Rock legends Poison are due for their 40th anniversary this year, and many fans had hoped the milestone would be accompanied by a tour. The band hasn’t performed live since The Stadium Tour in 2022.
Singer Bret Michaels said a few years back: “It would make perfect sense to have the possibility of a reunion in 2026. The perfect 40th anniversary tour, with 40 awesome limited dates to go out, play real live hit songs and rock the world.”
It appeared the rest of the band were on board with the idea, but in a new interview with Page Six, drummer Rikki Rockett said plans are off due to Michaels allegedly asking for six times the guaranteed money as the rest of the band. “We had a great offer, I thought. But we left the table,” Rockett said. “It didn’t work. Really what it came to was [guitarist] C.C. [DeVille], [bassist] Bobby [Dall] and I were all in, and I thought Bret was, but he wanted the lion’s share of the money, to the point where it makes it not possible to even do it. It’s like $6 to every one of our dollars. You just can’t work that way.”
Rockett continued: “I don’t do this just for the money. I do have a love for this, absolutely. But at the same time, you don’t want to go out and work really hard just to make somebody else a bunch of money.” Even still, Rockett said he doesn’t harbor ill will against Michaels. “Every member of this band has given me so much privilege in life,” he said, “It’s like hating your parents.”
The drummer was then asked if the band would consider touring with a different singer. “It’s not out of the question. But doing that is like surgery: it’s the last resort,” he explained. “I don’t want to do that. I’m not quarreling with Bret. We just didn’t come to agreement. I don’t like it, and I’ll say that, but it’s not like, ‘Let’s put up our dukes.’ I don’t think there’s a better frontman for Poison.”
