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by Ian Carroll (Author)
In 2013 I made another once in a lifetime trip halfway across the world to Los Angeles.I flew each way with the excellent Air New Zealand and stayed in Beverly Hills's the Crowne Plaza - this was in March, but the weather of course was still fabulous, unlike the weather at the time in the UK. I planned to get a feel for the LA scene and so visited all of the 'Rock & Roll' landmarks. I visited the House of Blues, the Rainbow Bar and Grill, the Viper Room, the Roxy and Whisky A Go Go, the place that was a starting point for one of my favourite bands of all time Mötley Crüe - as mentioned on the Commemorative Plaque outside, in the same breath as the Doors, Frank Zappa and Guns N' Roses. To be in the same city, the same area that the Crüe had cut their teeth in their early days was amazing and there were memories of them everywhere, from the stage costumes and window display at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sunset Boulevard to the star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. I had been a fan of the Crüe from the very beginning - when my friend Theo bought their first album, still on Leathür Records - before being picked up by Elektra (Leathür was owned by Alan Coffman - their original manager). I had a white leather jacket that I had hand painted with a giant 'pentagram' and the Mötley Crüe logo along the bottom - they were my obsession at the time. I saw them for the first time at Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington Park, UK, in 1984 when they were the first band on - just before Accept - back in the day when Donington was one day, only had the one stage and usually around seven bands; unlike Download at Donington now, with over 120 bands across a three day weekend. They were the highlight of the day for me and I was amazed to see Nikki give his bass to a member of the crowd at the end of their set and even more surprised to see the guy walking back to his coach at the end of the night, with the same bass slung over his shoulder. I went on to see the Crüe at Hammersmith Odeon (as it was) on the 'Theatre of Pain' tour for two nights with Cheap Trick, which was amazing. Three more time's at Download Festival, once a Sonisphere Festival and the most amazing show of all with them supporting KISS in Tampa at the 1-800 Ask Gary Amphitheatre, which was an unbelievable night. So they have been a staple in my choice of bands for the last 35 years - is it really that long?! And now to this Book - the 12th in the Book series and once again a place where fans worldwide have come to share their amazing stories and thoughts.
