Nikki Sixx Claims Mötley Crüe Was Blindsided by Mick Mars’ Departure
During a recent, exclusive interview with Guitar World, Mötley Crüe bassist and apparent Memorex stock holder Nikki Sixx claimed that the band was completely unaware that ex-guitarist Mick Mars was about to leave the band late last year.
“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.”
For those that don’t remember, Mars announced his retirement from the band’s live commitments last October. At the time, the Crüe had just committed to a major tour around the world when the news broke.
Though fans wondered what would happen next without the band’s guitarist, it was announced that John 5 would take Mars’ place, fulfilling a long standing rumor that existed before Mars’ departure. With the band now working on new material featuring John 5, as well as their continued world tour, Sixx said selecting the former Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie guitarist was a “no-brainer in a horrible situation.”
“[In regard to] John, 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 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.”
I don’t want to necessarily be that guy, but I kinda call bullshit on that. People had already seen the writing on the wall that Mars was likely on his way out and that John 5 would be his replacement well before all that came to fruition. Hell, we pretty much nailed it as soon as John 5 was suddenly missing from Zombie’s live lineup.
Still, as far as positive outcomes go, there’s a lot that can be said about having such an amazing player like John 5 suddenly in your band. And while Mars and Mötley Crüe are involved in a nasty legal battle, at least they can keep hitting the stage and disappointing long-term fans every night.
If you’d like to read more of Sixx’s comments, be sure to head over to Guitar World for the full interview..
