Tommy Lee Looks Back on Motley Crue’s ‘The End

Former Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee is ready for The End  and thrilled that the band went out on what he feels was “a high note.” Lee recently sat for an interview with Yahoo! Music to talk about the concert film culled from the band’s final show, revealing that he bought tickets for a theatrical screening of The End and hopes to “sneak in and sit somewhere in the back unnoticed” during the movie. “I’m just gonna watch it on a humongous screen,” he added, “and hopefully they turn it up loud as f—.”

While admitting the band’s breakup came after a long period of internal tension, Lee insisted their farewell dates were devoid of the drama that plagued earlier outings. “That final tour was probably the nicest tour we’ve ever done together. And I think it’s because everyone knew there was an end to it. And as functional or dysfunctional as it all is, there was a finish line. So, people were actually being nice to each other and being cool. It was the coolest tour that we’ve done.”

Of course, not everything went the way it was supposed to  including Lee’s drum rollercoaster, which broke down during the last show and brought the set to a brief halt, adding some extra spontaneity to The End.

“You know what? It is Murphy’s Law and just so typical for us. I almost expected it, which is kind of odd to say,” Lee admitted. “But how can the very last night go perfectly? And you know, the other two nights in L.A. went perfectly. But the last night it broke and I just started cracking up. Of course it did. Why wouldn’t it? … We filmed all three nights and we were talking about not using that footage and using the shots from another night. And I said, ‘Hell, no. That was New Year’s Eve and that’s how it went down.’ I actually think it was’ hilarious. And it’s definitely in true Mötley style. If it can go wrong, it’ll go wrong.”

What went right, in Lee’s eyes, was the group’s decision to part ways. Although he said it took him some time to really absorb the finality of the split, he insisted he doesn’t feel a sense of loss over the end of the band. “I’m extremely happy to end it on a high note. Those memories will always stay with me. It’s all good. There’s no bummer about it whatsoever. And I have no regrets that the band is done.”