MÖTLEY CRÜE's Nikki Sixx On Being Kicked Out Of Canada In '82 - "We Were Happy... We Looked Up To The SEX PISTOLS"
January 23, 2015, 9 years ago
Before Mötley Crüe’s depraved decadence became the subject of glam-metal lore, the band got a huge publicity boost from an unlikely source: Canada. On the band’s “Cruesing Through Canada” tour in 1982, the unruly Los Angeles quartet received much boys-behaving-badly cred after several well-orchestrated public-relations hoaxes.
First, they were supposedly arrested at Edmonton International Airport for their spiky clothes and raunchy magazines. Next came a sham bomb threat at their Edmonton show. Before they left, drummer Tommy Lee found time to toss a TV from the steep window of his room at the local Sheraton.
Bassist and primary songwriter Nikki Sixx laughs at the memory now — but he also considers it the dawn of a strange and fond relationship between Motley Crue and their neighbours to the north.
“Is that when we got kicked out of Canada?” he suggests, chortling, when reminded of the tour during a telephone interview this week.“It was great because we were so young, we didn’t know. We got kicked out of Canada and I remember at the time we were like: ‘Good … riddance!’” he added with an F-led expletive. “We were happy. We looked up to the Sex Pistols. We were like, ‘Wow, great, we got thrown out of our first country!’ Years later, we fall in love with Canada and Canada falls in love with us.”
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Earlier this week, Mötley Crüe announced on Fox And Friends the details of their final performance. This will mark the end of their touring career and will conclude their two year Final Tour cycle at the end of 2015 on New Year’s Eve, December 31st at Staples Center in their hometown of Los Angeles where the band’s career began 34 years ago.
Mötley Crüe first announced plans for their 2-year Final Tour by signing a Cessation Of Touring Agreement at a press conference in Los Angeles in January 2014, solidifying the end of their Final Tour at the end of 2015.
The 2014 leg of the Final Tour was one of last year’s top grossing tours, selling close to a million tickets across 72 cities and grossing more than $45 million. “Mötley Crüe’s Final Tour has been a massive global success and a true testament to the popularity of this legendary rock band,” says Rick Franks, Live Nation’s Regional President of North American Concerts. “New Year’s Eve 2015 will mark the end of an era in rock history but there’s no doubt that Mötley Crüe’s music will influence generations of artists for years to come.”
After thirty-four years performing together, the 2015 leg of the Final Tour will see the band play Japan in February, then Australia/New Zealand in spring. In June Mötley Crüe will say farewell to the European Festival circuit with three massive performances at Download (UK), Sweden Rock (Sweden) and Novarock (Austria) Festivals before taking their can’t-miss show back to the US, Canada, and Mexico this summer for 34 final North American shows due to tremendous fan demand.
The North American dates will see the band visit cities such as Chicago, New York, Toronto, Atlanta, Mexico City and will be taking place in arenas exclusively to ensure fans in all cities get to experience the full show production of the Final Tour:
“In some of the cities, we could only reach a fraction of the fans who wanted to come see us play last year because of ticket demand so we’re coming back to those places to bring them our full production including the Crüecifly drum coaster, as well as all pyro and every other bell and whistle. Even despite the overwhelming fan demand we can only add so many new cities in North America because of our commitment to take the Final Tour global on our final year.” says Nikki Sixx (bass).
Audiences can also expect a high-energy performance from very special guest Alice Cooper, who joined the band for the Final Tour in 2014. He will be tearing up the stage for crowds across North America once again. The pairing has been roundly praised as a must-see by fans and media alike.
The band’s exclusive VIP Packages (including opportunities to meet band members, exclusive merchandise and more) and Fan Club sales for these dates are available now. For more info, visit this location
Public on-sale begins today, Friday, January 23rd at 10 AM local time; some dates (including the band’s Final New Year’s Eve performance) will be going on sale this Saturday, January 24th at 10 AM local time. See below for a full list of dates. For VIP packages and ticket information, go to Motley.com.
Following the North American summer shows, the band will take the Final Tour on more international dates this Fall before “all bad things come to an end” for good on New Year’s Eve 2015.
Coinciding with the announcement and the theme of the Final Tour, the band also released its new single “All Bad Things”. which is available for sale digitally here. The single is accompanied by a video clip of highlights of Mötley Crüe’s 34-year career which can be seen below:
To give back to the fans for their support over the years, Mötley Crüe are giving away their best selling Greatest Hits album for free in partnership with Google Play for one week only. Download the album through Tuesday, January 27th here. The compilation album includes classic hits like “Dr. Feelgood,” “Home Sweet Home,” “Kickstart My Heart,” amongst many more – check out a special message below:
Mötley Crüe are also in the process of putting together the ultimate collector’s album package for the fans to be released later this year which will include the new track, “All Bad Things” amongst many other surprises, details of which will be announced in the near future.
Since 2015 is all about celebrating the legacy of Mötley Crüe, the band and fans from around the world will also be able to share their memories, pictures, thoughts and stories of 34 years of Mötley Crüe online at Motley.com using #RipMotleyCrue.
Tour dates:
February
12 - Nagoya, Japan – Nagoya Gaishi Hall
14 - Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Super Arena
15 - Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Super Arena
17 - Fukuoka, Japan – Fukuoka Kokusai Center
July (with Alice Cooper)
24 - Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
26 - Billings, MT – Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark
28 - Boise, ID – Taco Bell Arena
29 - Salt Lake City, UT – EnergySolutions Arena
31 - Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
August (with Alice Cooper)
5 - St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
7 - Milwaukee, WI – BMO Harris Bradley Center
8 - Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
9 - Detroit, MI – The Palace of Auburn Hills
11 - Hershey, PA – Giant Center
12 - New York, NY – Barclays Center
14 - Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
15 - Worcester, MA – DCU Center
16 - Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
18 - Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
19 - Cincinnati, OH – U.S. Bank Arena
20 - Indianapolis, IN – Bankers Life Fieldhouse
22 - Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
23 - Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
24 - Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
26 - Baltimore, MD – Royal Farms Arena
28 - Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
29 - Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena
30 - Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
September (with Alice Cooper except dates marked with *)
4 - New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
5 - Houston, TX – Toyota Center *
6 - San Antonio, TX – Alamodome *
8 - Monterrey, NL – Arena Monterrey *
10 - Mexico City, DF – Arena Ciudad de Mexico *
TBA – Las Vegas, NV *
December
