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The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band Paperback – July 9, 2002
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Now a Netflix original movie starring Machine Gun Kelly, Daniel Webber, Douglas Booth, and Iwan Rheon, directed by Jeff Tremaine.
“Without a doubt, it is the most detailed account of the awesome pleasures and perils of rock & roll stardom I have ever read. It is completely compelling, and utterly revolting, full of blood, leather, eyeliner, heroin, and, oh yes, the glam metal that made the Eighties...the Eighties.”—Joe Levy, Rolling Stone
Celebrate thirty years of the world's most notorious rock band with the deluxe collectors' edition of The Dirt—the outrageous, legendary, no-holds-barred autobiography of Mötley Crüe.
Fans have gotten glimpses into the band's crazy world of backstage scandals, celebrity love affairs, rollercoaster drug addictions, and immortal music in Mötley Crüe books like Tommyland and The Heroin Diaries, but now the full spectrum of sin and success by Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, and Mick Mars is an open book in The Dirt. Even fans already familiar with earlier editions of the bestselling exposé will treasure this gorgeous deluxe edition. Joe Levy at Rolling Stone calls The Dirt "without a doubt . . . the most detailed account of the awesome pleasures and perils of rock & roll stardom I have ever read. It is completely compelling and utterly revolting."
- Print length448 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDey Street Books
- Publication dateJuly 9, 2002
- Dimensions6.12 x 1.15 x 9.12 inches
- ISBN-109780060989156
- ISBN-13978-0060989156
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From the Back Cover
The most influential, enduring, and iconic metal band of the 1980's reveals everything a tell-all of epic proportions.
This unbelievable autobiography explores the rebellious lives of four of the most influential icons in American rock history.
Mötley Crüe was the voice of a barely pubescent Generation X, the anointed high priests of backward-masking pentagram rock, pioneers of Hollywood glam, and the creators of MTV's first "power ballad." Their sex lives claimed celebrities from Heather Locklear to Pamela Anderson to Donna D'Errico. Their scuffles involved everyone from Axl Rose to 2LiveCrew. Their hobbies have included collecting automatic weapons, cultivating long arrest records, pushing the envelope of conceivable drug abuse, and dreaming up backstage antics that would make Ozzy Osbourne blanch with modesty.
Provocatively written and brilliantly designed, this book includes over 100 photos, many never before published, for the most exciting and insightful look ever into the Crüe.
About the Author
Mötley Crüe is Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Mick Mars, and Tommy Lee. Multiplatinum recording artists, international rock stars, and legendary raconteurs, Mötley Crüe defined a generation.
Born Frank Feranna, Nikki Sixx grew up in Seattle and moved to Los Angeles at the age of seventeen. There, in 1981, he became the bassist for Mötley Crüe, the legendary rock band he started with Vince Neil, Mick Mars, and Tommy Lee. Today he is the New York Times bestselling author of The Heroin Diaries and This Is Gonna Hurt, and a coauthor of the Mötley Crüe book, The Dirt. Nikki Sixx is also a nationally syndicated radio host of Sixx Sense, writer, artist, photographer, and still loyal member of the Crüe.
Product details
- ASIN : 0060989157
- Publisher : Dey Street Books; 1st, Paperback edition (July 9, 2002)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 448 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780060989156
- ISBN-13 : 978-0060989156
- Item Weight : 1.55 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.12 x 1.15 x 9.12 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #82,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #98 in Music History & Criticism (Books)
- #204 in Rock Band Biographies
- #211 in Rock Music (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Customer Review: Great read about an iconic band.
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About the authors

A former New York Times cultural critic and Rolling Stone contributing editor, Neil Strauss is the author of ten New York Times bestselling books, including The Truth, The Game, Rules of the Game, Emergency, and Everyone Loves You When You're Dead. He is also the coauthor of the New York Times bestsellers The Creative Act with Rick Rubin, I Can't Make This Up with Kevin Hart, The Dirt with Mötley Crüe, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star with Jenna Jameson, and The Long Hard Road Out of Hell with Marilyn Manson. His serial podcast To Live & Die in LA reached number one on the iTunes charts, and was named by the Associated Press as the best podcast of the year.

Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962), best known as Tommy Lee, is a Greek-American musician and founding member of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects. He has been married to model Elaine Starchuk and actresses Heather Locklear and Pamela Anderson.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
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Customers find the book mesmerizing, entertaining, and interesting. They say it provides an amazing look into the lives of Motley Crue. Readers praise the writing quality as well-written and compulsively readable. They also describe the book as enthralling, riveting, and thought-provoking. In addition, they find the humor hilarious and tragic.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book mesmerizing, entertaining, and interesting. They say it's one of the best rock memoirs they have ever read. Readers also mention it's a light read and much better than Tommyland.
"...details the band's fandom expect, but also manages to build an engaging human interest story that can appeal to anyone interested in rock music." Read more
"...It's a great read that is pretty mesmorizing...." Read more
"...I think they've accomplished that! Awesome, awesome book. It's worth every penny!!" Read more
"...It is a very interesting novel although sometimes NOT well written, but then again some of Crue's songs were NOT well written either...." Read more
Customers find the book amazing, fascinating, and depressing. They appreciate the detailed recollections of the band members. Readers also mention that the book provides a fair perspective from everyone in the band.
"...For big fans of the band like me, this book delivers most of the dirty details we already knew and delivers a few we missed over the years...." Read more
"...I think it is well done, well written, and provides a fair perspective from everyone in the band since each band member is telling his story...." Read more
"I felt dirty after reading it.I enjoyed the detailed recollections of the band members' childhoods, especially Nikki's (Frank's),..." Read more
"...of drug and alcohol abuse without being preachy, and delivers a glimpse behind the headlines and into the lives of some of rock's most infamous..." Read more
Customers find the writing quality of the book inspirational, well-written, and compulsively readable. They say the author is talented and brutally honest about all his experiences. Readers also mention the book is exceptionally well edited, well-formatted, and fast-paced.
"...The story is told by multiple narrators, most of the time the band members adding some important collaborators here and there...." Read more
"I loved, loved, loved this book!!!! I think it is well done, well written, and provides a fair perspective from everyone in the band since each..." Read more
"...It is exceptionally well edited, very well written, by the Crüe themselves, and a few other people involved in the band...." Read more
"...Neil Strauss did an excellent job formatting the book and getting each member's candid take on Motley Crue...." Read more
Customers find the book enthralling, riveting, and thought-provoking. They say it provides an amazing glimpse into the lives of a band they grew up with. Readers also mention the book is shocking, wild, and interesting from beginning to end.
"...Youll land before you know it because this book keeps u so busy!" Read more
"...of having rediscovered themselves through their kids--it really is touching...." Read more
"...It is gross, disgusting, nauseating; and enthralling, riveting, and unputdownable...." Read more
"...The book is outrageous, tragic, juicy, pathetic, sentimental, dubious, hilarious and disgusting...." Read more
Customers find the humor in the book hilarious, shocking, and tragic. They say it makes them laugh and cry. Readers also describe the book as real, raw, entertaining, honest, and full of decadence.
"...The book is outrageous, tragic, juicy, pathetic, sentimental, dubious, hilarious and disgusting...." Read more
"...So in the end, I really did enjoy the book. There's some hilarious anecdotes about trying to snort ants with Ozzy Osbourne, and they really did..." Read more
"...Funny and silly at times and a great way to remember a bygone era." Read more
"...It's a tragically funny read, it lays out the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse without being preachy, and delivers a glimpse behind the..." Read more
Customers find the book very honest, raw, and eye-opening. They also appreciate the brutal honesty of the author about all his experiences. Readers also mention the cast is very honest and real.
"...Well they all did that to some extent.The book was honest almost painfully so...." Read more
"...Loved the raw honesty and the way stories were told from each of their own very different perspectives...." Read more
"Hands down, this is one of the most honest, entertaining books I have ever read about a rock band...." Read more
"...I love the way this book is organized and the honesty of the band...." Read more
Customers find the layout of the book well-organized, creative, and honest. They also appreciate the format, saying all the guys have their own voice. Readers say the book is interesting and great.
"...human beings and subsequent fall from grace are dealt with a brutally honest style...." Read more
"...The structure of the book is creative...." Read more
"...warts and all - and there are many - because THE DIRT is ugly, very ugly...." Read more
"This book was a real shocker. I love the way this book is organized and the honesty of the band...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the dirt content of the book. Some find it interesting and funny, while others say it's gross, nauseating, and doesn't wash off.
"...tragic, juicy, pathetic, sentimental, dubious, hilarious and disgusting.It's also the best rock biography I've ever read...." Read more
"...to bare themselves, warts and all - and there are many - because THE DIRT is ugly, very ugly...." Read more
"...Every imaginable gut wrenching, disgusting, vile, sad, heart tugging emotion all rolled into one. Open it to any page, and be thoroughly amazed!..." Read more
"...were involved in my reading: admiration, curiosity, amusement, disappointment, hate, love, fear, pity, etc...." Read more
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Motley Crue's biography that Changed the world of books
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Top reviews from the United States
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So, fitting squarely in the target group this book's aiming for, I really doubt that I can write a fair, impartial assessment of the book.
For heshers like me, who grew up rocking endlessly to tunes like Looks That Kill, Shout at the Devil, Red Hot, Too Young to Fall in Love, Bastard, Ten Seconds to Love, Wild Side, Girls, Girls, Girls, and ...All in the Name Of yet still have a soft spot in their hearts for a schmaltzy power ballad like Home Sweet home, this book is like a dream come true.
The astonishing rise of the band, from local LA glam metal misfits to worldwide hard rock juggernaut is told both with graphic detail and candid detachment, keeping the narrative flowing and the reader hooked with these lecherous lunkheads' exploits, while their failings as human beings and subsequent fall from grace are dealt with a brutally honest style. The story is told by multiple narrators, most of the time the band members adding some important collaborators here and there. Even if this technique might bring contradicting versions on some incidents, it makes for a truly interesting and entertaining read.
This book is not for the squeamish. Much like Led Zeppelin, Queen and Van Halen before them and Guns 'n Roses after them, the Crüe built a bad boy reputation based on their sexually decadent behavior and drug excesses, but unlike the aforementioned bands, their music didn't prove to be strong enough on the long run to stand on it's own outside the band's image.
That said, Neil Strauss manages to weave the story in a way that it ultimately becomes a tale that anybody can identify with: a scarcely talented yet very driven group of misfits pay their dues and achieve their dreams of rock 'n roll stardom, succeeding despite their life threatening drug and alcohol addictions yet ultimately loosing it all to their own hubris and fighting to rise from their own ashes.
Yes folks, this is the formula both for a Greek tragedy and a Behind the Music special, and that's the main reason this book works so well regardless if the reader is interested in the band or not.
For big fans of the band like me, this book delivers most of the dirty details we already knew and delivers a few we missed over the years.
I mean, before reading the book I already knew that Vince Neil's a selfish alcoholic bum who's only in it for the girls and the money, that Nikki Sixx's an immature drug addict incapable of confronting his problems who will always blaming his failings on childhood issues and that Tommy Lee is little more than a stupid and violent manchild, but on the other hand, I didn't know about Mick's health or personal issues and was shocked about how much his fellow band members kicked him around over the years.
During its 80s heyday, fans perceived the band as an airtight unit, an unlikely yet unbreakable brotherhood of wild, unpredictable rock misfits united by music, tragedy and success. True, with Vince Neil's sacking in 1992, this perception began to crumble, but the author doesn't pull any punches at exposing the band's feuding and backstabbing, proving that said brotherhood was nothing but a carefully cultivated image.
One interesting point the book doesn't address is Mick's real age: despite the claim that he's about five years older than the other guys, there's a persisting rumor among hardcore Crüe fans that he was actually in his early forties when the band fame's exploded, which doesn't seem that implausible after all if you look at old band photos.
In the end, The Dirt is that rare rock biopic that not only delivers all the sordid details the band's fandom expect, but also manages to build an engaging human interest story that can appeal to anyone interested in rock music.
When Motley Crue came on the scene I was living in Key West, sun-bleached hair, sun-kist skin, cool cotton clothing. Bob Marley and the sounds of the Caribbean made the music that accompanied our lives.
LA was a continent and a chain of tropical islands away. Emerging bands made up of bad boy musicians in make-up and spikey dyed black hair made no impression on those of us in our island paradise.
Eventually the world and his wife came to know of Motley Crue though. I never cared for them--what little I knew of them, their music wasn't written for me, never cared for bad boys--musicians even less, or poor hygiene, studded black leather, silly hair and red lipstick, skull rings and all the other trappings of metal costume. Leather pants are hot though.
I knew nothing of Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Vince Neil. Tommy Lee, yes, but mainly because of Pamela Anderson.
The book might have the anticipated appeal of revealing shocking behind the scenes backstage shenanigans and gossip, and it does, but what is truly shocking is the vast amount of money wasted due to poor decision making. Just the hundreds of thousands spent on drugs alone is depressing. Then there are the law suits, fines, multiple rehabs, messy divorces and vengeful wives. Dollars fly out of bank accounts almost as fast as dollars are deposited.
Pamela Anderson understandably doesn't come off well. Aside from Tommy, no one in the band or their wives seems to have liked her. I remember the Pam and Tommy bust up, I thought at the time there was too much of the drama queen in her version of events, in her relentless rounds of the talk shows both on radio and tv. Tommy was much more dignified about the whole incident. The delusional man actually wanted to get back together with her even after she filed charges against him, took out a restraining order against him, and tried for sole custody of the couple's children.
The structure of the book is creative. Each band member tells the story from his point of view, sometimes contradicting each other with wry comments or even insults. It's clear Tommy and Vince don't like each other but it's not clear exactly why. Tommy didn't even seem to like Nikki very much at the end and they had once been so close.
But each of them are very open about their shortcomings and failures. There is a little bit of bragging and a little bit of poor me but most of the time the tone in the telling of their tales is dumb me or even stupid me.
Throughout the book they do the dumbest "I'm bulletproof" things but they're honest about admitting it when they do.
Five stars for that and for an interesting read.
Top reviews from other countries
Es un obra que abarca todo lo que simboliza ser una estrella de rock desde los glamurosos excesos, todas las implicaciones del negocio de la música -como engranes de una máquina regida por el dinero que nunca para-, hasta el cómo su estilo de vida se infliltra en sus relaciones personales para contarnos como sufren las mismas aflicciones que todos el mundo: problemas amorosos, legales, perdidas de seres queridos, o la falta de los mismos.
No solía leer mucho antes de este libro aún así atrapó mi atención por lo gracioso que es, pero sin duda fue una gran primera experiencia con un libro, lo recomendaría para adolescentes que quieran sembrar un hábito de lectura.
Este libro tiene un mensaje muy especial que hace que dejes de ver cómo ídolos a los artistas y los veas como humanos normales explotados por una industria ambrienta de talento para exprimir.
Mi capitulo favorito es el capítulo de Vince sobre la muerte de su hija; cuando lo leí por primera vez llore en cada página y aún después cuando lo recuerdo me parece sublime el como Vince describe ese dolor.
Esta demás decir que amo este libro y que lo recomendaría a cualquier persona dispuesta a reír, llorar y rockear con un libro entre sus manos.
Reviewed in Canada on June 17, 2023
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2024
















