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And the war rages on...
In a brand new interview with Rolling Stone's Andy Greene, Mick Mars says he believes the story that his bandmates in Mötley Crüe wanted to fire him as far back as 1984 but claims they didn't have the courage.
Below is an excerpt from Andy Greene's article:
Looking back on his Crüe career, Mars says nothing matched the euphoria of that first year, when the band burst out of the club scene and recorded future classics like “Live Wire” and “Too Fast for Love.” The music drew equally from punk, glam, and metal, creating a distinctive, hybrid sound. “That’s when I was the happiest,” he says. “It’s like climbing up the old ladder instead of stagnating in a stinkin’ club. You could feel it and see it. Everything was new. Everyone was like, ‘I haven’t heard stuff like this before.’
Unlike many metal guitarists of the era, Mars was never showy and disdained shredders. “He had such a great tone,” says John Corabi, who joined the Crüe as a vocalist in 1992 after Neil left the band, and remains close to Mars. “He was into guys with amazing tones like [Mountain’s] Leslie West and Jeff Beck. To Mick, it was about kicking you in the chest and having this ungodly sound. He was a scientist when it came to sound. And he wasn’t just 10 years older than his bandmates, he was 10 years wiser.”
But once MTV embraced them and they started playing to tens of thousands of people a night, things got complicated. His three bandmates dove into the rock & roll lifestyle to absurd degrees, and deep divisions surfaced within the group. When they toured with Ozzy Osbourne in early 1984 — a famously debauched pairing where the Crüe watched the singer drunkenly snort a line of ants (“I saw it myself,” Mars says) — Osbourne bassist Bob Daisley says he wandered onto the Crüe bus one night and saw them discussing a plot to fire Mars. “I said to them, ‘You’ve got a chemistry there, Mick Mars is part of that. Don’t fuck it up,’” Daisley recalled in 2021.
Mars believes the story, though he claims the band never threatened to outright fire him. “They didn’t have the balls,” he says. “But one day at rehearsal they went, ‘[Osbourne guitarist] Jake E. Lee would look good right here.’ I went, ‘I’m the guitar player in the band. Nobody else needs to be there.’” (Sixx says that both of those stories are “100 percent false.”)
The Backstory:
On October 26, 2022, Mars retired as a touring member of the band due to ongoing health issues, according to a statement released by Mars' publicist. The next day, the band confirmed that John 5 would take Mars' place as their new touring gd as a member of the band in April 2023.
On April 6, 2023, Mars sued the band, alleging that the band was trying to remove him. In response to the lawsuit, the band issued a statement on the same day, denying that they had fired Mars, and that while he was still a member; had quit touring.
On April 19, 2023, the band announced that they are working on new music with record producer Bob Rock, ruling out the possibility of the band working with Mick Mars again. Sixx later released a statement on the upcoming album on May 15, 2023, stating that it had finished production and had begun mixing the album.
Mötley Crüe begins a European tour in a few weeks with John 5 now the band's full-time guitarist.
Listen To More Mick Mars/Mötley Crüe Talk With Author Sean Kelly In Episode 132 Of Booked On Rock Below:
Watch Sean Kelly Comment On The Mick Mars vs Mötley Crüe Story Below:
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