Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee opened up about a little-known chapter from the band’s early days, discussing the time he and bassist Nikki Sixx worked as male escorts in a candid conversation on Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard.
When asked directly about his brief stint as a gigolo before Mötley Crüe broke through, Lee confirmed that both he and Sixx took part. He explained that financial desperation was what led them there.
“Yeah. Nikki and I both were,” Lee said. “Very beginning when we had all moved into an apartment together. And then we meet this lady who’s the madame. She was a few years older than us. And that’s where we met and then started talking.”
Lee went on to describe the circumstances that made the offer hard to refuse. He noted just how little money the band had at the time.
“She’s like, I got work for you guys. And dude, this was at a time where we’re all living together and we literally our manager would give us $20 a week to live on,” he continued. “Each guy got 20 bucks a week. So, we were like we saw some big numbers and we were like, ‘Okay, f*ck it. Let’s do it.'”
He estimated they went on roughly nine or ten dates. He described the experiences as often surprisingly tame — and occasionally enjoyable.
“[We went on] probably nine or 10 [dates]. [Usually older ladies and] sometimes just like would just go and just sit and have dinner with them. And that’s it. Just dinner literally,” Lee said. “But you know what? I think I was lucky too because a couple of like the older women that I got, they were actually really fun. Wild ass lady. Well, for some, you know, older lady to be hiring. She’s got to be pretty open and wild anyway. And so a couple I was fortunate enough to like have some good time.”
Lee also revealed the pay, which was a significant sum compared to what the band was surviving on at the time.
“I’d get 500 bucks,” he said. “While living on 20 bucks a week, we got 500 bucks for a couple hours.”
The remarks offer a rare and candid look at the financial struggles Mötley Crüe faced before achieving rock stardom.
The band’s early years in Los Angeles were defined by extreme poverty and a relentless drive to make it. The four members shared a single apartment, pooling whatever little they had just to keep the band alive. With a weekly allowance of $20 per person from their manager, basic necessities were barely within reach. The costs of maintaining the image and lifestyle that glam metal demanded made things even harder.
The escort work was short-lived and, by Lee’s own account, far less scandalous than it might sound. The arrangement lasted only around nine or ten dates in total. Many of those encounters amounted to nothing more than dinner with older women seeking companionship. Lee described the experience as largely low-key, with only a handful of occasions that went beyond a simple evening out.
Every dollar earned — through whatever means available — went toward keeping the group together and moving forward toward a record deal. The band reportedly needed as little as $2 a week just for hairspray, and food was a constant concern.
The escort episode came at a time when the band was still finding its footing in the Hollywood music scene. Mötley Crüe had only recently formed, and the members were navigating a cutthroat industry with virtually no financial backing. The willingness to take on unconventional work reflected not recklessness, but a raw determination to survive long enough to be heard.
Lee’s candid recollection adds another layer to the already well-documented mythology of Mötley Crüe’s rise. The band went on to become one of the best-selling rock acts of the 1980s. The path there, however, was paved with sacrifice, hustle, and more than a few decisions born purely out of necessity.
