VINCE NEIL On MÖTLEY CRÜE Entering ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME: 'We'll Probably Be Dead When They Induct Us'

MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil says that "it would be pretty cool" for his band to get inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Despite the fact that artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like MÖTLEY CRÜE — which has been eligible since 2006 — and IRON MAIDEN have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N' ROSES in that group's first year of eligibility.

CRÜE won the 2019 "Voice Your Choice" in-museum Rock Hall fan vote but failed to make the list of nominees for the Class Of 2020. The band saw its votes surge when its biopic "The Dirt", premiered on Netfix in March 2019.

Asked by Radio Sara of Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR radio station how he would react if MÖTLEY CRÜE was nominated for the Rock Hall, Vince said: "I think it'd be pretty cool to be inducted, but we'll probably be dead when they induct us."

CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee chimed in: "It's weird. It's one of those things where you're, like, 'Oh, that would be so fucking rad.' And it's a weird double-edged thing, because, at one point, it was, like, 'Whoa, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.' And then, over the years, there's been a bunch of people getting inducted into it that — I don't know — sometimes you're, like, 'How's that possible?' or 'I'm not sure that this quite fits' or whatever. And so then you go, you're, like, 'Yeah, maybe it's not that cool.' But if the fans think it's cool, then it's cool."

Last December, MÖTLEY CRÜE's Nikki Sixx said that "people get too worked up" about which artists get inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The bassist took to his account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to write: "I think people get too worked up about the RRHF. If you get in that's cool and if not, it's not a big deal. It's not some elite club that defines you. It's an award. None of us hopefully make music just for awards. I do like the idea of jamming with other musicians at the ceremony."

In an October 2020 interview with "CLE Rocks" podcast, Lee was asked about Sixx's previous assertion that he would "probably decline" the Rock Hall nomination. Tommy said: "I get Nikki's, like, you know what? There's a bunch of people that are in there that he doesn't agree with, and, yeah, I might not agree with that either. And it seems like just fucking anybody's in there now. I get his disappointment with that. But at the end of the day, for me, dude, it would be a fucking honor regardless. Because there is a bunch of people that deserve to be there. I wouldn't kick it out of bed, you know? [Laughs]"

In 2019, Sixx said that CRÜE was told by the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame that it would never be inducted into the institution because of how he and his bandmates "acted." Tommy, for his part, told "CLE Rocks" that he didn't believe the band's exclusion had anything to do with CRÜE's notorious 1980s partying lifestyle.

"MÖTLEY's always been that kind of band that just, (a) won't go away, and (b) with some of those kind of people, we've always butted heads with that kind of stuff," Lee explained. "People sometimes don't think that we're the fucking real deal, I guess. I don't know what their deal is. Who knows, bro? Who knows?"

Back in 2015, Sixx said that if his band was ever honored into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, he would "probably decline" the nomination, explaining that the Rock Hall "has lost touch with art, songwriting craft, lyrics and influential music." He explained: "It's a fixed old-boy network that has lost touch with art, songwriting craft, lyrics and influential music and usually has other agendas at hand. Young bands tell me it's a joke, and these bands are the future."

Three months later, CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars told Rolling Stone that he didn't think the band would ever get the Rock Hall nod. "We were there when the thing was being built; we had to wear hard hats while we were walking around the building site. They were like, 'One of these days, you guys will be in here!' Right. [Laughs] I'd have to say, 80 percent no, 20 percent yeah. But it's like when you're a kid in kindergarten, and you take a nap and get a gold star as a reward. I don't need a few handful of people to say that I got a gold star, because I already got it from my fans. I see the crowds, I see the enthusiasm, I see all that stuff, and that's already satisfying enough for me."

Lee told Rolling Stone that he was somewhat torn on the question of even wanting to be in the Hall in the first place. "I do give a shit about it, because it's a time-stamp, it's the acknowledgement of your peers and fans and the music industry," he explained. "But then again, there's a part of me that goes, 'If we don't, that's fucking cool, too!' In my heart, I know that we came, we saw, we kicked its fucking ass; I don't need a pat on the back, or an induction, or another platinum album or two. Maybe I'm just not good with compliments."

Neil chimed in: "We'll probably go in at some point, but we might not all be alive when it happens. Our grandkids will probably have to pick up the awards."

Photo credit: Ross Halfin (courtesy of Live Nation)