Wild In The Night (Live Broadcast 1982)

This white-hot Mötley Crüe performance, recorded at a fantastic gig in Pasadena s then premier rock venue - the legendary Perkins Palace - during the winter of 1982, superbly illustrates why the band would soon become one of rock s biggest-selling glam metal acts with worldwide sales in excess of 75 million records. Mötley Crüe had only been founded by the rhythm section - bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee - in the year prior to this concert in Los Angeles. To front the band the duo eventually recruited Bob Deal aka Mick Mars (lead guitar) and Vince Neil (vocals). Legend has it that the double umlaut distinguishing the band s name were inspired by the German lager Löwenbräu. Mötley Crüe's first album Too Fast For Love was originally issued on their own record label, Leathür Records, in November 1981 and sold an impressive 20,000 copies - no mean achievement for an independently released debut. Bassist Nikki Sixx was clearly a very dominant force in the band - writing seven of the album s ten tracks alone and co-writing the remainder with Vince Neil and Lizzie Grey. The album was remixed and partially re-recorded for reissue some nine months later, after the band had signed with Elektra Records. One song, Stick To Your Guns, failed to make the transition and was dropped entirely. In the new format the record reached a very impressive number 77 on the Billboard 200 chart - although in subsequent years, as the band s popularity soared, accumulated sales have boosted it to platinum status. The album is heavily featured in this broadcast recording and there are great versions of Take Me To The Top, Public Enemy #1, Starry Eyes, Piece Of The Action, Merry-Go-Round and set closer Live Wire. The studio version of the latter had also been issued as a single by Leathür Records just three months prior to this show. The song has since been used on the soundtrack to several video games and the classic TV 1980 s series Charlie s Angels . Although the band s sophomore album, Shout At The Devil , would not be released for almost another year, Mötley Crüe were already honing several of its songs live. Featured in this set are the title track, Looks That Kill and Red Hot. A fourth track, Hotter Than Hell, was also demoed during this period but was not eventually included on the finished album and thus makes a welcome and rare appearance here. The remaining song in the set list, Runnin' Wild In The Night, is another rarity and has never been released in a studio-recorded version. Listening to the riffs and lyrics it is clear that elements from it have been re-used in creating other numbers, notably from the first verse which is lyrically identical to Save Our Souls, a track later included on the Theater Of Pain album (1985)