POISON FRONTMAN BRET MICHAELS “RESPONDS” TO DRUMMER RIKKI ROCKETT

Poison frontman Bret Michaels appears to have posted a response to drummer Rikki Rockett‘s claim, that the band’s 40th anniversary tour was scrapped, due to financial disagreements.

Michaels wrote on his  Facebook account:

…”To my friend Rikki Rockett – have fun tonight with my good buddy Eddie Trunk and enjoy the Metal Hall Of Fame ceremony,” Michaels added. “As always, I consider Poison to be Bobby, C.C., Rikki and myself. I also make no bones about loving the BMB and will always have both in my life.

Bottom line – I love music, I love the fans and I’m always forever grateful. Onward & upward and let’s all focus on the positive in 2026, and the potential of a future reunion.”

Poison were last on tour in 2022 when they supported Mötly Crüe and Def Leppard on a massive stadium tour. After that tour ended, Michaels went back to performing sporadic shows — consisting almost entirely of Poison hits — with his solo band.

19 Responses

  1. Would love to see a Poison 40th anniversary tour. My idea of a great bill: Poison, Michael Monroe (or Hanoi Rocks with OG members! I can dream, no?). To miss an opportunity to reunite to celebrate the first Poison album, it’s a shame, because it’d be so much fun. And I think we can all use some fun, right? HIT IT, CC…

    2. Exactly, it’s all about having fun! I was looking so forward to partying with Poison and celebrating the 40th anniversary of Look What The Cat Dragged In, even bought t-shirts for the occasion, but once again thanks to Bret’s greediness it won’t be happening! What the hell ever happened to one for all and all for one?? Whatever happened to a band?? Not LSD – lead singer disease! Anyway, I was at that Ratt/Poison show at MSG in ’87 as well, and even though Bret couldn’t finish the set because of his health, it was still an awesome show!

  2. I don’t know how to interpret Bret’s response, but this is how I read it….”Yeah, it’s true I wanted the majority of the money for a Poison reunion. After all, I can make that much money performing with the Bret Michael’s Band. I don’t need those guys in Poison, they need me!”.

    1. I can see how you interpreted it that way, but I think it was a veiled attempt at “Hopefully, at some future date, we can come to an amicable agreement?” 🙂

  3. who would’ve thought Priest could go on without KK and Glenn? it would be unheard of …now it’s just show revue…not really a band….Brett effectively ended Poison….it’s the singer, stupid.

    1. Yes,

      But let us not forget, that Judas Priest also went on without The Metal God, which I would have also thought unfathomable, especially when the singer is so iconic, recognizable and unusual.

      I suppose if Poison wanted to get a new singer, as much as I adore Michaels, he is certainly easier to replace than Rob Halford. Now, whether the interest would be there, is questionable.

      I just hope we don’t end up with two versions of Poison like we did Ratt, L.A Guns and Great White.

      It would be in their fan’s best interest, to work this out. But, as we have seen many before, the fans usually take a back seat to the all mighty buck.

    2. Rob is irreplaceable…and I don’t appreciate brands that used to be bands; I think KK and Glenn are also irreplaceable, and Ian for that matter…..but I think Bret might be even more irreplaceable than Rob; they get a way better singer – that doesn’t work – and they can’t get a worse singer…really, Dana…I am glad you brought this up, I can’t take ANY cover versions of songs anymore. Just forget covering Kiss, please….I put some Bose headphones on and watched this show from the Reunion on youtube (San Jose, CA)…and no one can play those songs right except those guys. There’s so much going on with how they do their accents…and a huge part of Kiss’s sound, is how Gene will start to play with Peter, but then just go off on his own…and Peter is left there to default to following Ace. That might be the essence of their sound…it’s funny because Peter will always follow Gene if Gene engages…but then Gene just disengages…and Peter shrugs, and goes over to Ace….I am talking about Kiss again….but really, I can’t take anybody doing that…Richie Faulkner is a great guitarist, and I like him…but he’s not even close to KK’s feel on the guitar neck…it just doesn’t sound the same…same with Ace; when he was on it was like his mind and his fingers were completely in unison…you never see him doing math in his head when he plays…the industry has lowered the bar so much that a shoe salesman could get up there and just do it… 🙂

    3. I agree, nothing ever compares to the original, although you may have people who disagree with you on Black Sabbath. Some people prefer the Dio version of the band.

    4. I am glad you brought up Dio and Black Sabbath: that was actually my introduction to the band, and the bar was just way higher in terms of a band’s legacy back then………… Uhhhh back to Kiss; you know, Paul is actually literally the glue that holds that band together with his rhythm guitar playing…then there’s everything else he does for the band… it’s like he’s their utility guy…fixes everything….makes everyone else look good…there’s a moment in that San Jose show when Ace comes out of the Shock Me solo, and Paul has to go to the mic and hit the chorus because Ace stumbles over and doesn’t quite make it…and it’s maybe my favorite Kiss moment of all time…and I was at that show…I missed Kiss the first time around, but I have that show, and for posterity….you know when you get older in life and everything just falls into place?

  5. I have met Paul and gene on the end of the road tour back in 2023 my mom and dad got me VIP tickets for a early Christmas gift it was so much fun to see the stage and to see them do soundcheck and everything I will never ever forgot it until I die but I never got to meet Ace one day in heaven I will I may check out black sabbath one day in the future and go to the show if I like the music LOL! last post before bedtime

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