Both Guns N’ Roses and Mötley Crüe are known for having lived the rock and roll life in their day. One of the latter band’s classic songs, titled “Kickstart My Heart“, talks about the toll drugs took on Crüe’s bassist Nikki Sixx. During one the binges, he overdosed on heroin and his heart stopped. According to Sixx’s account, his life was saved by two shots if adrenaline straight in the heart given to him by paramedics, which the song’s lyrics are based on.
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Nikki Sixx
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Steven Adler
Steven Adler (GNR drummer at the time) was with Nikki during the incident, and has slightly different recollections:
“[They] didn’t do that [give Sixx adrenaline shots]. I dragged him into the shower with a broken hand and a cast on my hand, I rolled him in, I put the cold water on him in the shower and I started slapping him in the face with my cast. And next thing you know, the purple in his face just disappeared. And then right then, the paramedics came in and they grabbed him out of the shower like a rag doll, dropped him in the living room and they just pumped his chest with their hands. And that was it.”
Referring to Nikki’s story, Adler said: “He got a hell of a good song out of it. It is entertainment, after all.”
Although “Kickstart My Heart” was a modest hit for Mötley Crüe (topped at 27 on Billboard’s chart), none of the band’s concerts could have happened without the song as it became one of the fans’ favourites.
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