Mötley Crüe Debut Cover of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”

A lot has changed since 1984, when Madonna released Like a Virgin and Mötley Crüe’s Shout at the Devil was starting to make the band a household name. In those days, Vince Neil and the Material Girl probably could have exchanged not just fashion and hair styling tips, but they probably could have shared outfits, too. My gut tells me that’s not the case in 2019. And by “my gut,” I mean “Vince Neil’s gut.”

Something else that’s changed since then: if Mötley Crüe had covered Madonna in those days, their fanbase would have lost their shit. Now, though, they can get away with it. And by “get away with it,” I mean “they can record and release it without fear of reprisal from their supporters.” Because, from a creative standpoint, the cover. Is. Fucking. GARBAGE.

I mean, look: they definitely made it the song their own. They just did a shit job of it. Also, honestly, what seemed playful and sexy coming from a 25-year-old woman seems creepy and weird coming from a group of sexagenarian men… especially these sexagenarian men.

But, hey, by all means, disagree with me.

If you somehow enjoyed that, you might like to know that it will appear on Mötley Crüe’s soundtrack for the movie version of The Dirt, which comes out March 22, and can be pre-ordered here. The Dirt itself hits Netflix that very same day. The flick was directed by Jeff Tremaine (Jackass). In addition to Kelly, it stars Douglas Booth (Jupiter Ascending) as Nikki Sixx, Daniel Webber (The Punisher) as Vince Neil, Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones) as Mick Mars, and Tony Cavalero (School of Rock) as Ozzy Osbourne.