Nikki Sixx Can & Does Play Bass

Almost every Youtube video showing Nikki playing live has a joker in the comments saying that Nikki doesn't actually play bass. The worst say he's a fraud and never played and that studio musicians performed the bass duties on the Crue records. All those anecdotes from producer Tom Werman and even Nikki himself criticizing his abilities have convinced the more gullible Rock fans that some kind of deceit is at hand. Footage of Nikki playing "Primal Scream" live has confused some of the non-musicians in the crowd. The intro bass notes are "A" to "G". There are many ways to play this chord, one of which is to just pick the open "A" string. No fretting required. Nikki will do this and pump his free left hand to the beat and fans think it shows him playing to tapes! Make no mistake: Motley play to tapes. Back-up vocals and even rhythm guitar at times maybe? but Nikki's bass is usually unabashedly live, warts n' all. 
I made this compilation video earlier in the year and was surprised to see it reaching over 400,000 views in a short time [I recently noticed that almost half of the video's watch count has been erased by Youtube! Perhaps fake accounts or bot activity was deleted? Bummer].

Sleaze Patrol Video Archives Part I, 1989-1991

Back when I started posting my collection of Motley video (eight or more years ago), I thought I had familiar footage to share. All these years later and my copies of Motley video from mostly Much Music in Canada from 1989-1992 are the only ones to show up on YouTube. I was all over Much Music and their sister French Canadian Music channel, Musique Plus, in those years and I got a lot of seemingly rare Crue content.
Here is a collection I put together of Crue appearances on Canadian Media in those years. Canadian Crueheads who were around then will probably appreciate this stuff more than most. Much Music VJs like Erica Ehm, Dan Gallagher and Laurie Brown were a part of our daily lives back in the late 1980s, early 1990s.

MOTLEY CRUE MEDIA PART 1, 1989-1990 (Canadian TV)
Not the most compelling stuff but a time capsule.
1. Early 1989, Erica Ehm Crue News+ 'Too Young' on MM Power Hour
2. Canadian Premier of Dr. Feelgood Video with Laurie Brown, Sept 1989 MM Power Hour
3. 'MM Blue Spotlight' Erica Ehm Intro
4. 'MM Hostess Sneak Previews' (Kickstart MH) Steve Anthony Intro, says 'Whitesnake' instead of Crue + Tommy Lee Interview clip
5. 'MM Hostess Sneak Previews' (Without You) Steve Anthony Intro + Tommy indecent exposure news 1990
6. Motley Crue Contest on the CBC video show 'Video Hits' 1990
7. Request for 'Smokin' In the BR' on MM with host Dan Gallagher
8. Dan Gallagher intro for Canadian Premier of 'Don't Go away Mad' on MM Power Hour 1990

MOTLEY CRUE MEDIA, PART II-1989-1991
1. Entertainment Tonight story on planes, quick shot of Dr. Feelgood plane
2. Dan Gallagher intro to Crue 'Spotlight' on Much Music
-'Looks' Spotlight title
-'Too Young' title
3. 'Girls' on All Hit Videos
4. Make a Difference Commercial
5. Without you MTV exclusive title
6. Terry David Mulligan Backtrax MM, 'Looks' title
7. Motley Crue Live clips-81-84-85-90 (unknown source)
8. SOS MTV Exclusive title
9. Michael Williams Intros Blue Spotlight of Crue
-Interview clips, Nikki & Vince 1984, Tommy & Nikki 1985, HSweetH title, Wild Side title, Vince 1990
10. Primal Scream title

MOTLEY CRUE MEDIA, PART III-1990-1991
1. June 19th, 1990, the day after Crue's performance at the Toronto Skydome, Much Music's Dan Gallagher starts the broadcast day excitedly giving Crue props for their killer show & then has a telephone chat with Crue's road manager Rich Fischer.
2. RSVP fan 'embroidery' request for Too Young To Fall In Love
3. MM FAX news report about Crue's June 18th TO show with live clip (Tommy jammed at a late night club with Sebastian Bach & others after the show)
4. MM requests for Without You, Valentines Day, Feb 14, 1991
5. 'Hottest Videos Ever' TV program feat. Girls, Girls, Girls
6. Crue contest winners on MM
7. 'Uncensored' winners MM

June 9th, 1982, Cruesing Through Canada, Edmonton

Well Crueheads, we've heard about Motley's infamous 1982 "Cruesing Through Canada" tour for 35 yrs. Bomb threats, bar fights, border issues with Crue's S&M paraphenilia . . . the good old days! We never had any pics or video or audio of this tour, just Crue memories, until June 9th, 2017!

This 35 yr old news clip popped up yesterday from CBC Edmonton News in Canada. The boys are lipsyncing the Leathur version of "Live Wire" at the bar Scandals, where they're to be performing for the third night in a row. They address a bomb threat that Crueheads later learned was a band publicity stunt! Nikki, of course, has a few words & there's about 1 minute of absolutely vintage, rare & awesome early Motley!!! Here's a news article spelling out the video:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/throwback-thursday-edmonton-m%C3%B6tley-cr%C3%BCe-bomb-threat-1.4151657

June 9, 1982: Mötley Crüe rocks on after bomb threat in Edmonton

`We don’t really care either, we’re here to give everybody their money’s worth’

On June 9, 1982, Mötley Crüe wouldn't let a bomb threat to police stop their Edmonton show.

Mötley Crüe's 'Crüesing Through Canada Tour '82' hit a bump in the road with a reported bomb threat against the band.
The threat claimed the Los Angeles-based group's lives would be endangered while they were to perform their third and final show at Scandals in downtown Edmonton.
Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx downplayed the threat.
"We don't really care either," he said. "We're here to give everybody their money's worth for the show.
"If people don't enjoy it, they don't have to come and see it."

The show went on without incident, and Mötley Crüe moved on to play two nights at the Riviera Rock Room in Edmonton.
As for the bomb threat, the band later revealed that it had been a public relations stunt.
Mötley Crüe went on to worldwide fame and continued to tour for years to come. Their most recent stop in Edmonton was Dec. 12, 2015 at Rexall Place.
In the video, CBC's Margaret O'Sullivan explains how the bomb threat wasn't going to stop the band. O'Sullivan's story is set to rehearsal footage of Mötley Crüe in Scandals early on in their career.

1981-11-12-Motley On MTV: Live at the Roxy, November 1981

I did a post about this ultra rare & ultra rad video when it was first shared (and then soon deleted!) on YouTube by EliteWorks back in 2011. To dig more stills I made, a transcription of the text & more general details on the video, go HERE to see more at The Sleaze Patrol Files.

This is the whole video. This, the original tape copies of Motley's first videos of 'Take Me To The Top' & 'Public Enemy #1' (the band makes fun of these in 'Uncensored'-they are online), the original copy of their first Starwood shows in April 1981 plus more rare ex-manager Alan Coffman holdings were offered to the Motleys for a mere $10, 000 & they said 'No! This is our property, give it to us or we'll sic our lawyers on you' & now I'm not sure what is to be done with this amazingly important Motley footage.

In The Beginning . . . 1981, April 24-25th, The Starwood

 
How lucky are Crueheads that Motley's very first performance with new recruit Vince Neil on April 24-25th, opening for Y & T at the Starwood, was filmed?! Nikki met Tommy on January 17th, 1981. Mick placed an ad in Recycler Magazine in February boasting 'Loud, Rude & Aggressive Guitarist Available' & was auditioned & kicked out the previous guitarist. Vince was finally coerced into practicing with the band at the first of April. From the 24th we have the boys playing their single 'Toast of the Town'.

The band sounds great &, really, never got much better as a live act. Here's video from the same night of the Crue tackling a Beatles tune, 'Paperback Writer'. Motley covered the Beatles several times in the '80s. They would cover 'Helter Skelter' on 1983's Shout At The Devil and would reference 'She's So Heavy' at the end of 'Slice Of Your Pie' on 1989's Dr. Feelgood.

 

There are only about 10 songs from both nights with the second night's video (April 25th) being particularly dark & indistinguishable. From the second night we have the Crue doing another cover, a pretty power Pop Rock tune called 'Tonight' originally written & performed by The Raspberries. They also demoed this tune at this time.

 

 

Here's some related video: Y & T [aka Yesterday & Tomorrow] performing in 1981 and a tribute video to The Starwood.