Vince Neil says he wanted to be David Lee Roth in the early days

Born in Los Angeles, California in 1961, the singer Vince Neil helped to form Mötley Crüe in 1981, a band that would have the heaviness of Heavy Metal and the speed/attitude of Punk. They became one of the most influential bands from the 80s and sold an estimated amount of more than 100 million records worldwide.

The vocalist revealed in an interview with Q104.3 (Transcribed by Blabbermouth) that in the early days of his career he wanted to emulate the Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth.

Vince Neil talked about trying to emulate David Lee Roth in the early days

“That was David Lee Roth (My early influence). I always wanted to look like him. I tried to emulate him, even before I was in Mötley Crüe. When I was just 16 years old, I would go and there’s a place in L.A. called Long Beach Arena.”

“Van Halen was playing there. I was a kid out in the parking lot listening to ’em, selling bootleg t-shirts. And then you hear him singing. You’re thinking, ‘God, I wonder what’s going on backstage.’ And, ‘Wow, what’s it like inside?’ He really inspired me,” Vince Neil said.

In the 90s after leaving Mötley Crüe, Vince Neil focused on his solo career and ended up being Van Halen‘s opening act. However, at the time David Lee Roth wasn’t the band’s singer for a few years. He left the band in the mid-80s, being replaced by Sammy Hagar.

Roth curiously was invited to be Mötley Crüe’s opening act during their reunion tour a few years ago. But the band’s bassist Nikki Sixx said that the Van Halen singer told him he didn’t open for bands that were influenced by him.

Crüe toured with many famous bands during the last years like Def Leppard, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and Poison.