Chronological Crue - The History of Motley Crue in 2011

18/1/11
Vince Neil strikes a deal with prosecutors and will plead guilty to his charge of Driving Under the Influence in eight days' time and spend two weeks in a Las Vegas jail. He will surrender on February 15 and will serve fifteen days in the Clark County Detention Center, followed by another fifteen days of house arrest. This follows his failure of three field sobriety tests with a blood-alcohol level almost three times the legal limit when arrested in Last Vegas last June. In a statement, Vince says, "I have recognised that you can't drink and drive at all. I take full responsibility for my actions and will learn from this experience."

In a lawsuit filed in Illinois' Northern District Court, Mötley Crüe and Live Nation are being sued by Ron Toma who claims he owns the copyright to the famous photo of Vince's crotch taken by Michael Pinter back in 1981 that was used on the cover of their Too Fast For Love album. According to Toma, the Crüe and Live Nation stole the image without permission and used it on some merchandise being sold on their websites and he is asking a judge to block the band and Live Nation from using the image without his permission.

26/1/11
Accompanied by his lawyers Richard Schonfeld and David Chesnoff, Vince attends the Las Vegas Justice Court and pleads guilty to DUI and speeding charges, following his drunken driving incident that took place in Las Vegas last June. Temporary judge Gerry Zobrist, who takes his plea, sentences Vince to fifteen days in the Clark County jail and fifteen days on house arrest under terms of an agreed-upon plea deal that spared him a trial on the misdemeanour driving under the influence charge. Vince says nothing more than "guilty" to the charge against him and is also fined $585, ordered to attend drunken driving abatement school, and to view a victim impact video online.

27/1/11
The Detroit News reports that Vince is being pursued by federal authorities for a tax debt of more than a million dollars. Vince and his wife Lia were hit with a $740,171 lien for delinquent federal taxes last April, while another $371,050 demand was filed against them for income taxes in December.

5/2/11
Vince celebrates his upcoming 50th birthday with a party at Blush boutique nightclub inside the Wynn resort in Las Vegas. Vince's new girlfriend Alicia Jacobs hosts the event, which is attended by Criss Angel, Flavor Flav of Public Enemy and comedian Scott "Carrot Top" Thompson, among others.

13/2/11
Nikki attends the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles with his lady Courtney Bingham, a model and up-and-coming film producer currently working on Underground Comedy starring Lindsay Lohan and Michelle Rodriguez. The couple have been spending time together for a while now, having attended the Call of Duty: Black Ops video game launch party together at the start of last November. Following the awards ceremony, they go to the EMI Records after-party at Milk Studios where the likes of Lady Antebellum and Keith Urban celebrate their Grammy wins.

14/2/11
Before going to jail in the morning, Vince has a romantic Valentine's Day dinner with girlfriend Alicia Jacobs at Simon restaurant in the Las Vegas hotel Palms Place. He tells Vegas Confidential that he taped an episode of the TV show Dateline that featured life inside Clark County Detention Center to help him prepare for his jail time in there, but admits he's worried about "more of the unknowns than the knowns; not knowing what's going to happen." Vince plans on being a model prisoner in hopes of having his fifteen-day sentence shortened, saying, "There are things I can do that will help me get additional time off. I will jump in and volunteer. You can ask the question 'what can I do to help to get some credit?'" He'll be able to have visitors in jail, but only via the jail's closed circuit TV system. He says the waiting has "been tough. I'm definitely not looking forward to it."

16/2/11
To mark this month's one-year anniversary of his Sixx Sense radio show, Nikki celebrates with a world premiere of his new Sixx: A.M. video for Lies of the Beautiful People. 

20/2/11
A third of the way through his fifteen-day jail term, Vince's girlfriend Alicia Jacobs, entertainment reporter for KSNV-TV Channel 3, says she's extremely concerned about his health because he's lost his appetite and isn't sleeping because of kitchen duty that requires a 3:30am wakeup. "He's not eating much other than peanut butter, Doritos and stuff like that. He had a baloney sandwich one day. It's not optimal conditions," she says. Vince volunteered for jail duties in hopes it will reduce his sentence. As a result, he's serving breakfast to his 4,000 fellow inmates every morning starting at 4am, lunch at 10am and dinner at 4pm, in addition to mopping and vacuuming floors and cleaning showers. He's had visits from Jacobs and a chaplain, read a book titled Red Dragon and has been recognised by many of the inmates.

24/2/11
Details of the third annual Revolver Golden Gods awards show on April 20 are announced at a press conference at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. Mick Mars is on hand as Mötley Crüe is announced as this year's recipient of the first-ever Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award.

25/2/11
Vince is released from jail after serving ten days of a fifteen-day sentence for his drunken driving conviction. He is given early jail release after volunteering for kitchen duties. His girlfriend reports that after leaving Clark County Detention Center Friday, he stopped off at McDonald's for two quarter pounders with cheese and French fries. He is accompanied to his home by three officers who explain the rules of house arrest with an ankle monitor for fifteen days.

28/2/11
In an exclusive in-depth interview with Piers Morgan, Bret Michaels confirms that for the first time ever Poison and Mötley Crüe will co-headline a select date summer tour with special guests the New York Dolls, tentatively titled Glam-A-Geddon. It will be a 25th anniversary tour for Poison, while Motley will be celebrating their 30th anniversary. Although statements have previously been made in the press by Nikki vowing this tour would never happen, that is simply not the case. When reporters recently asked Bret if there was any bad blood between the bands, he laughed, "there may be some friendly competition but there is no bad blood at all on my part. Nikki and I have spoken several times on the phone recently and the conversations went great." Both Poison and Mötley Crüe have a long history of hit songs, bigger than life stage shows, and no-holds-barred live energy. The two bands combined have sold over 100 million records and have over twenty four Top 40 hits between them. Later in the day, Mötley Crüe says, "CNN shot their load early and let it leak. We’re confirming that Mötley Crüe is headlining this summer with support from Poison and special guest New York Dolls."

2/3/11
Tommy tells Billboard.com that the upcoming Mötley tour is not Crüe Fest because this time it's just three bands and not five or so. He says the band is just starting to talk about its stage production and that setlist decisions, including how to treat the 30th anniversary of 1981's Too Fast For Love, will be made next month when the band members begin rehearsals. As for new Crüe music, he says the group planned to have something out this year but was side-tracked by various individual projects, but trusts that being on the road will instigate some creativity within the band. "When the four of us are together, which we will be in the summer, that's usually when it goes down," he says. "We record sound checks with new ideas. I always have a studio on my bus. So I would imagine we'll start compiling ideas this summer. It's almost like you've got to get away from home to start writing music." Tommy says a home for new songs could be the film adaptation of The Dirt, which is now back on track with Rob Zombie as its director, saying "That would be a cool place to release some new music. It gives new reason for new music. People aren't really buying records these days, so it seems like a good place to maybe put something new from us." However, Rob Zombie says he's not directing the movie.

7/3/11
Mötley Crüe is announced as the recipient of the 2011 Elmer Valentine Award for their contribution to the history of the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California. They will be honoured during an awards ceremony to be held at the House of Blues on August 18 that kicks-off this year's three-day Sunset Strip Music Festival. Tommy says, "It's an honour to be recognised by the Sunset Strip Music Festival. It means a lot to us that we are recognised for our contribution to this historic place." In addition to the tribute event, the City of West Hollywood will also recognise Mötley Crüe with a special day in their honour.

10/3/11
Nikki attends Canadian Music Week at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, Canada where he shares a backstage look into the world and mind of a rock star as he discusses his many ventures, including a new book and album, both titled This Is Gonna Hurt.

15/3/11
Nikki blasts Facebook officials for their censorship, after they deleted naked images from his profile page that he took of quirky models. He says, "I started by posting one of the photos from my book, it was actually an outtake - a way to give fans something that won't be in the book. It was this girl, Farah; she's about 350 pounds and she saw her mother kill herself and was put out on the streets for prostitution and she ended up doing pornography. I was looking for a woman that would pose nude that was extremely overweight; there's a bunch of messages behind that. So I posted this nude picture of her and it was deleted by Facebook. And I went, 'Oh, you can't put art on Facebook?' So then I posted another photo that I shot of a guy who is transgender. So he had breasts, but he's still a guy." That picture was also removed, and when he tried to post another photo he had taken of a burn victim, Facebook staff warned him to stop and gave him a final notice."

16/3/11
Vince splits with his girlfriend Alicia Jacobs. The TV reporter stood by him through his recent incarceration but has now decided to move on, saying, "Due to the decisions Vince continues to make, it is necessary that I end our relationship of seven months. I wish him happiness and good health."

21/3/11
Tommy is developing an investigative travel show for Syfy titled Culture Shock With Tommy Lee. During the hour-long episodes produced by ITV Studios America with Tommy and Carl Stubner as Executive Producers, he will attempt to uncover rituals, symbols and other mysteries of secret societies.

24/3/11
Vince storms into a Hal Sparks comedy show and screams obscenities at his ex-girlfriend Alicia Jacobs and her two friends. Las Vegas police say they are investigating a "disturbance" at the Las Vegas Hilton involving Vince, after they were called by hotel security at 10:43pm. Vince leaves the scene before the officers arrive, where Jacobs tells them that there was a physical altercation between Vince and the group. Police launch an inquiry into the situation and will determine whether criminal charges will be filed against Vince, who isn't arrested.

The Dirt co-writer Neil Strauss says the book’s movie screenwriter Rich Wilkes has a wish-list of stars that he'd like to see act in the movie. Strauss says, "He told me who he'd love to see in the film. Here's who he sees: Brad Pitt as David Lee Roth, Jared Leto as Vince Neil, Jack Black or Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Ozzy Osbourne, Justin Timberlake as their first manager, Sam Rockwell as Mick Mars, Ashton Kutcher or Russell Brand as Tommy Lee. He's got it all thought out. That would be amazing." He adds, "I really hope they make it. I think it will be great. I think they're just scared because it's obviously going to be a hard R (-rated) movie. I think they're worried they won't make enough money off it."

1/4/11
Vince purchases a 20-acre estate in the Leiper's Fork village area of Franklin, Tennessee, on the outskirts of Nashville. Built in 2008, the gated ranch property features 4 bedrooms plus 6 full and 3 half bathrooms inside its 12,000 sq ft of living space, along with a saltwater pool with hot tub, pond and entertainment barn. The purchase price of just over $2M is below the listing price of $3.5M.

5/4/11
Vince is charged with domestic violence and disorderly conduct for allegedly pushing his ex-girlfriend Alicia Jacobs with his finger and leaving a bruise on her shoulder during an alleged confrontation between the two at the Las Vegas Hilton. His lawyer David Chesnoff tells The Associated Press that Vince will plead not guilty to the battery and disorderly conduct charges, when scheduled to attend Las Vegas Justice Court on May 2. Vince has denied touching her, previously telling Las Vegas Weekly, "I never touched her! She's the one who followed me out into the casino afterwards. I was with four hotel executives. They know it didn't happen." He said he was considering filing charges himself, alleging that Jacobs had left bloody marks on his arm.

11/4/11
Mick spends a long weekend writing and recording music with former Frank Zappa band members Mike Keneally (on bass and synth) and Terry Bozzio (on drums).

12/4/11
HarperCollins imprint William Morrow releases This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx. The book is part photo, part journal - but all Nikki Sixx. He celebrates by commencing a book signing tour at Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles.

18/4/11
Mötley Crue decides to let the fans choose the band's setlist for their forthcoming tour with Poison and New York Dolls. Fans can vote online for their favourite fifteen songs to be heard on the tour.

20/4/11
Mötley Crüe is the recipient of the first-ever Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award during the third annual Revolver Golden Gods awards show at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. The band is presented the award by Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour. Vince says Dio is one of his favourite singers and has been an influence on his life for many, many years.

21/4/11
Nikki's new book This Is Gonna Hurt debuts at number four in the Hardcover Advice & Misc section of the New York Times best-seller list. It also reaches number one on Amazon for its book and kindle editions.

22/4/11
As Mötley Crüe commences tour rehearsals, Nikki says, "The setlist is 100% exactly what you guys voted; we didn't even have to talk about it. Pretty insane."

24/4/11
Pearl Drums welcomes Tommy back to its artist roster. After a lengthy sabbatical from playing behind the Pearl name, Tommy will debut his new Pearl kit on Motley's 2011 amphitheatre tour. During the all-new live show, Tommy will play a custom built E-Pro Live electronic/acoustic kit. First introduced from Pearl Drums back in January of 2010, it's the first drum set in production that looks and sounds like a real drum kit, but with a limitless sonic capability and the feel of an acoustic kit.

26/4/11
Vince is represented by his attorney David Schonfeld at a hearing to finalise his DUI case of last June. Vince has now completed all the requirements of his sentence that ordered him to serve fifteen days of jail time, fifteen days of house arrest, pay a $585 fine, attend DUI school and attend a victim-impact panel online.

27/4/11
When asked by The Aquarian Weekly where his book is since everyone else in Mötley Crüe has their own book out, Mick says, "It's on its way, but I want the right liar! I had a couple guys come over and give me a little ten-page thing on what they want to write about, and they didn't know what they were writing about or what I'm about — get me a rock 'n' roll guy that knows about rock 'n' roll! I don't want to put out something that's dumb! I want to put out something that's real and something that people can relate to, like The Dirt was, and these people weren't even close to it. You know, I took this guy out on tour with us to help me write the book. And I wanted to show him what the road was about and stuff and he sat in my bus and got drunk. I should've known what was going on, so I just said to him, 'Get outta here!' Crazy bastard!"

1/5/11
At Bamboozle festival where they play a ten-song headlining set, Mötley Crüe hosts a special gathering to reveal some details of their forthcoming U.S. tour. The band's veteran production manager and set designer Robert Long presents graphic renderings of the new set design, which he describes as "a hard-hitting Crüe rendition of a rock'n'roll burlesque theatre." According to Long, the entire stage will be enveloped in red velvet drapery and a damask printed wall of guitar amps. The band's set list will include tracks the band hasn't performed live together in almost twenty years. Tommy's drum solo will feature a 360-degree drum rollercoaster that is currently being built, which will launch him into multiple loops while continuing to perform. It will be a dream come true for Tommy.

2/5/11
Nikki attracts a record-breaking attendance for his Sixx: A.M. book and CD signing at Bookends in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The store's co-owner Pat Boyer says, "After hosting more than eight hundred authors over the past ten years here at Bookends including Hillary Clinton and Lance Armstrong (and numerous other high profile people), we were astounded that Nikki Sixx delivered one of our biggest and most successful signings ever. What made it even more special was the dedication of Nikki's fans, who started lining up at eight in the morning and kept him here till midnight. People travelled from as far away as Europe and Canada, New England and the Midwest. I’ve never seen an author so committed to making a personal connection with each of the more than two thousand fans that showed up."

Vince pleads not guilty through his attorneys to a charge of battery constituting domestic violence for allegedly striking his ex-girlfriend Alicia Jacobs in the chest with his finger. He also pleads not guilty to another misdemeanour charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly harassing her friends Patricia McCrone and John Katsilometes. Vince is ordered to stay away from Jacobs and not to have contact with her. Justice of the Peace Pro Tem Linda Norvell Marquis sets Vince's trial for 8:30am on August 8 in Las Vegas Justice Court.

3/5/11
Sixx: A.M. releases their eleven-track album as a companion to Nikki's new book, while lead single Lies of the Beautiful People sits in the Top 5 on the rock radio charts. Some of the songs on the album are inspired by the author's photographs; others inspired photographs of their own. An unabridged downloadable audio book of This is Gonna Hurt read by Nikki is also released, as he celebrates with an in-store appearance in New York City.

4/5/11
On the sixtieth birthday of Mick Mars, Nikki is in Washington, DC where he meets President Obama who tells him that Sixx: A.M.'s music has inspired him.

7/5/11
Vince hosts the 15th annual Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament at Lost Canyons Golf Club in Simi Valley, California. All of the proceeds from the event again benefit his Skylar Neil Foundation, created in memory of his young daughter Skylar, who succumbed to a long battle with cancer in 1995.

11/5/11
Sixx: A.M.'s album This Is Gonna Hurt sells thirty thousand copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at number ten on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD hits number one on Billboard's Hard Rock Album chart.

14/5/11
Mötley commences their run of seven shows in South America with their first-ever concert in Chile. In front of more than ten thousand fans, the band plays a set of sixteen hits at Movistar Arena in Santiago. Buckcherry joins them as the tour support.

30/5/11
John Corabi says he is putting the finishing touches on his acoustic album that will include "old songs, new songs and just a sample of things to come." He is scheduled to hit the road acoustically across North America this summer as the support act for Cinderella.

7/6/11
Mötley Crüe kicks-off their North American summer tour with Poison and the New York Dolls in Dallas, Texas. The highlight of the sold-out show with huge production is "The 360": Tommy's rollercoaster drum solo that fulfils his long-term dream. With his drum kit attached to a giant circular structure at the back of the stage with video footage project through the middle, a strapped-in Tommy plays while the whole kit goes multiple vertical loops. He selects an audience member named Terry to take a ride with him as he drums along to Love Rollercoaster by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tommy says, "This idea came about from when I was a kid going to concerts. Whenever the drummer started his drum solo, I wondered why people would leave to go get a beer, buy a t-shirt, restroom, whatever. I wanted to show people what happens behind the drum-set, so I decided to expose it all by flipping the drums vertical, upside-down, making them disappear and fly over the audiences heads. Mötley Crüe brings you on a thrill ride; jump on the 360! By the way, it's really fucking difficult playing while on this ride!" The production also features new background dancers Annalisia Simone and Allison Kyler who also assist with some backing vocals. A new version of Smokin' In The Boys Room is played that features an intro and outro of Gary Glitter's Rock'n'Roll and encouraging the audience to shout Hey!

8/6/11
Mick tells the Dallas Observer that he recently jammed with jazz legend George Benson and they bonded over a common-love of Wes Montgomery. The session so affected Mick that he's considering releasing a solo effort of R&B, soul, and blues songs. It will happen "if and when I find the right people," he says, adding, "I found the right drummer, and I've asked Macy Gray if she'd like to guest on it. It's not going to be anything like Mötley Crüe."

Talking about the band's self-titled Mötley Crüe album from 1994 while reflecting on each Crüe album over the last thirty years, Vince says, "They made it with singer John Corabi, who's a really nice guy. But to this day I haven't heard it."

14/6/11
During their hometown concert at the Hollywood Bowl, Cee Lo Green joins Mötley Crüe on stage for a mash-up rendition of Don't Go Away Mad and his Grammy Award-winning song Forget You, aka Fuck You! The band continues to play the mash-up version through their tour.

14/7/11
Vince joins Warrant on stage in Connecticut to sing a rendition of Led Zeppelin's classic Rock And Roll.

22/7/11
Black Veil Brides singer Andy Biersack says he recently worked on a song with Mick for his forthcoming solo album. He says, "Mick Mars is one of the greatest songwriters I've ever met in my life and had the pleasure to work with. I can't wait to hear his full album. In terms of this record, he's really worked with the heavy hitters in the rock and metal industry. So to be a part of that is a great honour and I can't wait to hear the completed record."

27/7/11
A federal investigation is underway after pictures are published of Tommy and Bret Michaels holding and firing guns with several law enforcement officers at the Rowan County Peace Officers Association in Rowan County, North Carolina. Local television station WSOCTV brings it to the attention of local police because according to the North Carolina's Felony Firearms Act, it is against the law "for any person who has been convicted of a felony to purchase, own, possess, or have in his custody, care, or control any firearm." The pair had taken time off from their co-headlining US tour to visit the shooting range in North Carolina on July 11.

3/8/11
Tommy rejects an offer to be on the next series of Dancing with the Stars, tweeting, "I’ve never hit the pass button so quick."

4/8/11
John Corabi says he has finished recording an acoustic album to be simply titled John Corabi Unplugged. The album is soon to be mixed and mastered before being available by the end of August. Fans can expect two versions of the Mötley Crüe hit Hooligan's Holiday, described by John as, “One is a stripped down version with all-acoustic guitar and bass (we didn’t use any drums). It has congas, shakers, tambourines, all that stuff and it’s my voice with three or four part harmonies. I did another version with pretty much the same layout (same chords and same arrangement), but we did it with drums, band.” There’s also a stripped-back version of the Crüe’s Loveshine, and a song by one of his first bands Angora, which was originally produced by Steve Vai in demo form. There are five or six new songs including If I Had A Dime, Crash, and If I Never Get To Say Goodbye. Other songs from his catalogue include Love (I Don’t Need You Anymore) from his Union days, Man In The Moon, Father Mother Son and Never Loved Her Anyway by The Scream. 

Although Corabi only made one album and an EP with Mötley Crüe in the years he was the band’s front man, he remains positive about the experience. “I had an amazing time doing that record. I have no regrets about that thing at all. Still to this day, I meet people like Sevendust, Staind, and all the guys in my son's band, that fucking love that record. It was heavy, but had melody. Our playing was great and I'm very proud of that thing. I'm proud of the fact that a lot of people think that's the best work Mötley has ever done and that it's a classic record that has stood the test of time."

Kickstart My Heart features in the trailer of the upcoming action-comedy film 30 Minutes or Less, starting Jessie Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari. The film is scheduled to open on August 12.

8/8/11
Vince’s bench trial in the Las Vegas Justice Court for a misdemeanour charge of battery constituting domestic violence (for allegedly poking his ex-girlfriend Alicia Jacobs in the chest with his finger at the Las Vegas Hilton in March this year) is delayed for three months, after of his attorneys Saraliene Smith Durret asks the court for an emergency continuance for an unspecified reason. Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa does not object, grants the request, and resets the court date for 8:30 am on November 7.

17/8/11
Sixx: A.M. premieres their new video clip for the title track of their album This Is Gonna Hurt.

18/8/11
The City of West Hollywood recognises Mötley Crüe with a special day in their honour. The band receives the 2011 Elmer Valentine Award for their contribution to the history of the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California, presented as part of a roast by comedian and actor Dane Cook. Others to say a few words about the band's antics are Ray Manzarek of The Doors, author Neil Strauss, and New York Dolls front man David Johansen. They are honoured during the awards ceremony at the House of Blues that kicks-off this year's three-day Sunset Strip Music Festival.

20/8/11
Mötley headlines the fourth annual Sunset Strip Music Festival with a concert performance on Sunset Boulevard that's blocked off between San Vicente and Doheny Drive. Attended by around seventeen thousand fans, it's a full-circle performance for the band as it takes them back to the famous strip where they lived and started Mötley Crüe thirty years ago. During the drum solo that took two months to have logistics approved for the outdoor show, Tommy straps in electronic music producer and performer deadmau5 to his 360 rollercoaster kit, who plays four consecutive nights at the Palladium in Los Angeles this week with Tommy and DJ Aero supporting on these shows as well as many others on his Meowingtons Hax tour of North America.

21/8/11
Vince is honoured with a Lifetime Achievement In Rock 'N' Roll award as part of the Vegas Rocks! Magazine Awards in the main showroom of the Las Vegas Hilton.

22/8/11
Nikki attends a special private preview of God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, the feature-length documentary about the life of the legendary heavy metal singer produced by his son Jack. The event in Hollywood benefits the Musicares Map Fund and is also attended by Robert Trujillo, Zakk Wylde, Rudy Sarzo, Chris Jericho, and Steve-O.

25/8/11
Nikki is the guest at The Annenberg Space for Photography's IRIS Nights lecture series for their exhibition Beauty Culture.

26/8/11
Tommy and DJ Aero team up with deadmau5's mau5trap label to debut their new singles Static and LFO Tool via mau5trap's Meowingtons Hax compilation, on sale now via Beatport. A corresponding video for Static is released, which features Tommy and Aero along with mau5trap label head deadmau5, artist SOFI and other friends.

8/9/11
Mick spends the day writing in his studio with former Marilyn Manson bassist Twiggy Ramirez.

15/9/11
Mick spends time in the studio working on a song with James Durbin for the twenty-two-year-old's album. Durbin was one of the finalists on the last season of American Idol and has just inked a deal with Wind-Up Records for the release of his solo album.

21/9/11
Nikki and Tommy say the band will not play its first-ever show in Indonesia on October 8 at Pantai Karnival in Ancol, North Jakarta, contrary to advertising by the promoter. Nikki says, "We had looked into the show but had to pass, sorry" while Tommy says, "promoter issues led to the concert being scrapped."

29/9/11
After a great show in Osaka, Nikki gets a skull tattooed on his middle finger by Ben Her at Chopstick Tattoo.

4/10/11
Nikki purchases a new home in the exclusive gated community The Oaks of Calabasas at 3885 Prado Del Trigo for $1,890,000. Built in 2005 with a stone frontage, the four-bedroom and five-bathroom home covers 4,500 sqft on the 0.35-acre corner lot.

19/10/11
Nikki undergoes surgery on his knee to relieve his overwhelming pain, after getting some insights from Paul Stanley on his experience of the process. Enjoying a break from the road, he has also recently been preparing his black and white photography for framing and hanging in his home, as well as going through cases of awards he has won over the years to celebrate some and auction others for charity.

3/11/11
Nikki says, "I will be releasing at least one new book next year. There are many new avenues to use in the publishing world that directly reach readers. I look forward to telling you more later."

7/11/11
In the Las Vegas Justice Court, Vince pleads guilty to misdemeanour disorderly conduct through his defence attorney David Chesnoff and pays a $1,000 fine. The plea avoids a more serious charge of battery constituting domestic violence stemming from a confrontation at a casino where he was accused of striking his ex-girlfriend Alicia Jacobs in the chest with his finger.

14/11/11
Mötley Crüe re-releases a limited quantity of its albums from the 1980s in the U.K. via Eleven Seven Music, having regained the rights to all its songs after a long absence in that marketplace. Their first five albums are released as vinyl-replica CDs with a sixteen-page booklet, a CD with a five-page booklet and on 180-gram vinyl in a four-color gatefold sleeve.

15/11/11
Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun, reports that Mötley will become the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency in Las Vegas, when they play a nearly month-long series of three-and four-night concerts a week at the Hard Rock Hotel starting at the end of February.

22/11/11
A deluxe collector's hardcover edition of The Dirt: Confessions Of The World’s Most Notorious Rock Band is released via It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. In time for the band's 30th anniversary, the book comes complete with a dazzling new effects-laden cover and some all-new extra material from the band inside.

27/11/11
Nikki says he is working on his next book and is hoping to release it somewhere between May-June next year. A further book in the works will be out in 2013. He says, "Neither book is like anything I have done before (I guess you can say the same thing about The Heroin Diaries and This Is Gonna Hurt too). I pride myself on not writing the same book over and over and also not using a ghost-writer. Of course it takes longer, but raw honesty through words is what I am driven to publish. After I get it all out on paper I use a trusted editor to help me carve it into a palatable experience."

30/11/11
Tommy’s former assistant Michael Anthony "Tony" Sullivan files a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against him and his company Mayhem Touring, claiming that he was underpaid while being overworked. The suit says he worked as Tommy's "procurer, Man Friday, chauffeur, guide, bookkeeper, attendant, door-keeper, agent, butler, valet, attendant, cook, shopper, nanny, bodyguard, maid, nurse and nursemaid" from January 2005 to March 2011, and that he was on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including "long periods of time during which Sullivan was required seven days a week, without a single day off." It also claims that Sullivan's schedule was normally 80 to 100-hour work-weeks when he was on the road with Tommy and despite such long hours, he never received overtime compensation for his extra work. Moreover, Sullivan claims Tommy made improper deductions from his pay, including $1,000 a month for rent when he had Sullivan move into his home to better serve him and his family, even during the last six months of his employment when he was no longer living at the house. Sullivan further alleges Tommy trash-talked him throughout the industry, engaging in "a campaign of disparagement" and "defamatory comments" that "have damaged Sullivan's reputation and have interfered with Sullivan's existing and potential employment opportunities" claiming to have lost two tour-manager positions with the bands Godsmack and Bush because of Tommy's alleged smear campaign. Sullivan is seeking "no less than $50,000" (the amount he says that he's out because of the lost work) plus punitive damages "in an amount sufficient to punish Lee and make an example of him."

1/12/11
Via the television show Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN, the band announces Mötley Crüe in Sin City - a run of twelve shows over three weeks at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel commencing February 3. The Crüe is the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency in Las Vegas.

5/12/11
The day before the Crüe commences their co-headlining UK tour with Def Leppard and Steel Panther, they re-release their Greatest Hits in the U.K. via Eleven Seven Music in CD, deluxe CD, 180-gram vinyl and DVD formats.

Sixx: A.M. releases a digital EP of seven acoustically re-worked songs from their first two albums. Titled 7, the track-listing is Lies Of The Beautiful People, This Is Gonna Hurt, Life Is Beautiful, Help Is On The Way, Sure Feels Right, Pray For Me, and Accidents Can Happen. James Michael says, "A couple of months ago, I asked all of you what songs from The Heroin Diaries soundtrack and This Is Gonna Hurt you would want to hear stripped down, pulled apart and reconstructed from a different perspective. Your response was amazing and passionate; as a result 7 was born. This was an incredible experience for the three of us because it caused us to explore way beyond the initial creations and rediscover the songs in a light that you helped us find."

14/12/11
Mötley plays the last of their six shows on this tour with a sold-out show at London's Wembley Arena. Holidaying with their ladies in tow, Nikki heads to South Africa and Tommy heads to Italy.

20/12/11
After returning from a vacation on his yacht in the Bahamas, Vince says he is seriously contemplating leaving Mötley Crüe after their Las Vegas residency in February. He says, "It's not definite, but I am thinking seriously about it. This is all about me thinking about the second half of my life, thinking about my future, and that future might not include Mötley Crüe after Vegas. There are so many opportunities that are in front of me that I'm really excited about. I just don't want to look back later in life and regret that I didn't pursue them. I'm just not sure I can give these opportunities the time and effort I'll need to and continue with the band. It's been a great ride, and I've enjoyed every second of it, but being out here relaxing in this beautiful place has given me the chance to reflect on what direction I want the rest of my life to take. I'm really giving it a lot of thought."

21/12/11
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Nikki says, "This is the beginning of what will be the biggest probably four to five years of the band's career. We're negotiating with a couple of other extremely huge bands on doing a co-headline tour, something that's never happened before. There's new music in the future. The wheels are in motion for getting the Mötley Crüe movie made now. We finally got everything in order the way it needs to be done, and that's going to happen. We have sort of an agreement with a production company, directors, etc, to right now just keep it amongst ourselves. So once we have everything really together, we're going to let everybody know. But trust me, when I say the wheels are in motion they're definitely in motion." When asked if the band was planning on retiring in the not-too-distant future, Nikki says, "The band sat down and had a powwow as brothers and friends and guys who've been doing this for over thirty years, and we said, 'When is it time?' We've always said since we were kids we didn't want to hobble into the sunset. So after the movie, at some point - whether it's within a year or a few years - we're probably going to have that conversation about maybe it's time, maybe it's time to go out on top. If I'm watching my favourite boxer and he's just won the heavyweight championship of the world and he retires it kind of makes the guy a legend. I always respected Led Zeppelin, and I'd rather Mötley Crüe be thought of as that type of band rather than a band that's just going through the motions. We're really proud of what we've done, whether critics like us or not, whether we've won Grammys or not, whether any of that stuff. We're proud that we did it on our own terms."

22/12/11
John Corabi says, "I can honestly say, that barring the second coming of Christ, Mötley has no intentions of ever asking me back, nor would I go back, if they did ask. What's done is done! I love those guys, and wish them the best, but I'm looking towards the future with my new record, and band."

31/12/11
Tommy spends his New Year's Eve in New Zealand as he DJs at Earthtonz Music Festival in Queenstown.

On with the show