touring as of December 31, 2015, but we hope there's a future where one day the band can reunite to bring back their classic hits to their thousands of fans, aka the Crüe heads!
