Motley Crue Release Cover Of Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’ Ahead Of The Netflix Premiere Of ‘The Dirt’
Fans of Motley Crue are counting down the days until the premiere of Netflix’s biopic on the band, The Dirt, which premieres on Friday, March 22. To amp up excitement, the group has released the second song from the film’s soundtrack, a cover of Madonna’s massive hit “Like a Virgin.”
The heavy metal band will release an 18-song soundtrack to accompany the highly anticipated movie. Available on CD, vinyl, and as a digital download on March 22, the majority of the songs on the album are Crue classics such as “Girls, Girls, Girls,” “Kickstart My Heart,” “Home Sweet Home,” and “Shout at the Devil.”
However, the four original band members — singer Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars, and drummer Tommy Lee — did regroup in 2018 to record four brand-new tunes to flesh out the soundtrack.
In February, they released the first new song, “The Dirt (Est. 1981).” The catchy rock anthem features the rapping skills of Machine Gun Kelly, who portrays Lee in the biopic. The track debuted on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Songs chart at No. 28, and moved up to No. 20 this past week.
On Friday, March 15, Motley Crue released another new tune, “Like a Virgin.” Yes, the former bad boys covered a No. 1 song originally recorded by pop superstar Madonna in 1984. While the band has put their own spin on songs by other artists before — including The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter,” Brownsville Station’s “Smokin’ in the Boys Room,” and the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the U.K.” — this cover is definitely the most interesting one.
Sixx told Rolling Stone that he got the idea to cover the song while walking his dogs one day. He made a demo featuring the unique version he heard in his head and then presented it to the band.
“I went over to Tommy’s house, and [producer] Bob Rock was over there. I said, ‘I’m gonna play you something and go in the other room so in case you don’t like it, you won’t punch me in the face.’ And Tommy started laughing. I started playing it and, all of a sudden, you just saw Tommy’s face light up,” recalled Sixx.
Lee thought the song was “f***ing genius.”
“When it drops down into half-time, it gets so heavy. This is right up our alley and sort of ironic that Vince is singing ‘Like a Virgin,’ which is not even close. Or for that matter of fact, all of us.”
Listen to the song below and judge for yourself.
The other two new songs recorded for The Dirt soundtrack are titled “Ride with the Devil” and “Crash and Burn.”
Meanwhile, SiriusXM will be celebrating the upcoming release of The Dirt by launching “Motley Crue Week” from March 18 to 24 on the Hair Nation station, channel 39.
Music from the band’s entire career will be played throughout the week, as well as songs from other famous Sunset Strip rock bands. In between songs, Sixx, Lee, and Neil will share personal stories and memories.
And, deejay Eddie Trunk will air the special Trunk Nation L.A. Invasion, on SiriusXM’s Volume, channel 106, on Tuesday, March 19 at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET. The show will be a live broadcast from Hollywood’s Rainbow Bar & Grill featuring exclusive interviews with members of Motley Crue and the stars of The Dirt.
