Nikki Sixx Recalls Freddie Mercury-Like Voice Of His Ex-Bandmate

Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx recalled a band member from London whose voice was like Queen icon Freddie Mercury‘s in his latest conversation with Loudwire shared on their official Twitter account. He also revealed how he decided to change his name by telling how he came up with using ‘Nikki Sixx.’

Nikki Sixx’s professional career as a musician started when he joined the heavy metal band Sister, which had very famous members, Blackie Lawless, Lizzie Grey, and Dane Rage. The band became a short-lived one, and Grey, Sixx, Rage formed another group named London in 1978. The band went through several lineup changes for various reasons, and the bassist left two years later, which would become a milestone in his life.

Later, Sixx met with drummer Tommy Lee, and they formed Mötley Crüe, one of the most famous metal bands in the world. Moreover, during his interview, Sixx unveiled that one of his bandmates from London named Nigel Benjamin had a very similar voice to Freddie Mercury. Then, the bassist went on to tell how and why he changed his name, saying that his father was the main reason behind that decision.

His birth name was Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr., but he wished to live his own life and have his family when he learned that his father had left them. The bassist stated that he started to be known as Nikki London of London thanks to the band’s success at that time, but he loved Nikki Sixx while thinking about a new name.

Then, the rocker revealed that he started dating a girl whose ex-boyfriend’s name was Niki Syxx, and Sixx liked it so much that he wanted to use it by changing it a little bit. Even though his girlfriend said he couldn’t do it, he was bold enough as a very young man. He added that he was making a joke about stealing his name and his girlfriend back then.

Loudwire’s tweet read:

“Loudwire Nights Most Memorable Tonight’s featured Loudwire’s list is – How 10 Huge Rock Stars Got Their Stage Names. We recently spoke to Nikki Sixx about a taste of what’s to come. Loudwire Nights start now!”

Sixx added:

“I liked Nikki Nine. In the beginning, I had a hard time with my name because of the information downloaded to me about my father. I was like, ‘I’m gonna start my life, my family with my name.’ So there was a band called London. We were doing well in Los Angeles. A lot of people think we were on our way to becoming the next band that gets signed. I had a singer, Nigel Benjamin, the boy that sang pretty well close to Freddie Mercury. We had a very British influence. Many people said you sound like a cross between Bowie and Queen.

At that time, it was like Nikki London of London. I’m not a solo artist, and I like to do things with my creativity. I would like to be part of a gang, a football team, a group. So I decided to change my name; that’s not what I was like, ‘I’m going to go by Nikki Nine.’ I remember when Lizzie Grey, the guitar player, we were bouncing around names.

I dated this girl, and she had a previous boyfriend named Niki Syxx. I remember just telling her, ‘I’m going to use that name.’ She said, ‘You can’t use that name.’ The confidence of being young, the early twenties, it’s like, ‘I would do whatever I wanted to do.’ I took his name, and I would joke around, saying, ‘I took his name and girlfriend.'”

You can check out the tweet below.