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  • Axl Rose And Vince Neil Are Rock Legends
  • They Had A Serious Feud
  • Neil Challenged Rose To A Public Fight

Rock music isn't what it once was, and even though the genre is waning in popularity, big bands from yesteryear still have stories worth telling. Whether it's them nearly being in iconic movies, or how they inspired a superhero team, people still love a good story about rock giants.

Motley Crue and Guns 'N Roses are two of the biggest bands from the 1980s, and the groups have storied histories. At one point, their frontmen collided and set the media ablaze with a wild feud.

Let's take a look back at the feud between Vince Neil and Axl Rose.

Axl Rose And Vince Neil Are Rock Legends

During the 1980s, many bands burst onto the music scene and became household names. Metal was king during the decade, and two of the biggest bands around were Motley Crue and Guns 'N Roses.

Crue was first to break out between the two, and they were led by Vince Neil. Nikki Sixx might have been the primary songwriter, but Vince Neil was a dynamic performer and vocalist who had the looks and attitude to propel the group to the top of the charts.

Guns 'N Roses, meanwhile, exploded onto the scene in 1988 when they finally received mainstream attention. Fronted by Axl Rose, the legendary rock group's Appetite For Destruction remains arguably the greatest debut rock album in history, and GNR spent years beings the most dangerous band in the world.

While these two bands operated independently, and incident in 1989 permanently linked them together.

They Had A Serious Feud

So, what ignited the beef between these two famous frontmen? It all stems from Guns 'N Roses guitarist, Izzy Stradlin, hitting Vince Neil's wife. The Motley Crue frontman didn't take a diplomatic approach with Stradlin, and his retaliation ignited one of the most infamous feuds in rock history.

According to Rock Celebrities, "The origin of one of the most famous feuds in rock music history goes way back to the 1989 MTV Music Awards Ceremony. After Mötley Crüe members presented the Best Group and Best Metal Video to Guns N' Roses and their music video for 'Sweet Child O' Mine,' they left the building Universal Amphitheatre except for Vince Neil."

Neil's decisoin to stick around ultimately landed him close enough to Stradlin behind the scenes to take a shot at him.

"The young singer decided to wait for GNR members backstage until they completed their performance with Tom Petty. Later, when Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin returned backstage, Neil punched Izzy in the face to take revenge on him for previously hitting his wife. Axl yelled at Vince threatening to kill him for what he did to his bandmate, however, he didn't take any action," the site continued.

As you can imagine, two rock powerhouses colliding like this made headlines, and things did not simmer between the two sides for quite a while.

Neil Challenged Rose To A Public Fight

While speaking with MTV in 1990, Axl Rose let Neil know that he was down to fight, and Neil lay dormant on the subject for some time.

Nearly a year later, however, Neil set his sights on Axl Rose again, letting the world know that Axl had threatened him, and letting Axl know that he could catch hands.

"He said a lot of bad things about me last few years and a lot of threats. Even on one of your guys' shows before the MTV Awards. He said, 'Well, any time any place.' And right now, I wanna put an end to this and what I want is, Axl if you are watching this, I want to challenge you to a fight. I'm gonna give you time and I'm gonna give you the place. There's no backing out now buddy. It's time to put up or shut up," Neil said in the infamous interview.

The singer wasn't done just yet.

"I'd like to do it at an arena where people can come and see. I'd like to have it televised. I want the whole world to see this fight. I think it's gonna be great. I'm really psyched for it because I need to put an end to this. It'll end it once and for all the bad blood between us. So let's do it. Men should do it," he stated.

A media storm ensued, but nothing actually materialized between the two frontmen.

Vince Neil and Axl Rose have entirely separate legacies in rock history, but this feud will have them tied together forever.

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About The Author

Anthony Spencer (1920 Articles Published)

I'm lucky enough to write about film and television for a living, with some fun trivia sprinkled in, too. If you're watching it, I'm writing about it, and having a great time doing so. Patiently waiting for the X-Men to enter the MCU and help take down Galactus!

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