In a recent interview on The Jeremy White Show, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5 discussed classic rock and heavy metal bands that keep touring and recording despite the absence of some original members.
“It’s very strange because all these bands, they’re slowly going away,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “And it’s totally, totally scary to me, because we have good rock and roll, but we need more good rock and roll. We need more bands to come out there. We need more bands to say ‘look at me’ and stuff, ’cause I’m looking. I can’t wait to see new rock and roll. We need it, because they’re going away.”
“I was thinking about this the other day. Can you name — I don’t know — let’s say five bands, let’s say starting from the ’80s who have original members. ‘Cause from the ’70s it’s impossible.”
When White couldn’t name any 1980s bands that still have their original lineups, John 5 commented further: “So just imagine, though, if a member left or passed away or something, God forbid, and then that band couldn’t continue. There’d be nobody. Isn’t that wild to think about?”
John 5 continued to defend older rock bands for performing despite having only one or two original members remaining.
“I’m speaking as a fan,” he said. “I would love to see AC/DC one more time.
“Just take THE ROLLING STONES. When Brian [Jones, founder and original leader of THE ROLLING STONES] died, what if THE STONES were, like, ‘That’s it. No more ROLLING STONES.’ We’d have a few records. Unbelievable.”
John 5 stepped in as Mick Mars‘s replacement in fall of 2022. Mick officially retired from touring with the band in October 2022 due to deteriorating health conditions.
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 the lawsuit, Mick alleges that MÖTLEY CRÜE reduced his share of earnings from 25 percent to a mere 5 percent after revealing his decision to withdraw from touring. Additionally, he states that the group’s attorneys made him feel as if he should appreciate this minimal portion, as they believed they had no obligation to provide him with anything. Mick also asserts that a complete band gathering took place where they chose to “unilaterally” exclude him from MÖTLEY CRÜE.
Mick consistently alleged that bassist Nikki Sixx was “gaslighting” him by suggesting his guitar abilities were declining, even though Sixx didn’t “play a single note on bass” throughout a recent tour, as stated by the guitarist. Mick asserts that all of Nikki‘s segments were pre-recorded.
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