Curtains for the Crue?
by Ben Liemer

Saturday, December 8, 1984, began like any other day off for Vince Neil, Motley Crue's' peroxided, banshee-voiced lead singer. Presumably, he awoke around noon in his Redondo Beach, California home. Perhaps he stepped out on his balcony overlooking the beachfront to check on the weather. The bikini-clad teenaged girls were probably already lying out in the sun, hoping to catch the interest of the Circus Magazine Readers' Poll Best Male Vocalist. Girls were always finding out where Vince lived from the delivery boys at the local liquor store, who were familiar with the service calls from their famous neighbor. Today would be another party with a group of friends-in this case, members of the Crue and Hanoi Rocks, a promising glitter-metal band from Finland, currently on their first U.S. tour. The two groups had grown to be friends, both having in common sexy blond singers; a love for the fast-track rock lifestyle of booze, women and rebellious attitudes; a fondness for the New York Dolls' music and makeup and the same mid-20s age bracket. But by the end of the evening Neil would see all his hard-earned' accomplishments-indeed the future of Motley Crue-thrown into doubt and turmoil. About 6 p.m. Vince and Hanoi Rocks' 24-year-old drummer, Nicholas '"Razzle" Dingley, jumped into Neil's red 1972 Ford Pantera and drove off, reportedly in search of beer. On their way home, at approximately 6:30 p.m., the singer allegedly lost control of his car and swerved into the opposite lane of traffic along the beachfront Esplanade. His car struck two other vehicles, according to Sgt. Paul Rossiter of the Redondo Beach police department. When the ambulance arrived, VIDce was dazed, suffering from a few cracked ribs and some minor facial cuts; but his condition was not serious. The paramedics meanwhile attended to the prone body of Razzle, but the British-bom drummer was pronounced dead-on-arrival at Redondo's South Bay Hospital. Lisa Hogan, 18, and Daniel Smithers, 20, were somewhat luckier-they survived the wreckage of their Volkswagen. Lisa was rushed in critical condition to the Little Company of Mary Hospital, where she remained in a coma until the end of the month. As Circus Magazine went to press, she was still recuperating in the hospital's intensive care unit, reportedly mending a broken arm and two broken legs. Sgt. Rossiter, who had spoken to her family, said that doctors termed her condition "aphasic", which meant that she was suffering from memory loss and could only respond slowly to questioning. The head injury Lisa had received had also left her liable to fly into fits of rage-actually, psychomotor seizures-the result of brain damage. Smithers, who reportedly broke a leg in the accident, was taken to South Bay. On December 28, he checked into a Ventura, Cal., hospital to be nearer to his family. He too, had suffered some brain damage, and at last notice was in rehabilitative therapy learning how to speak all over again. The driver in the third auto was said to be uninjured.

Although the accident occurred in Redondo, Vince was taken by police to the nearby city of Torrance, due to Redondo's jail being given its yearly painting. There he was booked for investigation of two charges. After posting approximately $2,500 bail, Vince was released. According to a Redondo Beach police officer, Neil had been driving in a 25 m.p.h. zone.

Reaction to the accident was one of shock. One informed source close to Motley Crue reports that Nikki Sixx had been vacationing in Martinique with Ratt's Robbin Crosby when the accident occurred. "I know they didn't find out in Club Med,"' the source noted. "Nikki came back the day he was supposed to return." At the airport, a fan rushed up to him, breaking the news to the unsuspecting bassist. (One can only imagine Sixx's reaction.) The band's managers, Doc McGhee and Doug Thaler, were on vacation and refused to comment on the accident when contacted by their office. At Elektra Records, one spokesperson said, "Until we know what the facts are we can say absolutely nothing about it. We were literally told [from] upstairs if we say one word about it, our jobs are on the line."' Given the possibility of lawsuits by the injured, associates of the band were naturally reluctant to make any potentially damaging statements. One close friend of the group who also insisted on anonymity said, "I'm sure everybody in Motley Crue is very seriously thinking about the future. It came at a bad time. They came out with a picture disc that they were going to do a big promotion, on at Christmas and do giveaways at all the radio stations. Elektra decided to can that whole campaign. I'm sure they've sold some, but it could have been really big."'

An insider in' the Crue camp who has worked closely with the band members claimed that Neil is "just devastated. He's totally depressed. The whole band is. "The first thing 1 said when 1 heard about the accident was 'Oh God, their sales are gOing to go up and so are Hanoi Rocks.' You can say from an insider'saccount that their sales have doubled." One L.A. musician believed that Vince's crash has "made the other three of them take a hard look at what's going on. They've all had to sober up now." This musician reports that recently, "Vince wasn't looking too good. He was growing a beard and he looked real haggard. I'm sure he's real confused about what he's done." Other musicians were almost at a loss for' words. Backstage at the Beacon Theater, following a successful New York City show, a relaxed Rudy Sarzo turned stone-faced when asked about the crash, calling it a "tragedy." And Jay Jay French phoned Circus Magazine to inquire about the facts of the collision, and asked about the condition of Hogan and Smithers. Alcohol problems have afflicted members of Motley Crue and other bands. The L.A. musician quoted above commented: "A lot of people who've made it, we see at home. Their heads have gone through the roof. I can't talk to them anymore. I go, 'Wait a minute, you guys - I've played with you, you've played with me. We all come from the same cesspool and you've got your [platinum] record, but what's happened? You're starting to believe your own press and that's dumb." Things like Motley Crue being "the reckless, wild, bad boys of rock & roll," and then look what's happened to them. Now it's backfired. "You see what's happened with Vince," the musician continued. "It's really a shame. I've seen the guy a million times with one eye open, wasted out of his brain, leaving the Rainbow. His people [management, lawyers] kept getting him off the hook. You can only get off the hook so many times." Vince's problem was also revealed in a series of interviews with People Weekly/Village Voice contributor Deborah Frost. "One of his most prized possessions was his liquor cabinet," Frost said recently in Manhattan.. "And he loved Bombay gin. When I said to him, 'Well, how much do you drink?' he took it as a challenge and he said, 'How much could I drink or how much do I drink?' And that's when he told me - he boasted that on his days off he drank a case of beer and half a fifth of gin." Frost, who spent several days in the company of the band, said that Vince explained "he had to hang out in the bars where he lived [Redondo]. He said, 'But that's because I've been thrown out of every bar in Hollywood.' I said, 'For what?' 'For drinking and fighting.' And I said 'Why?' He said, 'You get a little liquor in you and you just get crazy. Who remembers what happened?' " Frost continued, "He'd say, 'Oh, I never got sick from drinking,' and he said, 'I don't get hangovers." So I asked, 'Don't you know that's the mark of an alcoholic?' And he asked, 'Getting hangovers?' So I said, 'Not getting hangovers." He said, 'Now I know."

Motley Crue were all very proud of their sports cars, Frost noted. "I asked, 'What would you like to be if you weren't a rock star?' He really had to think about that and he said he wanted to be a race car driver. It's real ironic considering his present situation. Any time you were in a car with them and another one came by, they started drag racing. [Nikki and I] were going to Malibu and Vince came by, waved, looking like any other beach boy in his Trans Am. Then they started trying to drag-race each other on the Pacific Coast Highway."

Vincent Neil Wharton-that's his full name-was arraigned on January 9, 1985, at the Torrance Courthouse in California's South Bay Judicial District. His charges were read against him and a pre-trial hearing was set. If the judge finds sufficient evidence, a trial date will be set. If convicted, Vince could be facing years in jail for the charges. However, people should not be too quick to judge; under American law Neil 'is assumed innocent until proven guilty. The legal process in such a trial can take months, even years. For the time being, Vince Neil is free to finish Motley Crue's third album, but a Motley Crue career beyond mid-1985 is now in serious doubt. And even if the Crue remain together, it's certainly not going to be like the good old days any more. Lisa Hogan, Daniel Smithers and Razzle are testimony to that.