Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars Retires From Touring & Band Announces New Touring Guitarist

Mötley Crüe guitarist and founding member Mick Mars has confirmed that he’s planning to retire from touring duties with the band. The legendary guitarist has battled Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.) throughout his life and career in Mötley Crüe, and it seems to have gotten to the point where he can no longer tour with the band. Earlier this week a rep for the musician issued a statement to Variety confirming the matter.

“Mick Mars, co-founder and lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe for the past 41 years, has announced today that due to his ongoing painful struggle with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.), he will no longer be able to tour with the band. Mick will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigors of the road. A.S. is an extremely painful and crippling degenerative disease, which affects the spine.”

In addition to the statement provided by Mars’ rep, Mötley Crüe have since posted an official statement confirming Mick Mars’ retirement as well as who will be replacing him for their upcoming 2023 European tour and beyond.

“While change is never easy, we accept Mick’s decision to retire from the band due to the challenges with his health.

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. Micke’s sound helped define Motley Crue 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 of you Crueheads out on the road! – Vince, Tommy & Nikki”

While Mars is no longer a ‘touring member’ of Mötley Crüe he still remains a member of the band. However, it’s unclear as to what exactly that means at this point in Mötley Crüe’s legacy, as the band has strictly stated they’re only a touring band for the foreseeable future and they don’t plan to record any new music. However, given Mötley Crüe’s history of going back on their own previous remarks, such as announcing their own retirement in 2015 only to come back in 2019 with a full U.S. stadium tour, it makes fans question the validity of the band’s own promises like the possibility of recording new music.

That being said, John 5 is a great fit for Mötley Crüe and he no doubt has the guitar chops and then some to fill Mars’ iconic playing. Not to mention, John 5 also has history with the Mötley Crüe members and he even contributed to some of the band’s recent music featured in their 2019 biopic, The Dirt. In addition, John 5 has a side project called the L.A. Rats which features Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx.

Beyond their 2023 tours with Def Leppard, it’s unclear what Mötley Crüe has in-store moving forward. However, it’s been rumored that the band is seeking their third Las Vegas residency, and if these rumors are in fact true then maybe there’ll be a chance for Mars to play with the band again at these one-off performances.