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Mötley Crüe was formed in Los Angeles by Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, and Mick Mars in 1981.

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Neil (center) initially didn't want to join the band, but Lee (right), a high school friend, convinced him to reconsider. On April 1, 1981, Neil officially joined.

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The band's first gig was at the Starwood nightclub on April 24, 1981. Rumor has it that Sixx worked at the venue at the time and begged his boss for the gig.

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On November 10, 1981, the band's first album, Too Fast for Love, came out.

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The band was equally known for their music as their backstage antics, outrageous clothing, extreme hair and makeup, and seemingly endless abuse of alcohol and drugs.

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Neil is best known for being the lead vocalist of Mötley Crüe, but has also released three solo albums.

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Neil is also known for his turbulent personal life, which included multiple arrests and convictions.

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Lee was the band's longtime drummer. He was sometimes called "T-bone" due because of his tall (6' 2½") and thin frame.

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Sixx was the band's lead bassist and wrote most of Mötley Crüe's hits, including "Live Wire," "Home Sweet Home," "Girls, Girls, Girls," and "Kickstart My Heart."

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Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a member of Sister. After being fired from the band, he founded London with his Sister bandmate, Lizzie Grey. Third time's a charm, because his next venture was Mötley Crüe. Here he is performing at a concert in New York City in 1984.

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Mars joined the group after putting an ad in a Los Angeles newspaper in April 1980, saying he was "a loud, rude, and aggressive guitar player" looking for a band to join. Sixx and Lee saw it, reached out, and the rest is history.

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Mars has struggled with ankylosing spondylitis for most of his career, a form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. He was diagnosed when he was 17 years old.

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Sixx and Lee backstage at the Monsters of Rock Festival on August 18, 1984 in just one example of their unique fashion choices.

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Neil performing at Madison Square Garden during the Shout at the Devil Tour on January 15, 1984.

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The band's second album, Shout at the Devil, represented the band's mainstream breakthrough and would eventually be certified 4x platinum. It also gained the attention of Ozzy Osbourne and is the reason the band was his opening act for the Bark at the Moon tour in 1984.

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Mötley Crüe and Osbourne met during a sound check in Maine and immediately hit it off—so much so that Osbourne moved into the Crüe's tour bus after meeting. Here they are at the Ozzy Osbourne Concert After-Party at Peter Gatien's Limelight Entertainment Complex in New York City in 1984.

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Mötley Crüe's hard-partying and drug-fueled ways reportedly almost shattered the band, until their managers pulled an intervention. All the band members eventually went to rehab, except Mars who cleaned up on his own.

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Sixx and Neil performing onstage in Connecticut in 1985.

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Lee fooling around at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City in 1985. During the band's performances, Lee was known for mooning the crowd at nearly every show.

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Sixx and Jon Bon Jovi in Los Angeles in 1985. Bon Jovi once praised "You're All I Ever Need" as "the best ballad Mötley Crüe have ever written." Sixx reportedly laughed when he heard this, because of the gruesome meaning behind the song.

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