Guitarist Mick Mars is suing Mötley Crüe.
In docs seen by ABC Audio, Mars alleges that his share of the Crüe’s profits were decreased following his retirement from touring last October, and that the other band members — Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil — played to pre-recorded tapes during last summer’s Stadium Tour.
As previously reported, the “Kickstart My Heart” outfit announced that Mars, 71, was getting off the road due to his ongoing battle his ongoing battle with the inflammatory disease ankylosing spondylitis, or AS. Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 was named Mars’ replacement. A rep for Mars told Variety a day before the announcement that the guitarist “will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigors of the road.”
In his suit, however, Mars alleges that, following the retirement announcement, Mötley reduced his share of the profits from 25% to 5%.
The suit also states that bassist Sixx “gaslighted” Mars by telling him his “guitar playing was sub par,” while Sixx himself “did not play a single note on bass” live.
“A significant portion of Neil’s vocals were also pre-recorded,” the suit reads. “Even some of Lee’s drum parts were recordings.”
Mötley Crüe reunited in 2019 with original members Mars, Sixx, Lee and Neil, after playing what was advertised as their “final” show on New Year’s Eve 2015. They announced the Stadium Tour with Def Leppard for 2020, which was delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
News of the lawsuit follows a recent interview Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice gave to Ultimate Guitar, in which he claimed that Mars was “not happy” on the Stadium Tour because “everything was on tape.” Sixx responded to Appice by calling him a “washed up drummer.”
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