BRET MICHAELS DENIES DEMANDING SIX TIMES MORE MONEY FOR POISON TOUR

In a new interview with Chaz & AJ In The Morning, a morning radio talk show program on 99.1 WPLR, a rock radio station broadcasting from New Haven, Connecticut, Poison frontman Bret Michaels was asked if fans can expect to see tour to commemorate the 41st anniversary of the band’s debut album, 1986’s Look What the Cat Dragged In, in 2027. He responded (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net), “We’re just gonna call it hopefully ’40 Plus One’.” Referencing the fact that the proposed Look What the Cat Dragged In 40th-anniversary tour won’t materialize in 2026, 

Michaels added, “But I can tell you this — as this thing got further down the road… Remember, when you’re booking stuff, we’re already booking stuff solo into ’27. So this just got backed up. And I’m hoping that, as a founding member, obviously that would be a great day, and I’m positive we can make that happen in ’27.”

Asked if there is any truth to drummer Rikki Rockett‘s recent claim that the band’s 2026 tour was no longer happening after the singer allegedly demanded to earn $6 for every dollar each of his bandmates stood to make from the shows, Michaels responded, “Well, I’m gonna answer that honestly. It never happened. We never got to that part of negotiations. What happens — when you start this, they ask me to put together solo numbers and an average, and that’s the first part we turn in. We ask what the stage is gonna look like, where do we start the tour? I even got into where we’re starting the dates, and then all of a sudden, ’26, the shows in ’26 wanted solo answers, so we moved this to ’27 back last summer. The reason it’s come up for the third time — no one, even the other members haven’t commented. They’re, like, ‘I thought this is going in ’27 now.'”

He added, “We’re all friends. And if you wanna discuss something, we have each other’s phone number for the last 45 years. Just call me. No offense. I love Rikki. I love [bassist] Bobby [Dall]. I love [guitarist] C.C. [DeVille]. Don’t negotiate on the air [during an interview]. Just call me on the phone, and we’ll work out what[ever needs to be worked out]. We’ve worked it out for 40 other years. Let’s work out what we need to work out.”

When the interviewer noted that he didn’t think anyone would blink if Michaels asked for more money, he clarified, “Again, I wanna go into this. That never came up on the table. What comes up on the table is, what’s people making solo? What are we doing? You throw it out there. And it’s not their fault either. It never finished, the negotiations, on everything. Where’s the tour start? Who’s opening for us? What lights, what sound, what’s the stage look like?

“It’s hard to explain to everybody how much goes into making a show great,” he continued. “And with me, when I’m solo. I could make this decision on the bum runners. If I’m out with Poison, we’re four founding members. And rightfully so for that situation. So I wanna make sure the fans hear the truth. It should be a four-way discussion. That’s what Poison‘s meant to be.”

Michaels added, “I love Rikki. He’s my brother. We’ve been through a lot together. I love Bobby, I love C.C., and I appreciate C.C. and Bobby staying out in the middle. They didn’t make any comments. I truly believe, ’cause we already knew last summer it was moving to ’27.”