Mötley Crue singer Vince Neil revealed that he suffered a stroke the day after Christmas that made him lose control of his “whole left side.”
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Neil was asked why the American heavy metal band postponed its 2025 Las Vegas residency from March to September.
“I had a stroke,” Neil told the outlet. “My whole left side went out.”
Neil felt fine when he went to sleep on Christmas Day in 2024 but woke up the next morning to find that he could not get out of bed, he told the Review-Journal. Neil said had the stroke in his sleep.
This started a long road to recovery for Neil.
“I had to learn to walk again, and that was tough,” Neil told the newspaper. “The doctors said they didn’t think I’d be able to go back onstage again. I go, ‘No, no, I’m gonna do it. Watch and see.’”
Mötley Crue’s Las Vegas residency was initially scheduled for March 28 to April 19, but in March the band announced it had been postponed to September “due to a required medical procedure recently advised by vocalist Vince Neil’s doctors.”
“My health is my top priority so I can bring you the awesome shows you deserve, and I can’t wait to return to the stage,” Neil said in a statement at the time. “Thank you for all the well wishes that keep reaching me. Your support means more than you know.”
And Neil made good on his promise. He performed at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston last month.
“Great to be back on stage rocking out the last three nights with my brothers Stephen Pearcy ‘Ratt’ and @bretmichaelsofficial !!” Neil wrote on Instagram.
And on Friday, Mötley Crue — lead singer Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee and guitarist John 5 — kicked off their long-awaited residency at Las Vegas’ Dolby Live at Park MGM.
Their residency will end on Oct. 3.
Mötley Crue was formed in California in 1981 by Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee, with Neil and guitarist Mick Mars joining soon after. The band’s lineup changed a few times over the years, with Neil taking a break in the 1990s and guitarist John 5 joining in 2023 after Mars retired.
The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide and had seven albums go platinum or multiplatinum in the U.S., plus three Grammy nominations.
A biographical film based on their bestselling book, “The Dirt,” premiered in 2019.
