Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars has announced his retirement from touring.
A rep for the band issued the following statement to Variety:
“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 Crue recently announced a world tour with Def Leppard for 2023. So far, there’s no word yet as to who will fill in on guitar, but Variety notes John 5 is rumored to fill in.
Mars famously joined Motley Crue after Nikki Sixx responded to his ad in the local Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler. Mars’s ad was just seven words: “Loud, rude and aggressive guitar player available.” For over 40 years, Mars has been on the wild Crue ride and played on all nine of the band’s studio albums. Motley Crue has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.
