Heavy metal superstars Motley Crue are touring Europe for the final time, armed with a 60-metre rollercoaster and the promise of their “largest production” to date.
Their shows will feature a ‘ginormous’ rollercoaster fitted around each stadium, a section of the audience which will be lifted into the air, and so many pyrotechnics that the four-piece band will have to wear protective clothing.
Last January, the band signed a so-called death pact, meaning the group who made hits such as Girls, Girls, Girls and Kickstart My Heart vowed to no longer perform together once the tour concludes.
The band, renowned for its tales of rock-and-roll debauchery and years of drug abuse, announced the new dates at a press conference with fellow rockstar Alice Cooper, who will be joining them for part of the tour.
Drummer Tommy Lee said: “This will be the largest production we’ve ever done. One of the things will be a ginormous rollercoaster which goes out about 60 metres out into the audience and about 18 metres into the air.
“We’ve also got a new addition called the cruise vest and at the beginning of the show we’ll perform a number where a bunch of seats around the stage will rise up with us about 12 metres into the air as we’re playing.”
Motley Crue remains one of the biggest-selling bands of all time, releasing nine albums and selling more than 100 million records worldwide.
Bassist Nikki Sixx, who was once declared legally dead after a heroin overdose, said: “We think about everything we shared together, it’s something very few people get to experience. We got to experience the highest highs and the lowest lows together, we’ve been best friends, we’ve been at odds with each other and we’ve done stuff we didn’t even have any idea was possible.”
“The tour is kind of bittersweet,” added Neil.
“Sometimes I will be on stage, looking out and singing, and I will get a little choked up.”
Cooper, famed for heavy metal classics such as Poison and School’s Out, spoke of his admiration for Motley Crue’s work.
He said: “Our generation of bands wrote songs which will appeal to kids aged 16, 30 years from now, who will still go ‘oh yeah, that’s me’.
“The state of rock and roll right now is so limp. There’s not a lot of rock and roll bands out there, so that’s why you see bands like Motley Crue still killing it.”