Mick Mars retiring from touring with Mötley Crüe in October 2022 seemed to come out of nowhere. Apparently, the band thought the same.
Nikki Sixx told Guitar World, “We never saw it coming that Mick wasn’t going to be able to tour and was going to have to quit the band.”
At the time, Mötley Crüe was about to hit the road again with Def Leppard following the success of The Stadium Tour. Sixx expressed that after Mars’ retirement, the band didn’t want to let fans, Def Leppard or tour promoter Live Nation down. This then led them to bring in guitarist John 5 to fill in for Mars. Sixx referred to the substitution as “a no-brainer in a horrible situation — something we did not ask for or want.
Of course, a lot has played out in the press in the aftermath of Mars’ retirement. To begin with, Mars filed a lawsuit against Mötley Crüe alleging his percentage of band profits was cut from 25 percent to 5 percent.
He claimed in his lawsuit the band held a meeting to “unilaterally” remove him from Mötley Crüe. He was also allegedly removed from many of the band’s various corporations and LLCs. Additionally, Mars claims bassist Nikki Sixx repeatedly “gaslighted” the guitarist. Sixx told Mars he consistently forgot chords and fans were complaining about his playing. (Mars claimed in the lawsuit Sixx “did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour” and accused him of using backing tracks and pantomiming.)
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This led to Mötley Crüe issuing a statement in response to Mars’ lawsuit calling it “unfortunate and completely off-base.” The band said, in part, “In 2008, Mick voted for and signed an agreement in which he and every other band member agreed that ‘in no event shall any resigning shareholder be entitled to receive any monies attributable to live performances (i.e., tours).’ After the last tour, Mick publicly resigned from Mötley Crüe. Despite the fact that the band did not owe Mick anything — and with Mick owing the band millions in advances that he did not pay back — the band offered Mick a generous compensation package to honor his career with the band.”
Furthermore, Mötley Crüe insisted they always perform live without backing tracks and stood by the claim Mars’ playing was declining. Mars then told Variety in an interview following news of the lawsuit, “Those guys have been hammering on me since ’87, trying to replace me. He added, ” … It’s just frustrating for me. I’m pretty upset that they’re even pulling this crap, when I carried these bastards for years.”
This led to Crüe manager Allen Kovac to speak at length to Variety. Kovac referred to Mars’ entire legal strategy as “a smear campaign … misrepresenting the facts to the fans.” He further noted, “What’s upsetting to me is not Mick, but his representatives, who have guided Mick to say and do harmful things to the brand he cares about so much, Mötley Crüe. He has a degenerative disease and people are taking advantage of him. It’s called elder abuse.”
Variety reached out to Mars’ attorney Edwin F. McPherson for comment on Kovac’s numerous statements. McPherson said of the lawsuit, “This is all Mick. He is tired of being bullied. This is nobody driving the train here but Mick.”