On December 8, 1984, what started as a quick trip to a liquor store turned into a tragic incident that forever changed rock history. Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas Charles “Razzle” Dingley was riding in a car with Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil. Both musicians were under the influence at the time.
During the short drive, Neil lost control of the vehicle on a slick patch of road, swerving into oncoming traffic and crashing into two other cars. The accident took Razzle’s life and left two young individuals with permanent injuries.
Neil was later convicted of vehicular manslaughter, receiving a controversial sentence: 20 days in jail, along with fines and community service.
Andy McCoy Speaks Out: “He’s Scared of Me”
In a candid interview with Classic Rock, Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy opened up about the aftermath of the crash and his lingering resentment toward Vince Neil:
“Not only did Razzle die, two young people got crippled. And this guy sat one night in jail, got away with a misdemeanor. If he would have been a broke Afro-American guy or Latino, he would have been doing life in San Quentin.”
McCoy claims that Neil has been avoiding him ever since:
“He’s scared of me. Every time he sees me, he runs away. But to me, it is so important – it is the moral value of the thing. The other Mötley Crüe guys apologised, but the other guys didn’t do anything wrong.”
“We Could Have Sued”: McCoy Chose Morality Over Money
McCoy also revealed that Hanoi Rocks had considered legal action against Neil, but he personally discouraged it, feeling that Razzle’s life couldn’t be measured in dollars:
“They were f-cking so pissed off with him that Mötley Crüe almost broke up that day. Tommy just wanted to beat the sh-t out of the f-cker. He’s got ‘PMUSA’ tattooed on his a-s – prime meat from the United States; f-cking hell, I’d say prime piss… prime p-ssy USA.”
Despite the intense anger, McCoy urged the band not to pursue a lawsuit:
“We could have sued over Razzle and gotten millions, but I was the one that put a stop to that. There was talk about that and I said: ‘How the hell can we put a price on a brother, a family member? There isn’t enough money, you can’t put it in money. Let him live with it, let karma get him.’”
He concluded his thoughts with a sobering reminder of consequences:
“He just doesn’t seem to get out of trouble. But as he made his bed, he will sleep in it.”
