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

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

. It was released on their 1981 debut album ''

Too Fast for Love ''Too Fast for Love'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. The first edition of 900 copies was released on November 10, 1981, on the band's original label Leathür Records. Elektra Records signed the band the fo ...

''.

Overview

The video was directed by the members of Mötley Crüe. It showcases the band's stage theatrics, such as

Nikki Sixx Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and radio personality, best known as the co-founder, bassist, primary songwriter, and only constant member of the hea ...

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 best known as the former lead guitarist and co-founder of the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, being the oldest of the four origin ...

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

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

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

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, 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, poem, or photograph ca ...

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 Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

'' Decade of Decadence''.

Cover versions

In 2000, fellow heavy metal band Fozzy covered this song for their debut self-titled album. Swedish hardcore punk band

Refused Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guita ...

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 "Devil Side" is the fifth single by Vamps, released on May 12, 2010. It includes a cover of the 1982 song " Live Wire" by Mötley Crüe. The limited edition came with a DVD that includes two versions of the music video for the title track. Chart ...

". Meghan Kabir recorded a slow version of the song for Mötley Crüe's 2019 biopic '' The Dirt''. In 2014,

The Cadillac Three The Cadillac Three, originally known as The Cadillac Black, is an American rock band consisting of Jaren Johnston (lead vocals, guitar), Kelby Ray (lap steel guitar, bass guitar, vocals), and Neil Mason (drums, vocals). All three members were ...

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) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist of heavy metal music, heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 formation until his departure in 1992. Neil reunited with the ...

– lead vocals *

– guitars, backing vocals *

– bass, backing vocals *

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee (born Thomas Lee Bass; October 3, 1962) is an American musician who co-founded and plays drums for the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He also founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical projects. Early ...

– drums, backing vocals

In popular culture

"Live Wire" appears in the soundtracks to the video games ''

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland ''Tony Hawk's American Wasteland'' is a 2005 skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the seventh entry in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series and was released initially for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox i ...

'', '' Brütal Legend'', '' Saints Row: The Third'', and '' NBA 2K20''. The song also appears on the soundtrack to ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

''. 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