The Mötley Crüe co-founder, bassist and main lyricist Nikki Sixx talked in an interview with Guitar World about the guitarist John 5 replacing the original member Mick Mars. The guitarist who has been battling for decades with ankylosing spondylitis decided to retire from touring and the band decided to replace him with John 5, who had worked with names like David Lee Roth and Rob Zombie.
However, Mars is currently in a legal battle with the band since he wanted to remain as a member of the group and only be replaced on their tours. He also wanted a bigger share of the money the band makes on their live concerts.
They have scheduled tour dates for the United States, Japan and Australia in 2023 alongside Def Leppard.
Nikki Sixx talks about John 5 replacing Mick Mars in Mötley Crüe
“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.”
“(With John 5) 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 soundtrack to) ‘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,” Nikki Sixx said.