Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil Says He’s Suffered Four Strokes

Mötley Crüe front man Vince Neil recently spoke about having multiple life-threatening strokes over the past few years.

Neil, 64, told longtime radio host Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation that of his four strokes, he “didn’t even know” he had the first two.

“One of ’em was a ministroke that happened, and I just lost feeling in my hand,” he said. “And that was it. And I got over that pretty quickly. But then this last one, it was a big one.”

When Trunk asked Neil how he knew about the other strokes, he said he has “four scars” in his brain, which a neurologist confirmed as evidence of strokes.

Neil’s most recent stroke occurred in December 2024. In a phone interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the best-selling artist said that when he awakened, his “whole left side went out.”

“I had to learn to walk again, and that was tough,” he said. “The doctors said they didn’t think I’d be able to go back onstage again. I go, ‘No, no, I’m gonna do it. Watch and see.’ ”

Due to his stroke, Mötley Crüe had to push back the March and April dates of their Las Vegas residency to September and October.

The “Home Sweet Home” vocalist also said he had to work tirelessly to regain his mobility.

“I went from people carrying me to the bathroom, because I couldn’t walk myself, to a wheelchair,” Neil said. “I graduated to a walker, and then I had a cane. Now I don’t need anything. But it’s like a full-time job getting back to where you feel good again.”

Neil said he “learned how to run again” and is “90 to 95 percent” healthy.

There are two types of strokes: ischemic and hemorrhagic. An ischemic stroke, by far the more common of the two, occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked or reduced. The blockage could come from a blood clot in an artery wall or an embolism, typically caused when a blood clot breaks off from another site and travels up into the brain, depriving the brain of the oxygen and nutrients it needs. A hemorrhagic stroke happens when a weakened blood vessel bursts in or on the surface of the brain, damaging brain cells as a result.

A stroke can be deadly and requires urgent treatment. Every 40 seconds, a person in the U.S. experiences a stroke.

Mötley Crüe in 1985.

Gutchie Kojima/Shinko Music/Getty Images

There are warning signs that doctors recommend to help identify if someone is having a stroke. These include loss of balance, vision changes, face drooping, arm weakness, and speech difficulty.

If one or more of these symptoms are present, a person should call 911 immediately.

AARP’s information about strokes includes the story of a woman who overcame seven strokes in one year, the meaning of a silent stroke and eight common myths about strokes.