Bruce Dickinson recently addressed the longstanding rumors regarding the inspiration behind his song ‘Tattooed Millionaire’ in an interview with Greg Prato of Songfacts, shedding light on the song’s true origins.
Despite widespread speculation, Dickinson revealed that ‘Tattooed Millionaire’ was not solely about Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe, noting:
“Everybody likes to think it was all about Nikki Sixx. And whilst he was kind of the frame, it was actually an amalgamation of a whole generation of stuff. Of course, now, tattooed millionaires are absolutely the mainstream. Nothing to do with music.”
Nikki Sixx’s Take On The Song
Speaking to Blender magazine in 2007, Sixx himself has weighed in on the rumors, particularly in response to claims that the song was penned after an alleged personal affair with Dickinson’s wife. The bassist explained:
“Someone said that ‘Tattooed Millionaire’ by Bruce Dickinson was about me, but I don’t know. It was something to do with the fact that I f*cked his wife, and I think he was upset. That wasn’t my fault, by the way — I want to go on the record. She was his wife, but I didn’t know that. I don’t think Bruce found out about it until ‘The Dirt’ — I should have kept that a secret.”
The Story Behind’ Money For Nothing’
He added, giving another song written for them:
“Dire Straits’ ‘Money for Nothing’ was about Mötley Crüe — ‘Money for nothing and the chicks for free … that little f*ggot got his own jet airplane.’ They were in a store that sells televisions, and there was a row of TVs all playing Mötley Crüe — and that’s where it came from. Isn’t that great?”
However, what Nikki claims seems unlikely because ‘Tattooed Millionaire’ came out eleven years before ‘The Dirt’ was published. Storm Thorgerson directed the music video for the song. The lyrics describe how American rock stars take advantage of each other, show off their wealth, betray people, and don’t keep their promises.
Listen to the song below.
