“We had to make a choice. And we made the right choice”: Nikki Sixx defends Mötley Crüe replacing Mick Mars with John 5
Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx has defended the band’s choice to replace guitarist Mick Mars with John 5.
The bassist, 65, stands by the decision in a new interview with Classic Rock. “It was becoming harder and harder and harder to get anything done with Mick because of his memory problems and just his physical ailments,” Sixx says. “And we have a lot of empathy for that.”
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However, he continues, “When Mick left the band, we had to make a choice. And we made the right choice with John. We wish Mick nothing but the best.”
Sixx then doubles down and becomes more defensive about 5’s appointment, admitting, “I run this band with an iron fist and nobody can get in and fuck with our band, legally, marketing-wise.” He adds that Mötley Crüe had to make “a self-sufficient decision” regarding how to continue without Mars, which he calls “the right thing to do”.
“But doing the right thing isn’t always fucking fun,” Sixx finishes, “[with] fans believing we did something we didn’t do.”
Mars announced his retirement from Mötley Crüe in October 2022, with a representative citing an “ongoing painful struggle” with the inflammatory disease ankylosing spondylitis (AS) as the reason. Former Rob Zombie player 5 was announced as the glam legends’ live member the next day, before being promoted to full-time guitarist in 2023.
In April 2023, Mars sued Mötley Crüe, arguing that the band had conspired together to remove him from their lineup. He later claimed they were “trying to take my legacy away”, including “my ownership of the name, the brand”.
Sixx responded to the lawsuit last April, saying that Mars was “a little bit confused and being misled by representatives”. However, the guitarist scored his first legal win against his former bandmates in January, when a judge ruled Mötley Crüe withheld information from Mars regarding their business activities.
Mötley Crüe recently released their third song with 5 on guitar, Cancelled. It follows two other 2024 singles: Dogs of War and a cover of the Beastie Boys’ (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!).
The post “We had to make a choice. And we made the right choice”: Nikki Sixx defends Mötley Crüe replacing Mick Mars with John 5 appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
