Michael Monroe Meets Vince Neil for First Time at Festival

Former Hanoi Rocks vocalist Michael Monroe met Motley Crue singer Vince Neil in person for the first time at a festival this past weekend, and he called the meeting "one of the most important moments" of his life.

Hanoi Rocks and Motley Crue have a longstanding history, albeit a bit of a rocky one. Neil was charged with vehicular manslaughter and a DUI after getting into a car accident in December of 1984, which killed Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley at the age of 24. Decades later, the singers of both bands finally met at Finland's Rockfest over the weekend, and Monroe reflected on the experience very positively.

First, Monroe shared a photo on his Instagram with Nikki Sixx and Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott, writing, "Having a blast hanging at the Rockfest with Nikki Sixx and Joe Elliott. Mötley Crue were great! Def Leppard just started and are truly amazing as always! Good times."

Sixx wrote, "Great seeing you" on the post, and Monroe replied, "It was so lovely to see you. And Vince too for the first time. It was very touching. And Tommy [Lee], of course! You guys sounded great! See you again soon! All my Love and Respect, Michael." Sixx shared his own photo with Monroe on his page, calling the singer a "fine gentleman."

The former Hanoi Rocks vocalist then posted a photo of him speaking with Neil, writing, "One of the most important moments of my life was meeting Vince Neil for the first time last night. Razzle always wanted us to meet as he thought 'us singers' were a lot alike. Under different circumstances both bands probably would’ve ended up as good friends, but fate had other plans…Thank you for your time, Vince. We didn’t say much but your eyes told me more than 1000 words ever could. And your singing was great at the show. Nice to finally see you guys live!"

See all of the posts below.

The former members of Hanoi Rocks joined each other onstage for the first time in 40 years this past September to celebrate Monroe's 60th birthday. The lineup consisted of the frontman, Andy McCoy, Sami Yaffa, Nasty Suicide and Gyp Casino, making it the first time that specific quintet performed together since July of 1982. The Finnish group called it quits in '85, just after Razzle's death, but Monroe and McCoy later reconvened and played under the Hanoi Rocks name for several years in the 2000s. They called it quits for good in 2009.

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Motley Crue, on the other hand, announced their reunion in 2019, a few years after they had signed a "Cessation of Touring" agreement. In 2022, they finally embarked on a highly-anticipated stadium tour with Def Leppard, and although they seem to have buried the hatchet with Monroe, not everyone in the Hanoi Rocks camp has forgiven what happened in December of '84.

"I never even got as much as an apology from that motherfucker. You know who I'm talking about. I'm not gonna give any names, why would I give him fame? Fuck him," McCoy said in an interview last July when discussing Crue, adding that he thinks the band are "fucking ripoffs" for going on tour again.