During a recent interview on “The Mike Calta Show,” MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars was asked about his sentiments regarding singer Vince Neil‘s apparent decline as a frontman and vocalist throughout the years.
There was a brief pause before Mars replied: “Um, well, it is what it is. The road takes a toll on everybody, really. And, um, it’s kind of like family — people fall out and people come back. And it’s just the way it works. It’s just the way it works.”
In December 2019, CRÜE manager Allen Kovac disclosed to Fox Business that “certain members” of the band had sought external assistance to prepare for CRÜE‘s 2022 “The Stadium Tour” alongside DEF LEPPARD, POISON, and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS. Kovac‘s remarks were aimed, in part, at addressing criticisms directed at Neil regarding his perceived decline in vocal prowess and weight gain.
He said at the time: “Some of them are working with a trainer, some of them are working with a nutritionist to make themselves the best they can be. The greatest insecurity for an artist is: Is anyone going to care about my music? Is anyone going to buy a ticket? We were in November [2019] when the discussions were happening, and these guys were already into regimens of how they get ready for a tour.”
Regarding Neil specifically, Kovac further commented: “Let’s see what Vince sings like and looks like when the tour goes out.”
In April 2023, Mars initiated legal action against his MÖTLEY CRÜE bandmates, alleging that he was unjustly terminated by his “brothers of 41 years.”
In his lawsuit, Mars asserted that the other CRÜE members sought to unlawfully strip him of his 25% ownership stake in the band after he disclosed his inability to tour due to an arthritic condition known as ankylosing spondylitis, which he described as a “tragic announcement.” Mars also claimed that Nikki Sixx “did not play a single note on bass” during the entire 2022 tour, that “100% of Sixx‘s bass parts were nothing but recordings” and asserted that a “significant portion” of Neil‘s vocals and “some of” Tommy Lee‘s drumming were pre-recorded.
