It was four months ago that Mick Mars shared he was suing Mötley Crüe. Per his lawsuit against the band, Mars claims they are attempting to cut his profit percentage shares related to the band’s businesses, and he’s requested to see financial books related to those businesses. He’s also made claims that the band has been “trying to replace” him since 1987.
Mars has been quite vocal about his issues with the band, and among the comments they’ve provided, Mötley Crüe has shot down accusations Mars has made about them playing to backing tracks on their 2022 tour. In a past interview, bassist Nikki Sixx also expressed that he feels Mars is being “misled by representatives.”
In a new interview with Guitar World, Sixx opens up about the tough decision Mötley Crüe faced when Mars decided to step away from touring, saying that the band “never saw it coming that Mick wasn’t going to be able to tour.”
Per Sixx, here’s what he had to say:
“We never saw it coming that Mick wasn’t going to be able to tour and was going to have to quit the band. 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.”
Sixx then goes on to talk about the decision to replace Mars in Mötley Crüe’s live shows with John 5, saying:
“[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.”
Sixx then goes on to talk about how much he enjoys playing with John 5. At the time of this writing, there have been no other major updates regarding the current legal matter involving Mötley Crüe and Mick Mars. We will keep you posted on updates as they arrive.