VINCE NEIL ‘Was Probably The Most Challenging Vocalist I Ever Worked With’

On a recent episode of the Cobras & Fire podcast, producer Tom Werman—known for his work on MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s albums Shout at the Devil, Theater of Pain, and Girls, Girls, Girls—shared his experiences working with the band, particularly with vocalist Vince Neil.

“Vince was hard. He was probably the most challenging vocalist I ever worked with,” Werman said. “Not because he wasn’t good. I had to get a special mic. I had to buy a really expensive mic to record his voice because to me it sounded as though he was singing through his nose. He would not take his job as seriously as I wanted him to. When he got behind the mic he tried hard. He wasn’t a slacker. But he never went to bed on time. You know. He was a major party animal. Vince was not the kind of guy who would say ‘Uh Listen girls. Its 12:30 AM and I’m singing tomorrow so I think I’m gonna go to sleep’.”

During a 2023 interview on “Artists On Record Starring ADIKA Live!”, Werman was asked about the accuracy of MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s early days as depicted in The Dirt (both the book and the Netflix adaptation).

“[The portrayal in the book was] pretty fictitious,” Werman said at the time. “There’s facts, but it’s always stretched. And I was relieved not to be in that book and that movie. Nikki [Sixx, CRÜE bassist] slagged me in [his book] The H*roin Diaries. Nothing he said I agreed with. We both recalled things differently. He said he wound up producing most of Vince‘s vocals. Not true. Other things like that. [He said that] I was on the phone all the time…

“You know, if I was that bad, how did I get 23 gold and platinum records? Or why didn’t they fire me instead of having me do a second and a third album? It isn’t easy having done stuff. They take shots — they take shots at you. I’m not saying it’s perfect. I’m not saying it was perfect. I partied with the boys. But The H*roin Diaries specifically was probably subject to inaccuracy because it was written by a guy who was on h*roin. It figures.”

MÖTLEY CRÜE is set to return to Las Vegas this spring for a special series of live performances. Titled “The Las Vegas Residency,” the band will deliver an exclusive run of 11 shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM from March 28 to April 19, 2025.