The Tragic Death Of Alice In Chains' Mike Starr

Publish date: 2024-05-04

Mike Starr had been with Alice In Chains since they formed in 1987 and would be present through their near-meteoric rise to grunge fame. The 1990 album Facelift brought them into the light. The release of 1992's Dirt secured their legacy. There was no forgetting Alice In Chains from that point forward. The album generated five hit singles and became a staple of the grunge movement, but the time surrounding Dirt was a chaotic one for the band.

According to Revolver, Layne Staley's drug problem was in full swing, causing the band to cancel several shows during the album's release tour, and Starr wasn't much better off. Unlike with Staley, Alice In Chains wouldn't look the other way on Starr's substance abuse, and instead gave him the boot in the middle of the tour in 1993.

Of course, the band didn't say that Mike Starr was fired because of the drugs; that was a conclusion that he'd come to on his own sometime later, according to Rolling Stone. Instead, Staley said Starr was let go for "a difference of priorities," with Starr having grown tired of touring and wanting to return home while the band wanted to do what bands do: tour. We might never know who was telling the truth now that both musicians are deceased, but it might be pretty hypocritical for Staley to fire anyone for their drug use.

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