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Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil says that, contrary to most rockers whose careers began in the ’80s, he and his bandmates welcomed to the onset of the early-’90s grunge movement. According to Neil, only bands whose careers were already coming to an end were fearful and resentful of the grunge explosion.
Speaking to Q (via Blabbermouth), Neil said that he and the band once pushed movement vanguards Nirvana‘s breakthrough album, Nevermind, during an appearance on MTV’s Headbangers Ball. “We were talking about a bunch of upcoming bands and told people to check that album out,” Neil recounted.
“We supported that whole thing,” the frontman stressed. “I don’t know why people say grunge killed rock. Only people whose careers were on the way out said that. It didn’t seem to kill us.” In fact, Neil told the UK magazine that the admiration between the heavy metal veterans and Nirvana went both ways.
“I was talking to Courtney Love one time and she told me that one of Kurt [Cobain]‘s favorite records was Too Fast for Love,” Neil concluded, referring to Motley Crue’s iconic 1981 debut, now a seminal album in the canon of 1980s hair metal – the genre that grunge bands like Nirvana famously supplanted.
Grunge has certainly seen its detractors in the music world, including shock rocker Rob Zombie who argued back in June that the movement is responsible for making rock music “boring” to American youth. “[Those bands] sort of anti-rock-starred themselves right out the door,” Zombie told TeamRock.
Meanwhile, Motley Crue are currently embarking on their farewell tour, which bass player Nikki Sixx previously stated would end in Australia. Though no dates have been confirmed, the band recently announced a round of Japan shows that have sparked rumours about a forthcoming announcement.
