In a recent interview with The Big Takeover, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine was asked if, back when he was just starting out in the Los Angeles music scene over forty years ago, he ever imagined he would have the kind of career he has had now.
“In my heart, I had hoped that I could continue playing for as long as I live,” he responded. “The question was, how long was I going to live? We were all in this [L.A.] scene at the time that everybody was living super fast and dangerous.”
Mustaine also mentioned the incident Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil caused back in 1984: “People like Vince Neil getting in a car crash and the drummer for Hanoi Rocks losing his life, that whole period around then — everybody was just dangerous. We had to get away from that. All I wanted to do was just play my guitar. I didn’t want to hang. I was not one of those guys that would go over to people’s houses and party all night. If I was doing anything, I would do it by myself in the house and play guitar. Not that I was alone in my house, but you know.”
The incident happened when Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil was driving Hanoi Rocks members to the liquor store. Both bands had come together to celebrate Hanoi Rocks’ first US tour and decided to make a quick trip to the store.
While driving around Hollywood, Neil, allegedly under the influence of alcohol along with drummer Razzle, lost control of the car and crashed into another vehicle. Razzle died as a result of the accident.
Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy revealed that Vince Neil never apologized for the crash that led to the drummer’s death. McCoy also said that whenever Neil sees him, he avoids him because ‘he knows’ what McCoy ‘will do.’