Mötley Crüe Guitarist Mick Mars is Retiring from Touring

Just days after announcing they’ll be embarking on a massive tour through South America and Europe next year, Mötley Crüe is now without a guitarist. Just recently, a representative for Mick Mars told Variety that his client could no longer handle the rigors that go along with extensive touring.

“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.”

At 71 years old, Mars (née Robert Deal) has been dealing with A.S. since he was a teenager. One can only imagine the amount of difficulty he’s had to endure all those years on the road, considering the extreme discomfort and pain he’s described in the past.

Given the fact that the band’s committed to a nearly four-month tour spanning two continents, it’s very likely that the band will announce Mars’ replacement. In recent weeks, speculation’s been swirling that ex-Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 will step up to fill Mars’ shoes. Though there’s been zero confirmation on that front, the guitarist has been cagey about his potential involvement online. He has however, been spending a lot of time with the Crüe, especially during Tommy Lee’s 60th birthday extravaganza where he was photographed hanging out with the likes of Vince Neil, John Travolta, and Chad Kroeger.

Only time will tell if the rumors end up being true. If they do, we’ll be sure to report it.