Motley Crue made headlines recently with the announcement of guitarist Mick Mars retiring from touring. This was followed up with John 5 being named the band’s touring guitarist. It’s news that didn’t sit well with former Crue singer John Corabi and makes him think there’s more to the situation.
Corabi detailed his thoughts in a new appearance on Life in the Stocks. He said (h/t Blabbermouth), “I know John [5] as well. He’s a brilliant — and I cannot say ‘brilliant’ loud enough — he’s a brilliant guitar player and a great dude. But the verdict for me is out until I hear a statement from Mick. The statement that we heard was put together by Motley and their people. And I’m not totally sure I believe what they’re saying. So I’ll just leave it at that.”
He continued, “I don’t totally believe Mick’s reasons for leaving Motley. And I don’t even know if he left Motley. I believe maybe he was shown the door. Because as long as I can remember… F—, when we were doing the ‘Generation Swine’ record, they were complaining about his guitar playing then. And if you really look at all of the records they’ve done since then… The majority of the guitars on the ‘Swine’ record, which is one of the reasons why I sued the guys, are mine. They were complaining about Mick the whole fucking time. And I don’t know if he played on ‘New Tattoo’ — I’m not sure — but I know on ‘Red, White & Crüe’, it was D.J. Ashba; on ‘Saints Of Los Angeles’, it was D.J. Ashba; and on ‘The Dirt’ [soundtrack], it was John 5.”
Corabi does admit that he could be “totally wrong” about the situation, but he’s adamant on wanting to hear a statement from Mars and not something written by management. When it was announced Mars was retiring from touring, the following statement was released:
“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.”
The day after the statement above, John 5 was named the Crue’s touring guitarist. Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx shared the following statement on the guitar shake-up:
“While change is never easy, we accept Mick’s decision to retire from the band due to the challenges with his health.
We have watched Mick manage his Ankylosing Spondylitis for decades and he has always managed it with utmost courage and grace.
To say ‘enough is enough’ is the ultimate act of courage. Mick’s sound helped define Motley Crue from the minute he plugged in his guitar at our very first rehearsal together. The rest, as they say, is history. We’ll continue to honor his musical legacy.
We will carry out Mick’s wish and continue to tour the world as planned in 2023. No doubt will it take an absolutely outstanding musician to fill Mick’s shoes so we are grateful that our good friend, John 5, has agreed to come on board and join us moving forward. We’ll see all you Crueheads out on the road!”