Nikki Sixx was once called on to play bass for Quiet Riot before ever joining Motley Crue.
Prior to his supernova success as the bassist and primary songwriter of Motley Crue, Nikki Sixx was invited by Kevin DuBrow and Randy Rhoads of Quiet Riot to join the band.
Back in 1978, Nicki Sixx was still in his pre-Motley band, London. In the meantime, Quiet Riot’s founding bassist, Kelly Garni, was dismissed in dramatic fashion after the musician drunkenly fought his bandmates and seemingly plotted to do much worse to Randy Rhoads! Looking to replace Garni, the boys of Quiet Riot quickly reached out to Nikki Sixx.
Kelly Garni has since sought to set the record straight, have a listen to his 2018 interview with The Metal Voice.
Randy Rhoads Gun Shooting incident- Interview Ex-Quiet Riot Kelly Garni- Part 2
“I remember that Randy Rhodes and Kevin DuBrow had asked me to join the band. They were looking for a new bass player,” at that time, they had a record deal, I think in Japan.” – Nikki Sixx interview with Kerrang!.
Nikki Sixx politely declined their offer, focusing instead on his own material. “I was writing a lot of the songs that would later become Too Fast For Love,” Sixx explained. As it turned out, the decision was prescient. “Then Randy left and did the Ozzy Osbourne thing, it was right around that time that London broke up. And I did Motley Crue.”
As everyone knows, Motley Crue wasted little time cutting their teeth on The Sunset Strip, Hollywood and soon emerging as one of the biggest bands of the 1980s. Nikki credits the L.A. music scene with aiding in the group’s rise.
“I was in the scene, I was feeling the energy of what rock and roll was like in Los Angeles at that time, coming out of new wave and punk and stuff. It felt very fresh,” he recalled. “And when Motley started, very early on I think a lot of people were drawn to Motley Crue because they knew me from London. But it took like one gig and they were like, ‘oh wow, this is the next better thing.’ And it was.”
The legendary Nikki Sixx, co-founder of Mötley Crüe, spoke to Kerrang! Radio’s Loz Guest about the secret behind the band’s 40 years together, what he’s been up to in the last year, and what his future plans are. Nikki also accepted the Kerrang! Radio Hall of Fame nomination on behalf of the band. Watch the interview below.
Nikki Sixx on Mötley Crüe’s secret & Kerrang! Radio Hall Of Fame
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