"Live Wire" is the debut single by the American heavy metal band

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

. It was released on their 1981 debut album '' Too Fast for Love''.

Overview

The video was directed by the members of Mötley Crüe. It showcases the band's stage theatrics, such as Nikki Sixx setting himself on fire (due to lack of money to perform on stage pyrotechnics) and

Mick Mars Robert Alan Deal (born May 4, 1951), known professionally as Mick Mars, is an American musician and the retired lead guitarist and co-founder of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He is known for his aggressive, melodic solos and bluesy riffs ...

drooling blood. The single was released on August 16, 1982. In May 2006, it was ranked #17 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

's list of the 40 greatest metal songs of all time. The song was

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed in 1991 alongside " Piece of Your Action" for the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

Decade of Decadence A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "d ...

''.

Cover versions

In 2000, fellow heavy metal band Fozzy covered this song for their debut self-titled album. Swedish hardcore punk band Refused included a cover in their The Demo Compilation. In 2010, Japanese rock band Vamps covered it as the B-side to their single " Devil Side". Meghan Kabir recorded a slow version of the song for Mötley Crüe's 2019 biopic ''

The Dirt ''The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band'' () is a collaborative autobiography of Mötley Crüe by the band – Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx – and ''New York Times'' writer Neil Strauss. First publi ...

''. In 2014, The Cadillac Three covered the song on Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute to Mötley Crüe released via Big Machine Records.

Personnel

Vince Neil Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961), best known by the stage name Vince Neil, is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 forma ...

– lead vocals *

– guitars, backing vocals * Nikki Sixx – bass, backing vocals * Tommy Lee – drums, backing vocals

In popular culture

"Live Wire" appears in the soundtracks to the video games '' Tony Hawk's American Wasteland'', '' Brütal Legend'', '' Saints Row: The Third'', and ''

NBA 2K20 ''NBA 2K20'' is a 2019 basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports, based on the National Basketball Association (NBA). It is the 21st installment in the '' NBA 2K'' franchise, the successor to ''NB ...

''. The song also appears on the soundtrack to ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...

''. It also appears in the Netflix original film ''The Dirt'' which is about Mötley Crüe's history.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Live Wire (Motley Crue song) 1981 songs Mötley Crüe songs Songs written by Nikki Sixx Speed metal songs 1982 debut singles