Album
Theatre of Pain
Theatre of Pain is Mötley Crüe's third studio album, released on 21 June 1985 on Elektra. It followed Too Fast for Love and Shout at the Devil, and arrived in the wake of singer Vince Neil's arrest for manslaughter on a drunk driving charge. It is the record where the band began moving away from the straightforward heavy metal of its predecessors and towards a glammier style.
Critics were cool on it at the time, and some of the band themselves think little of it. Even so, it holds two of their best-known songs: a cover of Brownsville Station's 1973 hit "Smokin' in the Boys Room", and the power ballad "Home Sweet Home". It reached No. 6 in the US and No. 36 in the UK, and a world tour ran from July 1985 to March 1986. The album later went quadruple platinum in the US.
Theatre of Pain: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 35:07Tracklist
- 1City Boy BluesMars, Neil, Sixx4:04
- 2Smokin' in the Boys RoomCub Koda and Michael Lutz3:25
- 3Louder Than HellNikki Sixx2:30
- 4Keep Your Eye on the MoneyNikki Sixx4:33
- 5Home Sweet HomeLee, Neil, Sixx3:51
- 6Tonight (We Need a Lover)Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx3:33
- 7Use It or Lose ItLee, Mars, Neil, Sixx2:35
- 8Save Our SoulsVince Neil and Nikki Sixx4:10
- 9Raise Your Hands to RockNikki Sixx2:42
- 10Fight for Your RightsMick Mars and Nikki Sixx3:42
- Produced by
- Tom Werman, Bob Rock
- Recorded at
- Cherokee Studios (Hollywood), Pasha Music House, The Record Plant, Pasha (Hollywood), Record Plant West (Hollywood)
- Mixed by
- Duane Baron
- Mixed at
- The Record Plant
- Engineered by
- Duane Baron
- Label
- Elektra
- Length
- 35:07
Line-up
- Tommy Lee · percussion, drums (drum set), background vocals, piano
- Mick Mars · electric guitar, background vocals, acoustic guitar, guitar
- Nikki Sixx · synthesizer, bass pedals, electric bass guitar, background vocals, bass guitar
- Vince Neil · background vocals, lead vocals
Singles
- “Smokin' in the Boys Room” · 24 June 1985
- “Home Sweet Home” · 30 September 1985
- “Keep Your Eye on the Money” · 1986 (Spain)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1985 | 6 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1985 | 36 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1985 | 5 |
| Swedish Albums · 1985 | 7 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1985 | 9 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2022 | 21 |
| Swiss Albums · 1985 | 25 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1985 | 39 |
| German Albums · 1985 | 44 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1988 | 3× Platinum |
| United States · 1995 | 4× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
64.7
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.9k
ListenBrainz listeners
101k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
1.0k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Full discography →
Too Fast for Love
1981
Shout at the Devil
1983
Girls, Girls, Girls
1987
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1988
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1989
Raw Tracks II
1990
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1991
Mötley Crüe
1994
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1994
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1997
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1998
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1999
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2000
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2003
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2005
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2006
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2008
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2019
Cancelled
2024
From the Beginning
2025
Live Wire EP
2026
The best of 1985
All of 1985 →
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Greatest Hits
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 21 June 1985 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 21 June 1985 | |
| Wikidata | 21 June 1985 | |
| US release | 21 June 1985 | earliest US date |
26 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Elektra | 07559604181 | other |
| — | JP | Elektra | 4988014727532 | other |
| — | XE | Elektra | 07559604182 | other |
| — | XE | Elektra | 07559604182 | other |
| — | XE | Elektra | 075596041829 | other |
| — | XW | BMG | 4050538779066 | other |
| 1985 | US | Elektra | 075596041829 | other |
| 1985 | US | Elektra | 07559604181 | other |
| 1985 | US | Elektra | other | |
| 21 June 1985 | US | Elektra | 07559604182 | original |
| 10 July 1985 | JP | Elektra | other | |
| 25 October 1985 | JP | Elektra | other | |
| 10 July 1989 | JP | Elektra | 4988014727532 | other |
| 1999 | US | Mötley Records | 044003867222 | other |
| 1999 | XE | Beyond | 724384774820 | other |
| 1999 | JP | Beyond Music | 4988005230799 | other |
| 2003 | CA | Mötley Records | 044006763026 | other |
| 2003 | US | Masters 2000 Inc. | 044003867222 | other |
| 14 July 2003 | DE | Mötley Records | 044003867222 | other |
| 2008 | US | Eleven Seven Music | 846070032226 | other |
| 30 September 2008 | US | Eleven Seven Music | 846070032028 | other |
| 25 June 2021 | XW | BMG | 4050538781571 | remaster |
| 2022 | DE | BMG | 4050538784718 | other |
| 9 June 2022 | — | BMG | 4050538853322 | other |
| October 2022 | DE | BMG | 4050538784718 | other |
| 14 November 2025 | US | — | 4099964206739 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: major: best source 1406x1391, upscaled to 1500 (x1.08)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1406×1391 | upscaled: major: best source 1406x1391, upscaled to 1500 (x1.08) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |