During a September 24 appearance on Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM, Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil candidly discussed his recent health scare, revealing details about the stroke he suffered last December and the grueling recovery process that followed.
Neil recalled that the incident happened on Christmas night: "It was Christmas night, and I went to sleep. I woke up and I couldn't get out of bed. I'm, like, 'What's going on?' And my left leg wouldn't work, and my left arm wouldn't work. So I had to get help out of bed. I couldn't push myself up to get myself comfortable in bed.
"And I had to have help. And slowly but surely, the sensation came back in my legs. And I had to learn to walk again. I went from a wheelchair to a walker to a cane to — I can walk now, but for five months it was just off and on, not knowing what's gonna happen. And the doctor said that I probably wouldn't be on stage again.
"And I was, like, 'No, man. I can't do that.' And so I just tried. I worked my butt off to get back in shape to go on stage. And I was really sad to have to cancel those shows, but I just wasn't ready yet. I wasn't ready to be back on stage yet. It was really sad, but it's really worth it now, 'cause I can get on stage and sing and all that good stuff."
Mötley Crüe subsequently postponed their Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, originally scheduled for spring 2025, to September. The band also canceled their appearance at Maryland's Boardwalk Rock festival in May.
Doctors later informed Neil that he had actually suffered four strokes over the years — two of which he never realized had happened. He explained that scars visible on brain scans revealed past strokes, including one mini-stroke he only recognized because of temporary numbness in his hand: "[I had] four strokes throughout the years. Two of 'em I didn't even know I had. One of 'em was a mini stroke that happened and I just lost feeling in my hand. And that was it. And I got over that pretty quickly. But then this last one, it was a big one."
Neil shared that his most recent stroke was triggered by a blood clot in his leg that traveled to his brain: "Well, they said that I had a blood clot in my leg that ran up through to my brain. And they showed me — I had a neurologist come out and they took x-rays and stuff, and you see I had scars in my brain. [And they said], 'See that's where you had a stroke.'" The condition is particularly personal for the singer, whose father also passed away from a stroke in 2021.
Recovery required intensive physical therapy, both in a Nashville facility and at home with a trainer who usually works with professional athletes: "He had me running, doing ladder drills, massages, my hand, my arm. He brought it all back. He got me through all this," Neil said.
Though he admits he's still not 100% — noting that running across Mötley Crüe's massive stage remains a challenge — Neil estimates he's about 95% recovered and grateful to be back performing.
On why he initially kept the stroke private, Neil explained: "I just said, 'Let's just say it's a medical thing happening and I had to cancel, let people figure out what they wanted.' But then I decided it was probably time to tell people what it was."
The singer first disclosed the truth in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the news quickly spread worldwide. For Neil, the ordeal has been a sobering reminder of fragility but also resilience: "It was really sad to have to cancel those shows, but it's really worth it now, 'cause I can get on stage and sing and all that good stuff."
