MÖTLEY CRÜE, the iconic rock band that has been in the music industry for over four decades, may be facing a career-ending crisis following a lawsuit involving their guitarist Mick Mars, who announced retirement from touring in October 2020, and has since been replaced with John 5.
Mars claimed that despite his inability to tour, he had not given up any rights as a one-quarter shareholder in the band’s many companies. He alleged that he was the only member of the quartet playing live through 100% of the 36 shows on the 2022 stadium tour. Mars also stated that Nikki Sixx didn’t play a single note live, and that Vince Neil and Tommy Lee were sometimes seen or heard by audience members away from mics or instruments when their parts were going on.
In a recent interview with Guitar World, Sixx shared his perspective on the MÖTLEY CRÜE situation, revealing that Mars‘ decision to exit was entirely unexpected.
When the topic of John 5‘s induction came up, Sixx elaborated on the conditions that led to the ex-ROB ZOMBIE guitarist’s enlistment, emphasizing that the choice was made to meet tour obligations.
“We never saw it coming that Mick wasn’t going to be able to tour and was going to have to quit the band,” Nikki said. “In the middle – not even the middle – of a huge tour, we had to ask ourselves, ‘Do we want to let the fans down? Do we want to let Live Nation down? Do we want to let DEF LEPPARD down? Do we want to let ourselves down because an original member of our band can’t tour anymore?’ We had to have a deep, deep look into what we were going to do.”
He continued: “[In regard to] John, knowing all the members of the band, and me having this relationship with him writing and as friends, and even being in the studio with him writing stuff with the band for The Dirt, it felt like a no-brainer in a horrible situation – something we did not ask for or want.
“And then it was just kind of obvious. If there was ‘the guy’, John was the guy. Like I said, we didn’t choose this, but since we had to be put in this position, we’re very happy with where we’re at right now.”
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Mars revealed that the band had not really talked since the premiere of The Dirt movie in 2019.
“Nobody spoke to me in 2022 [during CRÜE‘s ‘The Stadium Tour’ with DEF LEPPARD]. A lot of the time felt like I was just playing by myself. You know how you can be in a crowd of people and still feel alone? That’s how I felt that whole tour. I felt used, sad, and inferior. When we played the last show [in Las Vegas on September 9, 2022] I felt relieved. A lot of the pressure was gone. But I was very emotionally wounded. They weren’t just shallow wounds. They were deep ones; the kind you can’t get over.”
Furthermore, Mars expressed his desire to avoid any future communication with his bandmates.
“I think all of us would be okay with that,” he said. “And I don’t just mean me with them. I mean them with each other. I don’t plan on having a funeral. If I did, I think maybe they’d show up for that just out of courtesy. But for me, there’s no funeral. There’s no nothing.”
