Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil revealed he had a stroke the day after Christmas that led to the postponement of the band’s Las Vegas residency, which starts Friday.
“I had to learn to walk again, and that was tough,” Neil told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The doctors said they didn’t think I’d be able to go back on stage again. I go, ‘No, no, I’m gonna do it. Watch and see.’”
Indeed, Neil is scheduled to do it tonight, when Motley Crue plays their first of 10 shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM.
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What Happened When Vince Neil Had a Stroke?
Neil said he felt fine when he went to bed on Christmas night, but when he woke up the next morning, he couldn’t get out of bed.
“My whole left side went out,” he said. Consequently, “Motley canceled the first part of the [residency] so I could get better.”
The residency was initially scheduled for March 28 to April 19. The band announced its postponement in early March with a statement mentioning “a required medical procedure recently advised by vocalist Vince Neil’s doctors.”
How Did Vince Neil Recover From His Stroke?
Neil said he underwent months of physical theory at his Nashville home. The recovery process was arduous.
“I went from people carrying me to the bathroom, because I couldn’t walk myself, finally to a wheelchair,” he 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 did not lose his voice when he had his stroke. Still, he had to work hard to rebuild the mind-muscle connection.
“It takes a while to get your brain to start moving your legs, for them to do what your brain wants to do,” he explained. “You try to walk but it doesn’t come out right.”
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Thanks to agility drills prescribed by a Nashville football coach and “a lot of running,” Neil said he’s now close to his pre-stroke condition. “It’s been tough, but I’m back, I’m 90, 95 percent to where I was before, and it’s going to be great.”
Neil returned to the stage in early August when he played a handful of solo shows. Motley Crue’s last show was on Oct. 13 at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.
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Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner