Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars will no longer tour with the band, although he will continue as a member, a rep for the musician tells Variety.
The full statement reads:
“Mick Mars, co-founder and lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe for the past 41 years, has announced today that due to his ongoing painful struggle with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.), he will no longer be able to tour with the band. Mick will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigors of the road. A.S. is an extremely painful and crippling degenerative disease, which affects the spine.“
There was no immediate official word on who will replace Mars as the band’s touring guitarist, however rumors have been rife for weeks that former Marilyn Manson/Rob Zombie guitarist John 5, who recently stopped touring with Zombie, will fill in for him.
The news comes days after the group announced another leg of their co-headlining tour with Def Leppard, which is slated to cover Latin America and Europe from February through July of 2023. The two groups recently wrapped a North American tour…
…Mars, 71 (real name: Robert Deal), has struggled with the disease since his late teens but soldiered through for many years, as noted by Ultimate Classic Rock. He spoke about his first experiences with it in the group’s 2001 biography The Dirt…
Dana’s note: Thank you, to Doug R., for passing this news on to me.
24 Responses
Speaking of underrated guitarists…John 5! Wow! His Instagram feed is a must-follow if you want to see a Steve Vai-level guitar virtuoso.
As for Mick Mars, saying that he will stop TOURING with Motley Crue just sounds like a gentle way of saying he’s essentially retiring from the band altogether because there doesn’t seem to be much motivation among the other members to record new albums.
The blessing/curse of being a “legacy” band…
Rtunes, while I don’t know the structure of the Motley Crue business model, perhaps Nikki and Mick are the sole owners of the Motley Crue entity, while Tommy and Vince are “hired guns”. Maybe saying Mick is “retiring from touring” means he’s still part owner of Motley Crue.
Rattle,
That may very well be, especially since he had the name Mötley Crüe (but spelled Motley Crew) prior to joining the band. I took his statement to mean, he is still a member, meaning he will continue to write, and record music, with them, as long as they choose to do so?
The only sane member of Motley Crue. Hopefully John 5 doesn’t lose his soul to the other asshats in the band.
On a separate topic, has the webmaster of this site noticed the “Improve Hardening” warning at the top of the page? It’s not a Viagra ad. It means your WordPress site is not as secure as you may think.
I thought it was an ED add, too, at first! Lol
So glad to have seen Mick about six times. One of the greats of hard rock. Agree he needs to get that solo album out. I also wish John 5 and DLR would put that 2nd record out.
I’ve “worked” the show in central PA. It was a packed stadium. He\band sounded great.
I wouldn’t say Mick is underrated: everyone here knows how preeminent a guitarist he is. Just because media doesn’t heap praise upon Mick doesn’t mean we the fans ever underrated him. My two favorite Mick solos: “Home Sweet Home” and “Hell on High Heels.” “Live Wire” is still the quintessential Motley song and not because of Nikki’s lyrics – It’s all Mick’s playing and sound. He even made “Starry Eyes” sound good. I’m glad I got to grow up and grow old listening to Mick and the Crue.
I could be wrong, but I think when it comes to most guitar players I have known (including my fiancee) Mars is never usually brought up in the discussion, because maybe he is seen more as a “riff writer” than a master guitarist? Does than negate his skills? No, but most players tend to cite the usual influences: Rhoads, Van Halen, Schenker, Lynch, Hendrix, Vaughn, Satriani, Vai, Bettencourt, etc..
Many I know, don’t really consider Slash that great a player, either.
I agree, Slash is overrated……as is his band.
Rattle,
I also agree. I think Slash has some great feel, and can play in a very melodic way, with Estranged, and Beggars And Hangers On, being great examples, but technically, I find that he can sometimes be sloppy.
I think Tracii Guns is overlooked, but Sykes to me, is one of the most underrated players ever. Not because he isn’t respected by fellow musicians, anyone in the know, like Zakk Wylde, etc, will tout him. But when it comes to the masses he is under the radar, and should NOT be.
You know? I take that back, even amongst some musicians, they are CLUELESS about Sykes. Because I now recall that story that Richard Fortus told about John coming into audition for Guns N’ Roses. They were all like, “John Sykes? Oh brother..” but since he came down, they “allowed him” to try out. Fortus than stated, that once he played, they were BLOWN away, they could not get over him. Fools…LOL!! John is amazing, way too good for Guns, if you ask me.