Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx has praised frontman Vince Neil for having the “courage” and determination to return to the stage after suffering a stroke.
The 64-year-old vocalist suffered a stroke last December, which forced the band to postpone their Las Vegas residency, which they completed recently.
And the glam metal band’s bassist reflected on the uncertainty surrounding Neil’s health scare in a new interview.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, he said: “There was doubt.
“We didn’t know if he was going to recover from this. I know he had fear, but he put the time in, and there’s a lot you can do.”
Sixx emphasised the importance of health above fame or fortune, remarking: “Your health is everything. I don’t care how big your band is, how big of a star you are, or how wealthy you tell people you are. If you don’t have your health, you’ve really got nothing.”
The 66-year-old musician is “proud” of Neil for getting back up on stage.
He said: “It was something that could have meant he’d never get on stage again. So the fact that he did get back up there… I’m proud of him.”
Sixx also commended Neil for the work he put in to get his voice back in shape for the run.
He said: “A lot of people, when things go wrong in their life, either get written off, or they can’t survive it. We were there the whole time, encouraging him, and he focused on doctors and his health. We spent a lot of time in rehearsal to give him the opportunity to strengthen his voice, and it just sounded so good. It felt good.”
Next July, the band will return for The Return Of Carnival Of Sins to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s 2005-2006 Carnival Of Sins tour and the group’s 45th anniversary.
And, fans can expect to hear some rarely played gems.
Sixx told the host: “We wanna get into some songs that we either haven’t played or haven’t played the long time. And it’s hard, because you have the hits., and you have a lot of hits up there, and then what are you gonna do? Take Dr. Feelgood out and play Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid from Shout Out The Devil? I think some people are gonna be disappointed. So how do you get some of those deeper tracks — Too Young To Fall In Love, Piece Of Your Action — how do you get those in there and not obliterate the fact that people are there to hear also those big hits. [Those songs were] a big part of them growing up and workout playlists, the whole thing. We hear everything about how our music has been infiltrated into people’s lives over the years, whether they were teenagers or young adults. So it’s always a balancing act.