LARS ULRICH Has No Recollection Of HULK HOGAN Asking To Audition For METALLICA

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has shot down professional wrestling legend and reality TV star Hulk Hogan's recent claim that Lars once asked him if he wanted to join METALLICA as the band's bass player.

Speaking to The Sun in January, Hulk Hogan said, "I used to be a session musician before I was a wrestler. I played bass guitar. I was big pals with Lars Ulrich and he asked me if I wanted to play bass with METALLICA in their early days but it didn't work out."

During yesterday's (Tuesday, April 10) appearance on "The Howard Stern Show", Ulrich was asked if there was any truth to Hogan's claim that he almost joined METALLICA.

"You know what?! I'm blessed or cursed, depending on how you look at it, with having more or less a photographic memory for pretty much anything that I've been a part of," Lars replied. "That one, when that showed up two or three months ago, I was scratching my head over that one. Unless he went by… I don't know Hulk Hogan, I don't know enough about him… I'm not a huge wrestling [fan]… Unless he went by, like, his Christian name or something, and I don't know if anybody knows what his Christian name was — Dave Smith or something — if there was a whole thing that we had with him under a different name, but I certainly have no recollection of doing anything with quote Hulk Hogan endquote. That one, I was scratching my head on that one, too."

Hulk Hogan told the Chicago Tribune's "About Last Night" column in 2009 that he always wanted to make it big in music and even yearned to play bass in METALLICA at one point. The WWE Hall of Famer said, "When METALLICA was looking for a bass player, I called and never heard a word back from them . . . I would have quit wrestling in a heartbeat to be a bass player for METALLICA." Hogan added that he also tried to join another legendary act, revealing, "I was in England presenting an award with Jerry Hall, Mick Jagger's ex, and she told me THE ROLLING STONES were looking for a bass player. I sent her a ton of merchandise that she asked for and said 'Tell Mick I'm a great bass player.' I never heard a word back."

METALLICA changed bass players twice in their recording history: first in 1986 when Cliff Burton died and was replaced by Jason Newsted, then in 2001 when Newsted quit and Robert Trujillo took over two years later.

Hogan took up the bass when he was younger and played high schools and frat parties in various bands.