Chronological Crue - The History of Motley Crue in 2008

4/1/08
Vince Neil performs a selection of Mötley Crüe hits at Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation's (ARF) ARF Rocks! fundraiser at the Dean Lesher Regional Center in Walnut Creek, California. Vince fronts the ARF all-star band that features Mike Vanderhule and John Nymann from Y&T, Eric Martin from Mr. Big, Myron Dove, Ken Harrill and Tony Lindsay. Funds raised from the event are used by ARF to save the lives of loving dogs and cats that have run out of time at public shelters.

Former Mötley singer John Corabi says he'll begin recording his long-promised solo album in a week's time in Nashville.

10/1/08
As the video for Sixx: A.M.'s Accidents Can Happen premieres on Fuse, Nikki Sixx wishes fans a Happy New Year and says he has quit smoking, having had his last cigarette thirteen days ago.

14/1/08
Gerald Schneeman of Rockford, Illinois files a lawsuit against Live Nation, the promoter of the recent Mötley Crüe and Aerosmith concert tour. The lawsuit states Schneeman was standing in front of the Ford Amphitheater stage on 22 November 2006, when an unnamed member ofMötley Crüe jumped from the stage and knocked him to the ground, striking him in the head with a guitar. Security then came over and assaulted him before dragging him from the venue. According to the suit, he suffered bodily injury, scarring and disfigurement. Fans report that Vince jumped into the crowd after Schneeman spat on him.

18/1/08
Nikki takes part in several signing sessions at this year's winter NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim. He spends time talking to fans and signing merchandise at the booths of Ovation Guitars, Basson Sound, and Dean Markley Strings. Mick Mars also spends time at NAMM to sign autographs and chat with fans.

19/1/08
Vince plays a free evening street concert outside 219 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, Florida to celebrate the public grand opening of his much-anticipated Dr. Feelgood's Rock Bar and Grill. Vince owns a 30% stake in the venture. The VIP opening held four days ago was attended by the likes of Vanilla Ice, Dennis Rodman, and former Miami Dolphin Jay Fiedler. Mayor Lois Frankel evens hops on stage with Vince and plays some air guitar. Vince is also reportedly looking for a space in downtown West Palm Beach to setup another branch of his tattoo business Vince Neil Ink.

21/1/08
Nikki's ex-wife Donna D'Errico is reportedly shopping for a publisher for a proposed book titled Letters from Rehab, which consists of letters that Donna received from Nikki during his rehab stint in 2001 and her thoughts on their content. D'Errico is also looking to publish her memoir titled Both Eyes Forward with a firm focus on her marriage and divorce from Nikki.

24/1/08
Vince Neil's Motley Cruise 2008 departs from Miami on the newly-renovated Carnival Imagination ship for a four-day rock 'n' roll vacation filled with music, fun and sun. The event features a concert by Vince and his band, in addition to live performances by Ratt (featuring John Corabi), Skid Row, Slaughter, and Lynam, as the ship sails for the Mayan Riviera, stopping by Key West, before making its way to Calica, Mexico. Other on-board activities include meet and greets with the artists, wet and wild shore excursions in Key West and Cozumel, and a no-limit Texas Hold'Em charity poker tournament and live auction.

29/1/08
Tommy has narrated the upcoming documentary Dear Jack due later this year, which focuses on Jack's Mannequin founder Andrew McMahon's battle with leukaemia. The feature film also chronicles the beginnings of the band, Andrew's relationship with his now-wife Kelly and the immense impact both had on his fight with cancer. Tommy forged a strong friendship with McMahon and played drums on Jack Mannequin's debut, while Andrew contributed lead vocals to some songs on Tommyland: The Ride.

30/1/08
Nikki tells fans that ten songs have now been completed for the new Crüe album, saying, "I'm very proud of the songs. I think we're onto some of the better songs we've had in years - time will tell, of course. A couple of song titles are called A Scar on Hollywood Blvd. and Saints of Los Angeles. As it's been leaked out before, this is no surprise, but the album is called The Dirt and it lyrically follows the story of the Mötley Crüe best-seller The Dirt. It's challenging and exciting to have to write the songs into time capsules spreading over years. I've written a lot of songs with Mick Mars of course, along with James Michael, Marti Frederickson and DJ Ashba. The chemistry in the studio as we're writing is unbelievable. I look forward to leaking some to you all in the next few months."

Nikki also says his Miami Ink and LA Ink television personality friend Kat Von D will probably ink him this weekend. "I haven't got anything tattooed in years except Tag Here on my toe. I think it's time to step it up; I'm feeling the itch. I've been wanting to get Los Angeles tattooed on me for ages and then the other day I noticed Kat has it on her left shoulder. We both have had so much happen in our lives in this city, why not make it permanent? The band started it here, I've died here, had kids, married and divorced here. My life is in Los Angeles."

3/2/08
Vince performs at the first annual Game Day at the Playboy Mansion on Superbowl Sunday, hosted by the professional networking company Financially Hung, founded by former Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick and her husband, two-time Superbowl Champion Glenn Cadrez. Over seven hundred guests, celebrities and professional athletes dance and mingle with Playboy Playmates and Bunnies all day and into the night while enjoying a lavish spread of Game Day style food, an open bar, and hand-rolled Cuban cigars. Mick also attends the event, which raises $50,000 for the California Police Youth Charities.

10/2/08
In a weekend session at his personal studio, Mick collaborates with Machina, the band featuring former Evanescence members John LeCompt and Rocky Gray, on a new song titled Save You. The track features guitar work by Mick and LeCompt, vocals by Phil Taylor, drums by Rocky Gray and bass by Thad Ables. The song is still in pre-production phase, and it has not yet been determined how or where it will be used.

11/2/08
Vince's journalist friend Robin Leach reports on his blog, "Mötley Crüe rocker Vince Neil had 110-million reasons to smile for his birthday blowout weekend here — just two days earlier Vince, Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars signed a $100-million+ mega deal to produce three albums and perform three world tours for the giant LiveNation entertainment conglomerate. "We’ll actually have been together for 37 years by the time it comes to an end," laughed Vince." Leach also says, "Vince, who will go off next month on a solo tour of Canada, told me that the first of the three long world tours starts this July. The new contract runs for the next 10 years and includes 169 concert dates on the first global journey!"

In response, Nikki says, "Mötley Crüe has not signed any deals. Any information reported to the contrary is false and misleading."

12/2/08
Sixx: A.M. is preparing to hit the road for a select number of U.S. dates but due to the band-members' limited availabilities, they give fans the power to decide which markets they will play by voting online. The winning cities and Sixx: A.M. tour routing will be announced in one week's time.

19/2/08
Tommy DJs at the after-party for the gala opening of Mario Barth's Starlight Tattoo at the House of Blues in Las Vegas.

21/2/08
The Pulse of Radio reports that Mötley Crüe has set a July 8 release date for its ninth studio album, titled The Dirt. A yet-to-be-named single will arrive at radio stations on May 7 with the band expected to start a new world tour in June or July. Although it was reported last year that Tommy had again quit the Crüe over legal issues, he and the group have apparently reconciled. 

Nikki is the featured artist for the premiere episode of Live Through This on Fuse TV.

25/2/08
In an online post on his website as response to his status in Mötley Crüe, Tommy writes, "Nope! I never quit! Silly rumours! We're all together! We're goin' on a world tour starting July 4th!"

28/2/08
Sixx: A.M. releases a statement advising they will postpone their spring tour "due to unforeseen circumstances and will most likely hit the road in the summer of 2008."

5/3/08
Bob Timmons, the addiction specialist credited with salvaging the lives of Mötley Crüe members and other celebrity drug users by steering them onto the path of sobriety and helping them stay there, dies of respiratory failure at his home in Marina del Rey. He was 61. Nikki says of his passing, “Lost a dear friend and saw how many people’s lives he has touched. His time here was done and I feel good in knowing that’s the destiny for us all. He taught me a lot about recovery and I hope to pass that on, it’s the least we can do. Lead by sober example to those who still struggle.”

7/3/08
Nikki and Kat Von D go public with their relationship via MySpace. On his profile, Nikki captions a photo of them taken at a tattoo competition in Santa Barbara with "My other half, I love this woman." Kat captions a different photo of the couple on her MySpace profile with "Never thought I'd fall in love like THIS. He OWNS my heart" while Nikki comments below, "Never saw it coming, but it mowed us down like a freight train... Hell Yeahhhh, Love is in the air." The couple spends Kat's birthday weekend at New York City’s Bowery Hotel and get matching tattoos of the hotel's Bowery Boy logo by Thomas Hooper at New York Adorned. Nikki later tattoos 'I Love You' next to Kat's on her shoulder after she asked him to write her a love letter.

Born Katherine Von Drachenberg on 8 March 1982 as Mötley Crüe was selling-out shows at the Troubadour, the Whisky and the Country Club, Kat set a world record last December by creating four-hundred tattoos in a twenty-four-hour period. After splitting with her tattoo artist husband Oliver Peck last April, Kat was dating Whitestarr drummer Alex 'Orbi' Orbison, son of music great Roy Orbison. Orbi has now announced on his MySpace page that he and Von D have split. Nikki and Kat met through mutual friends in Scott Ian of Anthrax and his partner Pearl Aday.

11/3/08
Sixx: A.M. films a video for the song Pray For Me, which will be the third single release from The Heroin Diaries book soundtrack CD.

13/3/08
Nikki says work in the studio on the next Mötley Crüe album is flowing nicely. “We were all together again today plotting, planning, designing, listening and the band seems to have the old bite back, but we will let you be the judge of that when its time. I do know the people around us (the ones we can trust) are feeling the magic from the songs, so maybe it’s not only in our heads.”

He also confirms that he and Kat Von D are together. “We’ve been ‘just’ friends since last summer. She was going through a brutal divorce (as was I) and we were friends. Along the way, she met a great guy (Orbi) and we were friends through that too. They broke up and we were still ‘just’ friends. I’ve never had a friend become the girl. Yes, it caught us both by surprise, as I’m sure some of you – it’s understandable. We are very, very happy together. I hope it shows in our art and music. Nothing is better for artists than complete connection. Oh, one last thing: when I felt myself falling for her, she was all walls and barricades, an invisible bodyguard on call every time I even tried to allude to or use the evil smirk to get closer to her heart – so if you think bad of anyone, let it be me.”

15/3/08
James Michael says, "I’ve been locked away in the studio for the last couple of months producing the new Mötley Crüe record and can I just say that it is truly incredible! The songs are stellar and the band is at the top of their game, rocking harder than ever. I get chills every morning when I step into the studio and hear playback on what we did the night before. I am so proud of this record. You’re going to fucking love it!"

John Corabi plays an acoustic performance with Dilana at the grand opening of the Mystikal Voyage new age shop in Baltimore.

17/3/08
A Mötley Crüe press release states all four original members will make a "colossal" announcement in Los Angeles on April 15 at a location to be determined, adding, "this will by far be one of the biggest music announcements of the year!" The Crüe will fly out one lucky grand prize winner from each major city across the country for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cover this announcement in Los Angeles and the chance to interview the band and have it broadcast live.

20/3/08
Nikki and Mick have tentatively settled the lawsuit against former Mötley Crüe co-manager Carl Stubner. According to a two-page settlement agreement, a request for dismissal will be filed by May 31 based on the successful completion of the undisclosed terms arrived at by the parties. A hearing scheduled for tomorrow is cancelled. Nikki, Mick and the corporations Mötley Crüe Inc. and Red, White & Crüe Inc. (not including Vince) sued Stubner, who still represents Tommy, for more than $20 million last June, alleging breach of fiduciary duties and constructive fraud.

In the evening, Nikki and Kat are guests at the launch party for M.A.C. Cosmetics' Heatherette collection in Los Angeles before attending a cocktail party for the Details magazine Mavericks 2008 issue in Beverly Hills.

25/3/08
At 9:34pm, Mario Barth of Starlight Tattoo is recorded by Guinness World Records as having performed the first-ever tattoo in high altitude. He tattoos a mermaid on Tommy's left thigh in-flight in a luxurious Gulfstar G-4 private jet traveling from Burbank Airport to the Miami Executive Aviation. Tommy and DJ Aero travel to Miami to DJ at the 23rd annual Winter Music Conference.

Fan reaction is very favourable when they hear a preview of Mötley Crüe's forthcoming first single Saints of Los Angeles as it is premiered on radio.

29/3/08
A Blu-ray Disc version of Mötley Crüe's Carnival of Sins DVD is released by Warner Music Group (WEA).

30/3/08
The Sixx:A.M. song Life is Beautiful reaches the number one position on U.S. rock radio charts, dislodging Puddle of Mudd in a top five rounded out by Seether, Three Doors Down and Foo Fighters. DJ Ashba says, "This is a lifetime dream come true for me, and I am speechless!"

31/3/08
Discovery Networks' eco-centric Planet Green has signed Tommy and hip hop superstar Ludacris to star in Battleground Earth, a reality competition that features the duo battling against the toxic forces destroying Mother Earth as they travel across the U.S. on a ten-episode tour set to premiere this August. A press release says viewers will witness the two stars pushed to the limit as they attempt to keep their high-wattage acts on an eco-friendly course. Enlisting the help of their posses, celebrity guests, and anyone else willing to lend a hand, Ludacris and Tommy will dive right into the Battleground Earth competition with unexpected and sometimes hilarious results. Throughout the tour they will battle to get the word out about the state of the environment. This rap 'n' roll battle is set to culminate in a green carpet benefit concert at Los Angeles' legendary Greek Theater, featuring Luda, Tommy and many of their famous musician friends in support of the renewal of Griffith Park, which was devastated by recent wildfires.

Tommy says, "I was definitely not down to do another reality show because we have too many of those and they're stupid. But I'm doing this for my kids. Environmentalism is a serious sort of subject but you've got to make it fun or you freak people out."

3/4/08
During a solo performance at the free weekly Clematis By Night party in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida, Vince announces from stage that Mötley Crüe will kick-off its upcoming tour at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach.

4/4/08
Billboard announces Nikki has been named the President of Eleven Seven Records where he will oversee a roster that includes Buckcherry, Trapt, Drowning Pool, Marion Raven and up-and-coming rock outfit Chosen Son. "I find it very interesting to take the artist’s craft, the art, the music, the image, and get it out there," Nikki says. "It comes under the heading of 'record company President,' but it’s a little more than that. I’ve had enough success and enough misfires in a career that’s lasted over twenty-five years that I can go back and draw on that experience, and I think that’s helpful for the artists. When I go into rehearsal rooms and meet with bands, they’re genuinely excited to be with me because of what I’ve done as an artist, not because of anything else."

Nikki also says the new Mötley Crüe studio album "is one of those albums that I just feel it in my stomach that something’s happening with the band. There’s a newfound energy in the songs. It’s just a rebirth of that really dirty, rock and roll side of Mötley Crüe."

11/4/08
The full-version of the new Mötley Crüe single Saints of Los Angeles is premiered to fans via an exclusive stream at Spinner.com.

12/4/08
Nikki says, "The album's done, the video's done, the artwork is done, the photo sessions are all wrapped up and the single is ready to go to radio, rehearsals start tomorrow. I know a lot of you have heard Saints of Los Angeles on the web - if you like the single, just wait 'til you see the video. OK, my eyes are red, and it's a rare night to not have to work, so I'm gonna sit back and feel good about all the hard work. I hope you all like it as much as we do."

15/4/08
During a press conference at Avalon Hollywood, Mötley Crüe announces they will headline their own summer rock festival Crüe Fest 2008, also featuring Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M. and Trapt. Produced by Live Nation and billed as "the summer's loudest show on Earth" the two-month tour launches July 1 in West Palm Beach, Florida at the appropriately-named Cruzan Amphitheatre, and will hit forty major North American cities throughout July and August. "We are so excited not only to headline our own annual summer festival, but also to be able to share the stage with the next generation of great rock bands. There's not a lot Mötley Crüe hasn't done so to say this summer's festival is going to be about rock 'n' roll excess is an understatement. A night of hit songs by great bands and a trail of panties coast to coast... Crüe Fest, hell yeah!" says Nikki in a statement. When asked if the festival will travel overseas, he says, "We've been talking about it. First things first, we are playing the shows in America to start out and that'll take us into August or September, then we're deciding what we do from there - whether its Europe or South America, I think we're going to find out first what it feels like to have these bands all together and then we'll see what happens. We're excited, that's all I know."

Mötley Crüe also reveals their new album will be titled Saints of Los Angeles and is ready to hit stores June 17. Vince says the album with all of the band's original members takes the band back to their roots: "The album, Saints of Los Angeles, represents us growing up in Los Angeles – sights, sounds and smells. It's the first record in over ten years that we've put out together as a real studio album. It's really worth the wait – the songs are amazing, the stories are amazing. It's a great album and we can't wait to get out and play the whole thing." At 5pm Mötley performs Kickstart My Heart and Saints of Los Angeles live at the event with the latter airing on ABC-TV’s Jimmy Kimmel Live in the evening. Towards the end of the last song, Vince is joined on backing vocals by the singers of the participating bands: Josh Todd of Buckcherry, Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach, James Michael of Sixx: A.M. and Chris Brown of Trapt. The Saints of Los Angeles video also features these singers at the end of the song. The video was shot inside the former Nabisco biscuit company factory at 673 S. Mateo St, Los Angeles. A winged Marion Raven can be seen sitting atop Nikki's amp during the video's live performance scenes.

Furthermore, the band has joined forces with Harmonix and MTV Games to be the first band to offer the title-track as a download in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation computer game Rock Band, which challenges players to put together a band and tour for fame and fortune while learning to master lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals. Currently available on iTunes, the Saints of Los Angeles single is also released on Motley Records as a download from today via Xbox Live Marketplace and via the PlayStation Store in two days time. At each stop on the tour, Rock Band fans will get the chance to battle it out in their very own Rock Band for the chance to take the Crüe Fest concert stage between acts and become the local Rock Band champion.

The Saints of Los Angeles single is the #1 Most Added to Rock Radio in the US and Canada.

23/4/08
The winners of the 12th Annual PRISM Awards are announced at a gala dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Nikki is the winner in the Music Recording category for his Heroin Diaries project and is commended for his accurate portrayal of addiction on the album. The PRISM Awards, presented by the Entertainment Industries Council in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and FX Network, reflect the entertainment industry’s commitment to the accurate depiction of addiction and health issues in film, television, music, comic books and interactive entertainment. 

24/4/08
Jeff Blando says the Vince Neil solo band is getting ready to work on an album. "We've got to write something that fits his personality and his persona. We're starting out Dana and myself, and then we'll bring Vince in and Zoltan [Chaney], the drummer. The game plan is I think Dana and myself are going to go out with Vince while he's on the Crüe Fest. We're actually taking the rig out with us, I believe, and we're going to be working with Vinnie and writing on the days off. Try not to miss any time we have together to get this thing forward as quickly as we can."

25/4/08
Playboy.com premieres the uncensored music video for the new Sixx: A.M. single Pray for Me. The steamy video airs exclusively at playboy.com for four days.

Tommy and Ludacris film some scenes for their Battleground Earth eco-reality TV show at the Stockyards Championship Rodeo in Fort Worth, Texas.

28/4/08
Sarnia Councilor Dave Boushy tries to convince city council that the city should have some say about what acts perform at Bayfest, following a recent call to action from Mooretown grandfather Gord Park, appealing to churches, politicians, service clubs and protection agencies to mobilise and stop acts like Mötley Crüe from performing in Sarnia. He said Mötley Crüe's off-stage antics are "pornographic" and could harm the city's image. However the council does not support him, and several members say they don't want to become a censor board for outdoor events, even those on city-owned property. Bayfest organiser Michele Stokley says, "Nikki Sixx can speak in Washington, but Boushy says he shouldn't come to Sarnia? If you know nothing about the band, how can you judge them?"

29/4/08
As she winds up work on her album, Dilana heads to Mick's home studio with Dave Basset to record his guitar track on one of her songs saying, "Exciting stuff, I know he's gonna give it that last sprinkle of magic dust that the EIGHT, yes 8-minute song needs!"

2/5/08
Vince hosts the Twelfth Annual Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament at Lost Canyons Golf Club in Simi Valley, California. Amongst the guests are Biohazard's Evan Seinfeld, Britney Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline and various porn stars.

8/5/08
Tommy joins all-star covers band Camp Freddy on stage at the Roxy in West Hollywood. At the end of The Cult's classic Lil Devil, he takes over a drum kit alongside Matt Sorum and the two launch into a drum duel. Others to share the stage on the night include Slash, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, plus the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones and Paul Cook. 

9/5/08
Nikki is this year's honouree at Covenant House California's ninth annual Awards Gala held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. With a portion of proceeds from Nikki's Heroin Diaries best-seller going to his charity Running Wild in The Night, a creative arts program for Covenant House California at their youth shelters in Los Angeles and Oakland, he is able to present the organisation with a cheque for more than $250,000.

12/5/08
The release of Mötley's new album is pushed back a week to allow inclusion of a final track titled Goin' Out Swingin'. In a press release, Nikki says, "Before our performance at the press conference, we were firing on all cylinders at sound check just jamming out, and that's when the new idea came. We quickly laid it down and went to the studio to record it, and liked it so much we pushed back the release one week so that we could get it onto the album — it now has thirteen tracks. It's the ultimate song to end the record with and begin the new chapter of our career."

13/5/08
Mick doesn't like the sound of having to continue paying palimony to his ex-girlfriend Robbie Mantooth that he is suing, so he asks a judge if he can suspend the payments until trial. Mick originally filed the suit against Mantooth in Los Angeles Superior Court in November 2006, alleging that she breached the terms of a settlement of a palimony suit between the former couple. He is asking for unspecified punitive damages and attorneys' fees. Under the settlement of the previous lawsuit between Mick and Mantooth, he gave her a down payment and agreed to pay an additional $5,070 a month on a balance of $300,000, according to his court papers. He claims Mantooth promised not to disclose any financial information about him to anyone in exchange for receiving the monthly payments, but she later gave information about Mick's account at City National Bank to a debt collection agency after they contacted her regarding money she owed, according to his current lawsuit. Mantooth also allegedly told the collection agency that Mick misappropriated her money and agreed to pay her debts, the lawsuit states.

In court papers filed today, Mick maintains alleged breaches by Mantooth are grounds for not having to pay her any further support. In a hearing scheduled for June 6, he is asking Judge Edward A. Ferns to suspend his payment obligations until the trial is completed. Mick maintains that two delays in the start of the trial from January to the current September 15 date have virtually assured Mantooth of continuing to receive money to which she might not otherwise have been entitled if the musician wins his case. Ferns granted the two delays in the trial due to the illnesses of Mantooth and her lawyer.

23/5/08
Tommy is set to lend his voice to a new half-hour, animated TV show titled The Life and Times of Jimmy Jaxx, loosely based on his own life. The project revolves around a rocker who attempts to balance his crazy lifestyle on the road with a calmer existence at home. The character is distracted, however, by his tattoos — which come to life and are constantly trying to lead him down the wrong path. Tommy says, "I've always loved the animated world. How fun and kooky is this gonna be, to combine some real-life experiences with some seriously over-the-top humour." Smart Entertainment (Blades of Glory) is behind the project, currently in the early stages of development at Fox. The project doesn’t proceed past pilot stage.

26/5/08
Mötley Crüe's new single Saints of Los Angeles sold ten thousand copies on iTunes and Amazon in the U.S. and Canada upon its release last month, whereas on the video game Rock Band forty seven thousand copies were sold on the Xbox 360 version alone.

28/5/08
The Battleground Earth: Ludacris V Tommy Lee event takes place at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Other artists to perform include Rock Star Supernova, Switchfoot, Train with The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, Blue Man Group with special guest Ziggy Marley, members of Velvet Revolver with ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, plus Bowling For Soup with Twisted Sister's Dee Snider.

29/5/08
The Crüe begins rehearsing in a Hollywood studio space with Sixx: A.M. also rehearsing next door. They prepare to play three of the new songs this tour. Vince stays in the Fours Seasons in Beverly Hills.

2/6/08
Mick says Mötley Crüe is "working on a world tour, not a world festival tour, but we're doing forty or more dates on Crüe Fest and then after that we'll do Europe and Japan. There are tons of festivals to do in Europe. And in Japan we'll go over and play eight or ten gigs, because it's not a very big place. Then we'll hit Australia and hopefully new places like Argentina. And of course, we'll play Mexico City." When asked his thoughts on the band's new album, he says, "It sounds to me like vintage Crüe - meaning Feelgood, Girls, Girls, Girls and that kind of stuff - but at the same time, it's more modern sounding. The rawness from back then is on the album, but the songs are more modern. They fit into the genre today, instead of sounding like it's 1980. It's modern, but it's Mötley too."

Mick also updates fans on the band's movie based on their autobiography The Dirt. "The movie is still in the works. I've gotten a few scripts, but they weren't true to the story, so I didn't care much for them personally. It was like they wanted to do a Monkees kind of thing. And that ain't Mötley Crüe. They keep trying to polish it up, but we're a lot different than most of the scripts we've gotten. So the movie is still in the works, but we've still got to find the right director and find the right script and everything else. It will come out, but I don't know when."

9/6/08
During a Rockline interview, Sixx: A.M. front man James Michael says Papa Roach's drummer Tony Palermo will perform double-duty and also drum for Sixx: A.M. on the forthcoming Crüe Fest tour. Palermo used to drum for punk band Unwritten Law. Vince says it took three to four months for the new Crüe songs and album to come together.

11/6/08
Mötley Crüe, Inc. files a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against the band's former co-manager Burt Stein and his companies, accusing him of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, while seeking declaratory relief. Stein held a dual role serving as one of Mötley's managers and also as the personal manager for Vince Neil. The band claims Stein tried to cash-in on the Crüe's popularity and used his position as their music manager to promote his own agenda in order to achieve financial gain by obstructing the business relationships of Mötley Crüe. In the suit, the band states: "Stein used his position as a band manager to attempt to extract money for himself to the detriment of Mötley Crüe." This includes allegations that he set up and booked appearances and activities for Vince that conflicted with the priority Mötley Crüe schedule. The file also claims Stein's management agreement would terminate if and when the band entered into a new management agreement. Even though that occurred in February this year, they claim Stein is continuing to demand commissions for managerial services performed and taking the position he is still a co-manager when he is not.

Burt Stein returns fire by filing a lawsuit against Mötley Crüe and its management company in Nashville's federal court, accusing them of trying to cut him out of the percentage of revenues he has shared in for many years. In his breach of contract suit, Stein claims that band manager Allen Kovac has been threatening to sue him over the 1.875 percent cut he receives from the band's earnings as Vince's personal manager, dating back to a September 1996 agreement with Mötley's management company for so long as Vince is the lead singer of Mötley Crüe and Stein's written personal management agreement with Vince is in effect. Stein entered into a new five-year personal management deal with Vince just fourteen months ago, and claims he is owed monies stemming from Mötley Crüe's multi-million dollar recording and touring agreement with Live Nation executed in March this year.

When Rolling Stone magazine visits Mötley Crüe in their Hollywood rehearsal studio as they prepare for their summer Crüe Fest tour, Tommy tells them that he's back with his ex-wife Pamela Anderson. "Pamela and the kids have moved in with me. It's awesome, man. It's definitely working. You can tell on the kids' faces - they're happy when we're together. We've only given it a try 800 times - 801, here we go."

16/6/08
After seeing their full stage set for the first time at rehearsals earlier in the day, the Mötley band members are interviewed in the Rockline studio for the U.S. National Radio Premiere of the Saints of Los Angeles album. During the interview they say the new album's opening track L.A.M.F. was inspired by Bowie's opening to his Diamond Dogs album, which originally inspired Shout At The Devil's opening track In The Beginning. They say Mick started writing songs for the album last October. Writing then got more serious with Nikki in December, before work started with James Michael. Tommy says the concept for the album cover design was seeded by his crucifix necklace that features a naked girl instead of Jesus.

18/6/08
The Japanese version of the new Mötley Crüe studio album Saints of Los Angeles is released, featuring two exclusive bonus tracks: Kickstart My Heart (Live & Rare) and Saints Of Los Angeles (Live & Rare), both taken from the band's recent press conference performance. The limited edition features high quality SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD players) and bonus DVD with music videos and interviews. DVDs are region-2 encoded (Japan, Europe, and Middle East), and carry no subtitles.

A major book deal is signed with Grand Central to publish an official biography on Vince authored by Alan Parker. The book promises to tell the unfiltered story from the band's most controversial member including the real reason for their initial breakup, the impact of his daughter's death, and changing band dynamics, in addition to all the insane stories of rock'n'roll excess. 

19/6/08
Frustrated that the long-awaited movie about their lives is going nowhere with Paramount Pictures and MTV Films, Mötley Crüe is now looking for new partners. Nikki tells Reuters, "We're trying to get them out of the way to make this movie that should have been made a long time ago. MTV has become bogged down in its own way. It's a channel that used to be hip and has now actually become unhip. We signed with them because we believed they were right, but they haven't come to the table. We need to find the right partner. They are not the right partner."

20/6/08
Mötley Crüe are guests on CNN's Larry King Live, where they answer questions from viewers and Larry, interspersed with footage of Larry taking a drum lesson from Tommy and playing Mick's guitar during his recent visit to the band's rehearsal studio near the Burbank airport.

22/6/08
Mötley Crüe headlines day two of Heavy MTL festival on Saint-Héléne Island in Montreal, Canada in front of thirteen thousand fans. After opening with Kickstart My Heart, they play Saints of Los Angeles as their fourth song - the only number from the new album. After a dozen songs and a solo from Mick, they leave the stage before returning with Home Sweet Home as their encore to close the festival. Other bands that played before them include Disturbed, Three Days Grace, Anthrax, Voivod, Shadows Fall, Drowning Pool, Warrant, and Priestess.

23/6/08
Nikki says his tattoo artist girlfriend Kat has been going over all his old tattoos and re-colouring them, re-outlining them and re-doing a lot of them. "We're about 50% done. After so many years of sun, fun and putting them through hell, it's amazing what they look like now; better than new, just fucking bad ass to be honest." One tattoo re-styled is the skull on his outside right forearm that had the initials SSRR inked on its bandana when Sex, Sex & Rock 'n' Roll was the working title of the Dr. Feelgood album - it now reads SOLA.

Kat has also been tattooing new work on Nikki. He says, "She has done a huge piece on my right ribcage: it's an angel I took a photo of in a cemetery when I was in Milan, Italy. Underneath it, from my lower back wrapping around to my lower stomach, it says Los Angeles. The detail blows my mind. She's just about finished with portraits of all my children on my left calf; they cover every inch of my leg. I can just look down whenever I miss them and see their faces. They're all from photos I took of them - something so personal about having her tattoo my own photography on me. The fact that we're so in love, so in synch and so much on the same path in life makes us even closer during and after the tattoo experience. Obviously I've never been in love with my tattoo artist before, so this is a pretty big high for both of us. It's all about the ones we love - like the tattoo of my grandfather on my left thigh she just finished. You should have seen his face when he saw it. I think after eighty years on earth and all he has done and seen, this one totally blew everything else away and blew his mind. He's pretty smitten with Kat too; that just put him over the top." Nikki concludes by saying, "I finally met my other half. Yes, I'm happy as hell. This is gonna be a great year for both of us."

24/6/08
Mötley Crüe's ninth full-length studio album Saints of Los Angeles is released in the U.S. on Mötley Records. Nikki and Marti Frederiksen have song-writing credits on every song on the album, along with other co-writers: James Michael is credited on every song except Welcome To The Machine. DJ Ashba is credited on every song except The Animal in Me and This Ain't a Love Song, which is the only song that Tommy co-wrote. Mick co-wrote seven songs on the album (tracks six through twelve), while Vince says he was on holidays when the album was written. The album's lyrics thematically follow the band’s chronological history and reference themes introduced in their autobiography The Dirt.

The album is recorded, produced, engineered and mixed by James Michael at his home studio called the Lightning Bolt Garage; he is also credited for his programming, keyboards and backing vocals work. The album is co-produced by Nikki and DJ Ashba, who also performed additional engineering at his Ashbaland Studios, as did Viggy Vignola at Tommyland Studios. It's the first Mötley album where there was not a single time that all four band members were together in the studio at the same time during its recording. Other backing vocals are credited to Vince, Melissa Harding, and Marti Frederiksen, who is best known for his work with Aerosmith since the mid-'90s. He has also worked with numerous acts, co-writing and/or performing on albums by Def Leppard and Fuel, as well as Buckcherry's latest hit single Sorry.

To celebrate the album's release, Mötley plays Saints of Los Angeles live on The Late Show with Dave Letterman on CBS. Vince drives his fellow band members to the show's New York studios at the Ed Sullivan Theatre on Broadway in a black '53 Cadillac convertible, followed by a procession of motorbikes.

25/6/08
A ten-album Mötley Crüe SHM-CD cardboard sleeve back catalogue reissue series is released is Japan, featuring the albums Too Fast For Love, Shout At The Devil, Theatre Of Pain, Girls Girls Girls, Dr. Feelgood, Mötley Crüe, Generation Swine, Supersonic & Demonic Relics, Live: Entertainment Or Death, and New Tattoo.

1/7/08
The Crüe Fest tour kicks off in front of 8,700 fans at Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida. After Sixx: A.M.’s set earlier in the evening, Nikki performs double-duty for the first time in his career as Mötley begins their ninety-minute set with Kickstart My Heart, followed by Wild Side and Shout At The Devil. The stage features Los Angeles written backwards behind them, a-la the landmark Hollywood Sign. Two songs from the new album are played: the title track Saints of Los Angeles (with the singers of the other bands on the bill) and Motherfucker of the Year, separated by Live Wire and Tommy’s Tittie Cam interlude. Backed by an impressive light show and a heap of pyrotechnics, Mötley plays six more loud classics from their catalogue of hits, before returning to the stage for a closing encore of Home Sweet Home with Tommy on piano.

2/7/08
Mötley Crüe's new album Saints of Los Angeles debuts at number four on the Billboard 200 chart after selling 99,000 copies in the United States during its first week of release. It's the biggest sales week for the Crüe since Christmas 1991 when Decade of Decadence sold 121,000 copies. Mötley's last studio effort with all of its original members was 1997's Generation Swine, which debuted and peaked at number four on The Billboard 200 after sales of 80,500 copies.

The Crüe reaches number one on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart, and number two in both the Top Rock Albums and Top 10 Internet album charts.

7/7/08
Nikki says he is sharing a Crüe Fest tour bus with James Michael and DJ Ashba and they are already writing the next Sixx: A.M. album.

8/7/08
Mick says his degenerative Ankylosing Spondylitis disease has left him unable to move his head and has also been shrinking him over the years. "If I could go places I would, but I'm stuck. This stuff I have won't allow me to move my head, so I can't drive. It's quite an inconvenience. I used to be almost five-foot-nine, and I'm just a little over five-three now. It stinks... I'm just squashed."

Tommy tells an Australian radio station that Mötley is definitely coming down-under soon. "I just saw a rough itinerary but I don't want to quote any dates just in case they shift around but we're definitely coming there. I think what we're going to do when we head over to Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan is bring maybe one or two bands with us - it might be Buckcherry or Papa Roach. Then what we wanted to do in each country was support the local talent there, so maybe have three Australian bands, and so on."

16/7/08
When asked if he has ever considered returning to his roots and making a blues album, Mick responds to his interviewer, "Absolutely, and I am going to do that. My plans are a little different from what the other guys in the band have done with their solo stuff. Have you heard the album Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, or The Beatles' Sergeant Peppers or Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix? Those albums have something more to them that just the music, something special that stands out. What I wanna do is record with a lot of my friends who I've met over the years, a bunch of really different talented musicians, to all come in and do something. Different singers, guitar players, bass players from all types of bands - kind of like what Hendrix did on Electric Ladyland - and then I'm gonna record it at Electric Ladyland studios, and you can only get it on vinyl. I've got it all worked out."

20/7/08
Mick's girlfriend Seraina "Fai" Schönenberger says in an interview that it was love at first sight when she met him in Switzerland just over thirteen months ago. "I am totally in love. [He is] the man of my life... We are the perfect couple. You never know, maybe someday we will actually get married."Twenty-three-year-old Schönenberger appears in the Saints of Los Angeles video and has been traveling with the band on their current tour.

21/7/08
Sixx: A.M. sends their next single called Tomorrow to radio stations, almost a year after first single Life is Beautiful from their debut disc The Heroin Diaries hit the airwaves last summer. The song is selected by NAADAC, the Assn. for Addiction Professionals, as one of the themes for their forthcoming National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

25/7/08
Young cancer survivor Tanner Onder meets his favourite rock star, Nikki Sixx. The backstage meeting is arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which flew Tanner and his family to Denver, Colorado to see Crüe Fest. Sixx: A.M. dedicates his favourite song Life is Beautiful to him.

26/7/08
While Mötley plays at Albuquerque's Journal Pavilion, Nikki's bodyguard Kimo Silva is involved in an incident after he allegedly refuses to leave an area when asked by security and police. Police allege Kimo pushed a venue security guard and fought with several sheriff's deputies, spitting in one's face, before they used a taser twice to subdue him. They handcuff him but release him during the concert when deputies fear the Crüe will quit playing and the crowd could become disruptive. When deputies asked Kimo why he was being combative with deputies, he said he had "the right to be where he was... he was working and they should not have been messing with him." He denies pushing the security guard and says he accidentally spat on the deputy because he was drooling from being struck with a taser. Kimo is later charged in Metropolitan Court with battery and resisting law enforcement.

31/7/08
Mötley Crüe has an official day named after it by the City of Los Angeles' mayor's office. From now on, July 31 will be known as "Mötley Crüe Day" in honour of the band. The band members are presented with commemorative documents from Mayor Tony Villar at a press conference at Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.

The press event is also used to announce a partnership between Mötley Crüe and Guitar Centre as they launch Guitar Center On-Stage - Your Chance To Make Rock History. The competition will provide one up-and-coming U.S. band the ultimate, career-altering opportunity: the chance to win a prize package that includes an opening slot on Mötley Crüe's 2009 U.S. tour, $25,000 cash, $20,000 in exclusive new gear from Gibson Guitar, management from Tenth St. Entertainment, and a recording deal from Eleven Seven Music - Mötley's management and record label.

Starting today through 21 September, bands across the United States are invited to submit their music at makerockhistory.com to enter. A judging panel including Tenth St. Entertainment and Eleven Seven Records will then review the top bands, selecting thirty bands to advance to regional evaluation events to be held in mid-October at Guitar Center locations in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. After narrowing the list to the top six bands at the regional events, Guitar Center will host a final round of evaluation on 12 November at Guitar Center Hollywood, where each of the six bands will perform live for members of Mötley Crüe. One band will be notified via a personal phone call from a member of Mötley Crüe that they have been chosen as the winner and that the grand prize is theirs.

Mick says, "Our partnership with Guitar Center gives us the opportunity to help an up-and-coming band by giving them every element needed to succeed. Like Ozzy did for us when he took an unknown band called Mötley Crüe on the road, we too are looking for the next generation's great rock band."

1/8/08
Mötley Crüe performs a live global concert from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The event is available live online, free of charge. This tour sees the Crüe's set begin with a shadow play behind a curtain featuring a fight between a winged angel, a devil and the fevered voice of a preacher intoning warnings about sin. Mick's small solo interlude features a portion of Voodoo Child from Jimi Hendrix's 1967 album Electric Ladyland. After her performance part in the set's opening, long-time Mötley stage performer Jozie Di Maria brings Vince his guitar before Don't Go Away Mad and Same Ol' Situation are played.

3/8/08
Battleground Earth featuring Tommy and Ludacris premieres on the Planet Green eco-lifestyle channel. The series is a reality competition that features the duo battling against the toxic forces destroying Mother Earth as they travel across the country on a ten-episode tour. Enlisting the help of their posses, aka 'ecorages,' Ludacris taps Willie Box, Sesean Bridges, and Tony '4 Ize' Hayes III while Tommy relies on Diggity Dave, Johnny Colt, and Nina Bergman to help him get to the finish line. Celebrity guests include Jane Fonda, Sean Combs, Pamela Anderson, and Gene Simmons.

7/8/08
Tommy is a guest on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote his new Battleground Earth series. He also talks about his two sons, Mötley's current tour and his backstage dressing room.

8/8/08
During Mötley's concert at Seattle's White River Amphitheatre, Nikki dedicates Primal Scream to his sister Ceci in the crowd of more than fourteen thousand fans.

18/8/08
Following weeks of rumours, Bobby Blotzer confirms that former Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo will be joining Ratt as the replacement for rhythm guitarist John Corabi. John's final show with Ratt is scheduled for September 6 in Virginia Beach.

22/8/08
Vince says he put a pedometer on recently and learned he's running twelve miles on stage during the Crüe's ninety-minute show. To look after his voice, he ensures he doesn't take time off from singing. For his pre-show ritual he goes into the bathroom and screams as loud as he can, but that's as much of a vocal warm-up as he does.

28/8/08
Mötley Crüe's performance at Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre is filmed for a forthcoming Crüe Fest Live DVD. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario suspended the fifteen-thousand-seat venue's liquor license from 11am until 2am after the concert, meaning that no booze could be sold at the venue for the day-long, multi-act concert. The suspension apparently came from various infractions that took place during last year's concert season.

31/8/08
The first annual Crüe Fest tour comes to an end at the Post-Gazette Pavilion in Pittsburgh. After forty one concerts over two months across North America, the band will take a break in September before playing some international shows in October.

14/9/08
Author Alan Parker flies to San Francisco where final interviews for the official Vince Neil biography are carried out in The Marriott Hilton Hotel near Vince's home. 

18/9/08
Nikki speaks at the Jacobs Media Summit 13 in Austin, Texas where he shares his thoughts on a variety of topics, ranging from audience connection to brand extension to the music, entertainment, and radio industries. Jacobs Media is the largest radio consulting firm in the United States specialising in rock formats. The company, formed in 1983 by Fred Jacobs, created the classic rock format, and has been a leading force in alternative and mainstream rock.

30/9/08
Mötley Crüe's studio album catalog is re-issued on Mötley Records/Eleven Seven Music via RED Distribution. The catalog includes eight chart-topping studio albums originally released between 1981 and 2000: Too Fast For Love, Shout at the Devil, Theatre of Pain, Girls, Girls, Girls, Dr. Feelgood, Mötley Crüe, Generation Swine, and New Tattoo. Seventeen of the band's classic music videos are also released as online downloads from digital music stores.

3/10/08
Celebrating his birthday with Mariachi players and mermaid piñatas as Mötley commences the next leg of their tour with their first-ever show in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tommy says, "Well into the second song I smell fire! I'm thinking, 'Oh must be the new smoke machines... whatever! And then I'm like, 'Wait a minute - that's a fucking FIRE I smell!' So I come to find out Nikki's dressing room is in a full-on blaze and mine's next door! You know shit is crazy when you see your Tour Manager and security runnin' around like it's a riot... haha! Well, not so funny now 'cause it's really happening and they're pullin' personal items out of my room, dodging flames 'n smoke because Nikki's room is torched! So sad; he lost EVERYTHING but his passport and a few credit cards! Cameras, computer, cell phone, wardrobe, etc! WOW - what a Bday! RED HOT!"

6/10/08
Former Mötley front-man John Corabi plays his last show with Ratt in Virginia Beach, VA

8/10/08
Nikki says, "Mexico has been wonderful to us. The fans are so kind and welcoming. We've had some great shows down here, but now it's time to say goodbye. Today we're off to Argentina for our first visit ever. I can't believe we're finally going to South America to play. The band is ecstatic, to say the least. It's getting harder and harder for me to take pictures unless it really moves me. My photography studio back in Los Angeles is under construction and should be 90% done by the time I return. Words, so many damn words, flowing out of my head, it's almost like torture. I've written eight songs, poems, love stories or rancid notes from hell all in the last two days (I never really understand when I'm writing what the hell it is I'm doing). I guess we could say Mexico has inspired me."

9/10/08
Saliva's singer Josey Scott says, "Nikki helped save my life, you know. He got me into rehab out in L.A. and really straightened my life out. He actually gave me a rosary recently that was blessed by an archbishop and gave me this beautiful, solid pearl rosary for my ninth month chip. So I've been sober for nine months." Scott's recovery has been filmed for a possible new reality series called Hick Parade, documenting the day-to-day life and activities of Saliva.

11/10/08
After headlining the Pepsi Music Festival in front of twenty one thousand people, Nikki says, "Argentina stole our hearts. The people, their spirit and the beauty of Buenos Aires all came to a head last night as we hit the stage. We've never been here - a first - and then it happened: the sky opened up, and I swear to God, he was smiling on us. I've never seen it rain like that. The rain came and came and came, on the band, on the crowd, on the equipment, harder and harder... everything and everybody soaked to the core and all it did was make us smile bigger and play harder. The crowd all chanting and jumping in time to the music and the band pushing harder and harder with the rain. Thank you Argentina. They say the first cut is the deepest, if so, you hit bone - we love you." When the band returns for their encore, Nikki comes out with an Argentinean band and sings Argentina, Argentina. Vince wears an Argentina team soccer shirt with his name and number ten on the back as they close the concert with Home Sweet Home.

13/10/08
As the Crüe's first-ever show in Singapore approaches, Nikki says, "After the success of Mexico and Argentina, we're sitting on pins and needles to hit the stage. We're hearing the fans have been waiting so long for Mötley that it's going to be insane. We can't wait. I've been hearing from fans from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and all around Malaysia and how they're travelling to the Singapore show."

14/10/08
Mötley's classic album Dr. Feelgood is made available in its entirety for the Rock Band Xbox 360 video game. The complete download includes ten songs and is the sixth full CD to make the Rock Band roster.

Hinder front-man Austin Winkler says they will support Mötley Crüe on an arena tour beginning in January. Mick plays lead guitar solo on the title track of Hinder's second album Take It to the Limit, due for release on November 4. Drummer Cody Hanson says, "He actually called us up and wanted to do some writing and we were like, 'Yeah, of course, I mean, would you be interested in playing some guitar on the album? And he was like, 'Absolutely,' you know. So we sent him the track and he loved it, and we ended up going up to his house. And, you know, he laid down a few different passes of the solo on Take It to the Limit. So it was an amazing experience, you know, getting to meet one of your idols, I guess."

15/10/08
The Civil Aviation Authority in Singapore organises Mötley Crüe meet and greet sessions with passengers at Changi Airport's Terminal 2. Arriving in the island state for its first-ever Asian concert outside Japan tomorrow night, Vince and Tommy meet with passengers for a chat, photos and autographs. Previous celebrity sessions at the airport - the first in the world to offer such a service for transit passengers - have featured Air Supply, Backstreet Boys, Bollywood superstars and golfer Annika Sorenstam.

19/10/08
Nikki says "Katherine tattooed a killer portrait of Mick on my leg and we got to surprise him with it at the Los Angeles Crüe Fest show. It was a pretty emotional roller coaster ride to share the whole experience with Katherine, from the beginning of the idea to the end when we finally show Mick." Footage of the tattoo session airs on the next episode of Kat's L.A. Ink TV show. Kat says, "At first, when Nikki brought the idea of getting this tattoo done, I thought how cool it would be to celebrate a friendship between two people over three decades! We decided it would be so rad to do the tattoo without telling Mick, so on the show, you'll be able to see the tattoo process, as well as the entire High Voltage crew rockin' it out at Crüe Fest in Los Angeles, which to me, was by far one of the greatest shows from the tour - amazing energy!" Mick later says that when he saw the tattoo he was "shocked and honoured. Nikki getting a tattoo of me is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. It is a huge honour to have Nikki as my band mate and friend."

20/10/08
After playing Loud Park Festival in Japan the previous night, Nikki says, "We had a bad-ass show in Tokyo and there were a ton of cool bands on the bill, but most notably was Duff McKagan's Loaded. So, after running into my friend Richard Stark yesterday, we headed down to a place here in Tokyo and saw Duff play a tiny club - insane. Every song was a ten. I got an EP and it's all I'm listening to right now. If you don't have the EP yet, it's called Wasted Heart and it's a must-have." Duff returns the love by commenting, "Nikki came down to the Quattro show. I've known that guy now for over twenty years and that dude is the real article. Let me tell ya, sometimes the last thing you want to do on a night off on a tour is go out to see another fucking band! Nikki not only came down, but he also stayed for the whole show. A class act."

23/10/08
Guitar Center and Mötley Crüe announce the six finalists for the Guitar Center On-Stage: Your Chance To Make Rock History competition. The final six bands were chosen from a pool of thirty semi-finalists over the last two days as each semi-finalist performed one song live in front of a panel of industry experts at Guitar Center's legendary Sunset Boulevard location. The final six bands - The Spittin' Cobras (Seattle, WA), Lorene Drive (Victorville, CA), The Dirty Pearls (New York, NY), Waterstreet (Peoria, IL), Something to Burn (Los Angeles, CA) and The Heroine (San Antonio, TX) - now continue onto the finals to perform live for Mötley Crüe at the world famous Whisky A Go-Go on November 10 in Hollywood. The top six bands were chosen by influential leaders in the music industry, including President of Fuse TV, Eric Sherman; producer and front-man of Sixx: A.M., James Michael; Music Director of Los Angeles radio station 98.7, Julie Pilat; Chris Nilsson of Tenth St. Entertainment and General Manager of Eleven Seven Music, Frank Woodworth. Since launching the search for the next great American rock band in August, Guitar Center and Mötley Crüe have had a staggering 7,930 bands register and close to 175,000 online votes cast at the program's web site. The site also garnered nearly one million unique visitors since its launch on August 1.

28/10/08
Nikki's book The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star is released in a paperback edition.

31/10/08
Vince is among the guests at the Las Vegas premiere of Criss Angel Believe, along with Godsmack's Sully Erna and the members of Hinder. The sixth Vegas Cirque du Soleil show is unveiled Halloween night during an extravagant and appropriately spooky gala event.

Something to Burn withdraws as one of the final six bands in the Guitar Center On-Stage: Your Chance To Make Rock History competition and are replaced by The Last Vegas.

10/11/08
In front of a capacity crowd at the world famous Whisky A-Go-Go, Guitar Center and Mötley Crüe select The Last Vegas from Chicago as the winner of Guitar Center On-Stage competition. In addition to the slot on Mötley Crüe's 2009 Saints Of Los Angeles U.S. tour, The Last Vegas also takes home $25,000 cash, $20,000 in exclusive new gear from Gibson Guitars, management from Tenth Street Entertainment, and a recording deal from Eleven Seven Music. In true Crüe fashion, The Last Vegas also found out that their career is literally going from 0-to-60 overnight by opening for Mötley at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles in four-days time when the forthcoming tour dates will also be announced. Vince says, "The overall talent and energy of The Last Vegas surpassed our expectations. Mötley Crüe is excited to pass the torch on to these amazing musicians, just as Ozzy did for us over twenty five years ago."

13/11/08
Tommy takes part in the VH1 Classic Celebrity Bowl-Off tournament at Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood, joining an exclusive list of actors, celebrities and members of the music industry who take to the lanes and showcase their bowling skills to raise awareness for autism at this tournament.

14/11/08
Ahead of their one-off concert for tonight's re-opening of the legendary Hollywood Palladium, Mötley announces a twenty-nine-date 2009 Saints of Los Angeles tour across North American with Hinder, Theory of a Deadman and The Last Vegas in support. The tour kicks off February 2 in San Diego and includes a New York date at Madison Square Gardens, before concluding in Portland, ME on March 18.

18/11/08
Vince tells Rolling Stone that he'll be recording his next solo album in April and probably release it in early November. Fans can expect the sound to be "a little more aggressive than Mötley, more like an AC/DC vein."

Tommy is working on a new album from his Methods of Mayhem project that now includes DJ Aero on turntables, hoping to have the disc completed by May/June before Crüe Fest 2. Tommy says, "We're gonna do a Crüe Fest 2, and hopefully we're gonna add another stage, which we didn't have on this one. You know, it was the first one. But hopefully we'll have a second stage and more bands too."

23/11/08
The four members of Mötley Crüe present the award for Favourite Pop/Rock Duo or Group to Daughtry at the 2008 American Music Awards show held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

25/11/08
Four classic Mötley Crüe albums are re-issued in vinyl LP format - Too Fast For Love, Shout At The Devil, Girls Girls Girls, and Dr. Feelgood. The band's latest album Saints of Los Angeles is also released on vinyl.

Sixx: A.M.'s The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack is re-released as a deluxe edition CD that includes a never-before-released EP titled Live is Beautiful, which can also be purchased separately. The EP, produced by Sixx: A.M. and mixed by front man James Michael, was compiled from several performances on this summer's Crüe Fest.

1/12/08
Sixx: A.M.'s hit single Life is Beautiful is named the number one rock song of 2008 by Mediabase, which is said to be Nielsen BDS' prime competitor in the field of electronic airplay monitoring.

2/12/08
Mötley Crüe and Sixx: A.M. feature prominently in the iTunes Critics Picks for 2008. Saints of Los Angles is the number one rock song of 2008 as selected by iTunes' Editorial Board, while Sixx: A.M.'s Life Is Beautiful comes in at number ten. Sixx: A.M. is also named a Best New Rock Artist of the Year and also land within the top twenty sales chart, along with Mötley Crüe. Both bands are on the Eleven Seven Music record label helmed by President Nikki Sixx who says, "It's so gratifying to see that iTunes' critics agree that Eleven Seven Music rocks as we continue our commitment to creating great rock music."

Vince cancels his European solo tour just one day prior to the scheduled opening show in Spain. According to a statement released by the Spanish concert promoter Rock Music Concert Promotions, their three dates in Spain were cancelled due to a combination of low ticket sales and the recent closure of a scheduled venue in Madrid. Swedish support band Fatal Smile says this Spanish cancellation subsequently affected the whole European tour. "The management of Vince Neil thereupon decided to cancel the tour. All involved parties have tried their best to still let the tour happen, even the tour promoter didn't give up until the very last minute."

Nikki and his girlfriend Kat Von D host a benefit event dubbed "66 Nikki Sixx's" for Covenant House at the Carmichael Gallery in West Hollywood, California next door to her High Voltage Tattoo studio. Nikki says, "The idea started when I told Kat about Running Wild In The Night, which is the music program I started with Covenant House a few years back. While I was on tour, she told me about her idea to draw 66 'Nikkis' (graphite on paper) and showcase her art to the world. Not only am I honoured to have my girlfriend support this program, but to have a great artist draw 66 portraits of me pretty much blows my mind." Kat sells prints of the originals during the event and all the money goes to Running Wild In The Night and Covenant House.

3/12/08
Mötley Crüe's Saints of Los Angeles is nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Hard Rock Performance category, competing with Disturbed, Judas Priest, The Mars Volta and Rob Zombie. The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on February 8 next year following the casting of votes by members of The Recording Academy - an organisation of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals - who decides on the winners of this peer-recognised award for musical excellence. It's the Crüe's third-ever Grammy nomination, having been beaten in this category by Living Colour two years in a row in 1990 and 1991.

Faulty electric wiring sparks a fire that burns through the roof of The Body Shop - the landmark Sunset Boulevard strip club best known as the location for Mötley Crüe's Girls, Girls, Girls video. Upon hearing about the fire, Tommy emails his band mates, "Let's put our zippers at half mast!"

4/12/08
Vince releases a statement blaming the cancellation of his European solo tour on "the promoter's breach of contract." He says, "I regret not being able to come over to Europe at this time due to circumstances beyond my control. I hope to be able to visit next year for a more extensive tour."

To help them choose between Chicks = Trouble and White Trash Circus as their next single, Mötley Crüe asks their fans to vote for their preference.

9/12/08
John Corabi performs on stage during the free Monster Circus concert at the Las Vegas Hilton, playing a set of some of the greatest songs of all time with a Las Vegas twist. Other artists that perform include Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, Dio), Bruce Kulick (Kiss), Tony Montana (Great White), Bobby Rock (Slaughter, Vinnie Vincent Invasion), Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver), and Dee Snider (Twisted Sister).

11/12/08
Nikki reaches fifty years of age and his girlfriend Kat throws a birthday party for him at Boardner's in Hollywood, with entertainment including body-painted dancers, fire-eaters, erotic silk rope trapeze artists, a town-crier, an R&B group singing Happy Birthday, a video confession booth, and musicians playing classical versions of Mötley songs on violins and cellos.

15/12/08
Burt Stein files a lawsuit in the Nashville District Court against Vince and Mötley manager Allen Kovac, which again asserts that Stein is in fact Neil’s manager and therefore entitled to a percentage of the Vince’s compensation. Back in June, similar lawsuits were filed both in the Nashville Federal Court and in Los Angeles. Kovac and the band sued Stein while, on the same day, Stein fired back in Nashville.

On with the show