Tommy Lee: ‘On a daily basis I ask myself, how am I still alive?’ (2024)

Thomas Lee Bass was born in Athens in 1962 – a beautiful, bouncing baby boy who spent the majority of his following years rocking out, raising hell, having sex, getting married and courting controversy as the percussion section and founding member of hard-living, death-defying, drink-and-drug-abusing, shouting-at-Satan heavy metal hedonists Mötley Crüe. Google his name and chances are you will be bombarded with thousands of stories – the good, the bad and the downright ugly. But as Tommy tells GQ, he isn't perfect, he has made mistakes and he is “always trying to be a better person”.

Next month, Tommy turns 58 – yes, really – and is releasing a solo album, Andro. A fusion of rock, rap, industrial metal and even an incredible Prince cover, it is eclectic, original and almost indefinable… a bit like its creator. But then again, Tommy has always defied expectations. As we chat over Zoom, it is almost impossible not to warm to the flawed but funny musician, author and TikTok star who seems genuinely content not to be living his life at 100mph in the fast lane, pulling a wheelie.

Right now he is on marriage number four – to social-media star and podcaster Brittany Furlan – and is living happily in LA, complete with a menagerie of animals, a recording studio and a Rolls-Royce in the garage. He lives quietly, doesn't go out much, and is enjoying life. But just in case you were concerned, he hasn't finished rocking just yet and is ready to go whenever Mötley can get back on the road. And don't worry… he can do that sh*t blindfolded.

GQ: Hey Tommy. How's life in California… are you getting back to any kind of normality?
Tommy Lee: Dude, it's hot as f*ck! We had this crazy heatwave... it was 107 degrees.

Just what you need after all the coronavirus stuff, right? How did you handle lockdown?
I was OK. The last thing I want is anybody to be hurt or die or any of that. But for me personally, I don't really leave my house that much anyway, so I didn't feel the effects that a lot of people did. I mean, not touring... that sucks. And it sucks if people can’t get together and f*cking have some fun, but I just hung out at home in my studio really.

Was it just you and Brittany? Haven’t you got lots of animals too?
Yeah, yeah… we’ve got a full-on farm over here. Fish, turtles, dogs, birds, my kids. We hang out and work in my studio a lot. Keeps me busy and out of trouble.

Did you pick up any skills in lockdown? Did you work on any ‘personal development’?
That's kind of a daily thing for me, you know. I'm always trying to be a better person. And I have to admit, what I appreciated during this time was that everything just slowed down and actually stopped long enough for me to take time and do some introspection. You know, what's really good in your life, what's not so good, what could be better. I think that’s been good for everyone. The one thing about the pandemic that's f*cking awesome, though, is I love seeing who I'm talking to because typically, doing an interview, I would be on the phone and you never really see anybody – you can't connect right. I can see you and your little dog and that is a f*cking killer. What’s his name, dude?

This is Ziggy.
Ziggy, as in Stardust? That’s awesome, man. Is it a wiener dog? We have one of those, but ours is a long-hair.

Thanks Tommy. It’s great being able to see you too, but there must be something wrong with Zoom because you really don’t look like you’re going to be 58 in October. Is that fake news?
It’s wild, huh? Yes, you're right. Thanks for reminding me! You know what, though, it's just one of those things. A lot of people tell me that and really I'm flattered. No, I don't look my age, and I certainly don't act it because I swear to God I'm 57 going on 15.

And you are in good health?
Really good health. What's crazy is that about three or four months ago I had a full physical… everything checked out and my doctor looked at the results and goes: “Tommy, you are perfectly healthy and physically everything is wonderful.” And I was like, “Seriously? Are you sure that there's not another Tommy Lee here that my papers got mixed up with, because that's incredible."

Maybe you're indestructible?
Yeah, maybe. Or perhaps you can't kill what's already dead!

And would you still describe yourself as an incurable romantic?
Yeah. Fortunately… or unfortunately, yeah. But luckily I have my beautiful wife and she is just incredible, man. My face often hurts from laughing so much from all the fun we have. She has that wonderful gift of laughter and I think that's such an underrated quality in people.

Is it true you fell out of love with music a little bit after the Mötley tour finished in 2015?
Well, I didn't fall out of love exactly, but it was necessary for me to take a break. By the end of that tour, after being on the road for almost two years straight, we agreed as a band that this would be it. We're done, let's go out on top. Mike drop, thank you, good night, see ya. And everybody's headspace was, we're done. So I decided I was going to take a year off... and I didn’t quite make it. It's pretty hard for me to sit around and not be creative and I started working on my new solo record in 2017 and it took a couple of years to put together, but I’m stoked for people to hear it.

And you're still into it two years on?
I am, which is so rare. If you still like something that you've worked on for a couple of years and you're still playing it and still digging it… that doesn't happen a lot. I've heard it nine million f*cking times and I still like it. That's a really good sign.

I know you collaborated with lots of people on it, but with the creative process was it just you in your studio by yourself?
For the most part, yeah. I don't have a regular format, but you know I'll write and write until I have this great bunch of songs. Then I’ll have a wish list of people that I would love to collaborate with and then at that point, I just reach out. That's kinda how it goes for me.

Do you have any favourite tracks from the album?
That’s so hard but one I really like is called “When You Were Mine”. It's a cover of an old Prince song. God, it’s so f*cking good. It’s kind of a fast pop tune and we slowed it down and just made it super sexy and I f*cking love that song. But there's just so many, like... look, if I didn't love them, they wouldn't be on the record yet.

Covering a Prince track from the early ’80s is almost full circle for you, right? If you go back to the early days of Mötley Crüe, you were all into the big heels, leopardskin pants and all that stuff.
That's pretty much right, yeah.

Lots of the people on your new record are up-and-coming artists. Spotting talent has always been something you are good at, right?
I like to think so. That goes back to watching Guns N’ Roses at the Whisky years ago. Me and Nikki Sixx were with Tom [Zutaut] from Electra Records and we were saying, “Dude, you’ve got to sign these guys. They are gonna be f*cking huge.” And look what happened... Electra didn’t sign them. For years Tom was forever f*cking going, “I can't believe I slept on that.” We told you, dude! I can listen.

And you are still living the rock’n’roll life… face tattoos and all of that?
I've had face tattoos for a while, so this is nothing new, really. I mean, I've had some stars on my face, but I've been wanting something new for a while. So then I finally got a chance with my tattoo artist when he was over here for a couple days and I'm like, “Dude, let's go!”

And you’ve also gone viral on TikTok…
That's all my wife's fault. That's what she does. She creates really funny, really silly content. And she's been doing it for years. She started on Vine and now she’s on TikTok and wherever else she can get her craziness on. And she got me into it...

My favourite TikTok of Brittany’s is the one where she is reading The Dirt and says: “How did my husband not die?” On behalf of your wife, and everyone in the world: how did you not die?
I have no f*cking idea. Honestly, I pinch myself on a daily basis. I'm like, how am I still alive? Like, do I have some lucky horseshoe stuck in my ass, or is somebody watching over me that I'm unaware of? How is it even possible? Watch... I'll walk out of my house now and get hit by a truck!

Well, you know the drummer is the first to go, right? John Bonham, Keith Moon... they're the crazy ones. But obviously not you...
Well, not yet anyway.

What did you think of The Dirt movie?
It's f*cking amazing! It's one of the best rock’n’roll movies that there is. With those kinds of films, many have tried to make them great, and most of them have failed. I've watched many of them and I'm like: “This sucks! This isn't even really what it's like. What is this bullsh*t?” Like, did nobody in the crew or the talent or the writers have any experience on the road or what it was really like, because they're way off. But with The Dirt, Jeff Tremaine did a f*cking amazing job of capturing it. You know, when I watch it it takes me right back to that time period and all the real sh*t that was happening around us. So, yes, I love it. I'm super happy with it, and I've watched it a bunch of times.

And you thought Machine Gun Kelly made a good Tommy?
He absolutely smashed it! I still don't know how Jeff the director took that much material, that many years of f*cking insanity, and put it into what, an hour and 45 minutes or whatever the length is. And have it make sense. All the guys that played us just killed it. As a band, we couldn't have been happier.

And is it true... does Mick still call you ‘the drummer’?
No, dude. He calls me calls me T-bone. But yeah, early on, he did do that.

The movie was obviously a big success and it brought you loads of fans. Were you delighted about that, or did you worry that you were back reliving those days all over again?
You know what... I love the fact that a whole new generation of people have watched that film and it makes me so happy that they've enjoyed it. What most of them say is like, “f*ck! I’m really bummed out I missed that.” And they're right... that'll never happen again. It just won't. That was a wild f*cking time. Well, at least they can watch the movie.

Do you miss those times, Tommy, or do you kind of look back and think ‘been there, seen it, done it’? I suppose there were good times and bad...
Yeah. I mean, that's a pretty loaded one because there were some really, really great times in life that were incredible and that will never be the same. And then there were also times where, you know, I'm glad that's over. I don't know, man, it's a double-edged sword.

And how are things with Mötley at the moment? When you aren’t touring, do you stay in touch?
I actually was just talking to Nikki on the phone before when I got on to you. And the other guys are cool. Me and Nikki just flew out to Nashville before the tour, just to hang out, and we all stay in contact. So we’re all good. But dude, this is crazy… Nikki just moved to f*cking Wyoming! We used to live five minutes down the street from each other. And he just called me up and goes, “Dude, I bought a house in Wyoming. I'm out of here.” And he just bailed. I'm like, “God bless you. Good. Go… run!”

And the band is going to keep going… kind of like the Rolling Stones of metal?
Well you know what, dude... I guess, at the end of the day, as long as everyone's having fun and enjoying it, my attitude is: “Let's go rock sh*t. I'm down.”

And you can still do a show, rock hard for two hours a night, or whatever?
Blindfolded.

So you're 15 going on 57, but what turns you into a grumpy old man? What grinds your gears?
This is a big one – I absolutely f*cking hate our President. God, I can't wait till it's election time because this f*cking moron just needs to just pack his sh*t and get the f*ck out. I still can't believe people voted for him. I mean, I'll never forget sitting there watching TV, and they were announcing the results and I was looking around thinking: “Am I getting punked?” I was like… this is a f*cking joke.

Do you think he's going to get a second term?
No, I don't think so because he's just unequipped. He does not know how to run a country. Plus he's mentally unstable. Actually, I mean you hear some of the things he says and does and you're like, that guy's President? You gotta be f*cking kidding me. No wonder f*cking Kanye is running for President. Jesus!

And finally, Tommy, are you still into your cars?
Yeah, but less so now. I still love cars, though. My daily driver at the moment is a hybrid – it's a Fisker Karma. Which is kind of cool because you know it’s a hybrid and can run on electric. It’s kind of cool just buzzing around in the city. But if I'm going somewhere far away or want to be comfortable, I have the Rolls-Royce Wraith. She's beautiful. Wow! You roll the windows up and you can't hear anything... it's frighteningly quiet.

And is it true you once had sex with a girl because she had a Corvette and you wanted to drive it?
Yeah, I know, right… Now there's a guy who loves cars. But it was so worth it. It was a brand new 1981 Corvette. Totally worth it.

And are you still riding motorbikes?
Yeah. I do like choppers just because they're so laid back. You just cruise because, especially out here in California, if you're riding you want to chill out. Any of the fast sort, those café-racer style bikes, are just so f*cking dangerous. I prefer the chopper because it's chill – you're not doing wheelies at 80 miles an hour. I’m not that crazy any more…

Andro is out on 16 October.

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