L.A. GUNS Singer Throws Shade At MÖTLEY CRÜE For 'Hideous' Cover Of 'Like A Virgin'

L.A. GUNS frontman Phil Lewis has thrown shade at MÖTLEY CRÜE for recording a cover of Madonna's "Like A Virgin" for the recently released biopic "The Dirt".

CRÜE's take on the pop superstar's 1984 smash hit is one of four new songs the band recorded for "The Dirt Soundtrack", which accompanies the movie and features a collection of CRÜE classics that underscore significant moments that shape the film.

Speaking to Icon Vs. Icon about the fan and media response to L.A. GUNS' 2017 album, "The Missing Peace", and its follow-up, "The Devil You Know", Lewis said: "I think 'The Missing Peace' opened a lot of doors for us and people gave us a second chance when they heard that. We're not fuckin' around. You can hear that. We're not trying to do a country song. We're L.A. GUNS. We're not trying to do some type of crossover or some hideous cover of 'Like A Virgin'. We're doing what we've always done, doing what we do best and it's going down like gangbusters. I don't care what other bands are doing. Good luck to them; that's great. I just care about this one and I'm really happy about the way things are going."

MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx told Billboard that the idea to record "Like A Virgin" came to him while he was taking a stroll with his dogs, which he does at the end of each day as part of his meditative practice. "When my mind's open like that, these ideas pop in," he said. "And [it] popped in my head, and I sort of like looked up, as if to laugh at God, and went, 'You're pretty funny.'" Although Sixx initially felt it was "actually a really horrible idea" to cover the song, he told producer Bob Rock about it, and Rock replied: "Yeah, I don't know. Good luck!" But Sixx impressed him and drummer Tommy Lee with a rough demo he had cut, and the band completely reworked the track but left the lyrics intact.

"The Devil You Know" will be released on March 29 via Frontiers Music Srl.