Nikki Sixx has spoken out about his Mötley Crüe bandmate Vince Neil following his onstage fall while performing at a Tennessee rock festival.
Vince was performing ‘Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)’ during a solo gig at the Monsters on the Mountain festival at LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, when he disappeared from view.
Later in the set bass player, Dana Strum explained to the audience that Neil was hurt.
“The truth is Vince fell and broke ribs when he fell,” Strum said. “He can’t breathe and he’s gonna get dealt with medically.”
“Now that sucks for us and him. He was so excited to be here. He lives in Tennessee,” he added.
Now, Nikki Sixx has spoken out about the situation, saying the accident was a result of the festival crew failing to put down reflective tape to mark the edge of the stage.
“Without that, it’s all completely black, so you can walk forward thinking there’s still stage there and fall off,” Sixx explained to Billboard.
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“I’ve done that myself. Vince and I were laughing about one time we both fell off the stage at the same show. But he was really lucky. He said if it wasn’t a song that he was playing rhythm guitar on it could’ve been his head, which would’ve been a worse injury. The guitar broke his fall. But he’ll heal up and we’ll be ready to go on tour in June.”
Luckily, Vince is said to now be home following the incident, with Mötley Crüe’s social media page reassuring fans that, despite a few broken ribs, Vince was on the mend and will still join them on tour next year.
“Vince is back home and resting after breaking a few ribs on Friday night,” they wrote. “Our love and best wishes for a speedy recovery and ready to rock in ’22!!” the post read.
For more on this topic, follow the Classic Rock Observer.
Video footage of Vince Neil falling off stage and breaking his ribs:
