Last month, Mötley Crüe announced that co-founding guitarist Mick Mars was retiring from touring but would still remain with the group in a recording capacity. The 71-year-old co-founder of the group has long battled ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic, inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis.
The group recruited longtime Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 as Mars’ replacement and is gearing up for “The World Tour,” a co-headlining trek with Def Leppard in 2023.
Recently, John 5 has taken to Twitter to post videos of himself jamming on some Crüe classics including “Too Fast For Love” and “Girls, Girls, Girls.”
“While change is never easy, we accept Mick’s decision to retire from the band due to the challenges with his health,” Mötley Crüe said of their guitarist switch. “We have watched Mick manage his Ankylosing Spondylitis for decades and he has always managed it with utmost courage and grace. To say ‘enough is enough’ is the ultimate act of courage. Mick’s sound helped define Mötley Crüe from the minute he plugged in his guitar at our very first rehearsal together. The rest, as they say, is history. We’ll continue to honor his musical legacy.”
“We will carry out Mick’s wish and continue to tour the world as planned in 2023. No doubt will it take an absolutely outstanding musician to fill Mick’s shoes so we are grateful that our good friend, John 5 has agreed to come on board and join us moving forward. We’ll see all you Crüeheads out on the road!”
John 5 added: “I’m honored to carry on Mick’s legacy and am looking forward to playing these songs.”
As a longtime friend of Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, John 5 was a co-writer on three original Crüe songs from the soundtrack of the band’s biopic, “The Dirt.” He’s also a member of the L.A. Rats supergroup which also features Sixx and drummer Tommy Clufetos, who himself filled in for Tommy Lee during the first segment of The Stadium Tour after Lee was injured in a home accident.
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