It wasn’t that long ago that news came out that Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars would be replaced by John 5 when it comes to the band’s touring. Back in October 2022, a statement was released in regard to Mars’ retirement; that statement cited health problems as Mars’ decision to step away from touring.
However, per a recent interview with drumming icon Carmine Appice, it appears there may also have been some tension going on between Mars and the rest of Mötley Crüe.
Talking to Ultimate Guitar, Appice was asked what he thinks of Mars stepping away from the band; in response to this, Appice reveals that, per Mars, he was “not happy” while on the Stadium Tour last year. As Appice puts it, what upset Mars so much is that so much of the band’s performances were, allegedly, on “tape.”
Here is exactly what Appice said:
“Well, I tell you what I’ve been talking to Mick, and he told me, ‘When I was on the Stadium Tour, I was not happy.’ Basically, everything was on tape; it was all planned out and ultimately a lot of crap. And Mick is a pretty good player, and so, to now let him loose and play the way he wants, that was never going to work for him.
“The truth is that everything has been weird for a while with Motley Crue, and Mick didn’t like that everything was on tape. Mick told me that people that came to see it could tell that it was all pre-recorded and that everything was on tape.
“When you play in a stadium like that, you can hear a lot of things come to the monitors or what doesn’t. And with Vince‘s vocals, bass, drums, guitars, and all the other stuff, it was obvious that it was all on tape. And Mick was pissed off and said, ‘I can play these things. I want to play them. I don’t want to make believe I’m playing them.’ So, I think that’s one of the reasons why he said, ‘I’m done.’ Sure, the disease that he has doesn’t help, and it doesn’t make life easy on tour, but Mick can play all the licks, and he was allowed to.”
Appice was then asked to clarify that Mars was not getting along with the rest of the band, to which the drummer said:
“No, he wasn’t. He had his own means of travel and would travel alone on a bus while the other guys flew everywhere. He said, ‘Man, these guys are pissing their money away, flying to every gig.’ They were all busy still trying to be rock stars, and Mick just wanted to play the music. Mick wasn’t interested in wasting time and money flying everywhere, so he traveled by bus. Their lifestyles are different than his, and so there were a lot of disagreements.
“I think he was just done. They were supposed to have done their last tour, and then they came back. Then they did the Stadium Tour, and that was apparently supposed to be the last. So, when they came back again, he said, ‘You can do it. I’m not going out with you for this.'”
What do you make of this insight from Appice? If you attended one of Mötley Crüe’s Stadium Tour shows last year, did you get the impression that the performances were “on tape”?
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