Last year, Mötley Crüe member Mick Mars shared that he was retiring from touring life; not long after this news came out, the band announced that ex-Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 was joining the band.
Recently, while talking to Linea Rock, Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen was asked to share what he thinks of the band hiring John 5 as their guitarist; Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe toured together as part of last year’s Stadium Tour and are touring with one another much of this year. While talking about how much of a fan he is of John 5, Collen also took the opportunity to comment on Mars’ health.
Mars’ health has been a big point of conversation recently in regard to his lawsuit against Mötley Crüe. Per a past interview from earlier this month, Mars clarified that while he was retiring from touring due to his health, he was still open to recording music and playing one-off shows with the band. Alongside this clarification, Mars claims that Nikki Sixx has “gaslighted” him for some time now, the bassist allegedly saying Mars has some sort of “cognitive dysfunction.” Regarding this point, Mars has defended himself and his ability to play guitar.
When it comes to commenting on Mars’ health, the Def Leppard guitarist notes that Mars was “really in pain” while on tour. Here is everything that Collen had to say regarding John 5 and Mick Mars (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“The thing with Mötley Crüe, Mick Mars was really in pain.
“We’d done the American tour with him, and he has physical issues. So it was great that John 5 had come out. John 5 is just a wonderful human being and plays great and everything, so he fits in.
“And he really helped the band out, because Mick couldn’t really do that. Traveling is the problem; he was having trouble [with all the travel]. It just was painful. It worked out great.”
What do you make of Collen’s points about Mick Mars’ health?
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Upcoming Mötley Crüe 2023 tour dates
- May 22 – Sheffield, UK – Bramall Lane
May 25 – Mönchengladbach, Germany – SparkassenPark
May 27 – Munich, Germany – Koenigsplatz
May 29 – Budapest, Hungary – MVM Dome
May 31 – Krakow, Poland – Tauron Arena Kraków
June 02 – Prague, Czech Republic – Prague Rocks
June 03 – Hannover, Germany – Expo Plaza
June 07 – Solvesborg, Sweden – Sweden Rock Festival
June 09 – Hyvinkää, Finland – RockFest
June 11 – Trondheim, Norway – Trondheim Rocks
June 14 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Copenhell
June 18 – Dessel, Belgium – Graspop Metal Meeting
June 20 – Milan, Italy – Ippodromo SNAI San Siro
June 23 – Lisbon, Portugal – Passeio Maritimo de Alges
June 24 – Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain – Auditorio Miguel Ríos
June 27 – Thun, Switzerland – Stockhorn Arena
July 01 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium
July 02 – Lytham, UK – Lytham Festival
July 04 – Dublin, Ireland – Marlay Park
July 06 – Glasgow, UK – Hampden Park
August 05 – Syracuse, NY – JMA Wireless Dome
August 08 – Columbus, OH – Ohio Stadium
August 11 – Fargo, ND – Fargodome
August 13 – Omaha, NE – Charles Schwab Field Omaha
August 16 – Tulsa, OK – H.A. Chapman Stadium
August 18- El Paso, TX – Sun Bowl Stadium