Tommy Lee Reveals How He and Mötley Crüe Worked as Escorts Before Fame

Long before Mötley Crüe packed arenas and sold millions of records, their lives looked very different. Drummer Tommy Lee has opened up about a surprising chapter from his pre-fame days that sounds more like a Hollywood movie plot than the backstory of a heavy metal star.

On Wednesday's episode of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, Tommy recalled the band's early struggle years, when he lived with future bandmates Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil, barely scraping by. According to Lee, things were so tight that their manager gave each member just $20 a week. That's when an unexpected opportunity came their way: they met a woman who ran an escort agency, and she offered them work.

The musicians quickly realized that escorting paid much more than waiting for their big musical break. Tommy said each guy got $20 a week from their manager, but from escorting they saw 'big numbers,' so they decided to go for it. In the end, Lee went on about nine or ten dates, though not all were as wild as one might assume. Often, the women just wanted company for dinner and conversation.

Tommy added that he was lucky because some of his older clients were really fun. He earned around $500 per date — a huge jump from $20 a week. No wonder it was hard to pass up. But that chapter didn't last forever. Mötley Crüe, co-founded in 1981, soon found its footing. By 1983, the breakthrough success of 'Looks That Kill' and the 'Shout at the Devil' album launched them toward rock superstardom, and escorting became a thing of the past.