Mötley Crüe and their longtime guitarist Mick Mars are in the midst of a very public falling out. Mars sued the band for cutting his percentage of profits, and he also claimed he was forced out of the band.
In his lawsuit, Mars said he made it clear he could still record with the band and do limited performances despite his health struggles.
Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx responded on Twitter saying: “Sad day for us and we don’t deserve this considering how many years we’ve been propping him up-We still wish him the best and hope he find’s lawyers and managers who aren’t damaging him. We love you Mick.”
Mötley Crüe also trashed Mars’ playing ability on the recent Stadium Tour, before Mars responded with a lengthy interview via Variety.
Now, Journey guitarist Neal Schon, who is no stranger to band lawsuits of his own, has weighed in whose side he’s on via Twitter.
Responding to a Twitter poll asking “Are you on #TeamMick [or] #TeamMotleyCrue”, Schon wrote “Mick” and added in a follow-up tweet: “Given his health issues, and he obvious swagger, he gives to the band through his guitar playing. He didn’t deserve this.”
“Mick’s performance during ‘The Stadium Tour’ was unworkable and very difficult to manage,” read a statement from Crue production manager, Robert Long.
“He would consistently miss notes; play out of tune; play the wrong chords during a song; stay within a chorus of a song and never come out of it; forget the song that he was playing and start a different one; and would get lost in songs. This happened at every show.”
Mars responded: “The thing that they keep pushing, for many years, is that I have a bad memory. And that’s full-blown, out-of-proportion crap. Around 2012, when they first started saying that my memory was bad and I didn’t remember the songs, I came home and saw all my doctors, because I keep myself together, because I’m an old bastard. They had all the (management people) — probably about five or six people (against) all my doctors going: ‘There’s nothing wrong with him.’ And now they’re still playing that game with me.”
