Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars claims he was kicked out of the band and accuses them of rigging their performances.
Guitarist Mick Mars, who co-founded Mötley Crüe in 1981, has filed a lawsuit against the band, claiming they were ousted and robbed of their benefits. Mars asked a judge to allow him to see the group’s business records and award him legal fees and other unspecified monetary amounts.
The document, obtained by Rolling Stone, claims that Mars (real name Robert Alan Deal) announced that he could no longer tour with the band due to ankylosing spondylitis (a disease that causes the vertebrae to fuse), but is continuing Residencies and concerts that do not involve excessive travel will take part. According to the complaint, the group then decided to “fire” Mars through a shareholders’ meeting.
Defendants in the lawsuit include Mötley Crüe Touring, Inc, Mötley Crüe, Inc, Red, White and Crue, Inc, Masters 2000, Inc, Cruefest, LLC, Mötley Records, LLC, Masters 2008, LLC and 100 Anonymously Represented Companies and Individuals associated with Crüe companies. Mars claims he is a 25 percent shareholder in each of these companies and has asked to see each company’s business records to determine if their actions were legal, which he has been denied so far.
“It is a tragedy that after 41 successful years, a band should ruthlessly dispose of a founding member who is unable to tour due to a chronic illness,” Mars attorney Ed McPherson told Rolling Stone. Mick has been bullied for far too long and we will not allow this to continue. »
A representative for the band did not respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
The document also claims that Mars initiated the formation of the band, chose vocalist Vince Neil (although Neil knew drummer Tommy Lee in high school), and named the band Mötley Crüe. Mars and bassist Nikki Sixx are the only musicians who have remained loyal to the band since its inception, making them the only two permanent shareholders in the company throughout its history.
The lawsuit commemorates the band’s checkered history, including their battles with heroin addiction and alcoholism. It relates to Neil’s accident that killed Razzle, drummer for Hanoi Rocks, and his arrests for choking a prostitute, hitting a sound engineer and assaulting an autograph requester, the lawsuit says. Also mentioned is the time Lee pleaded not guilty to domestic abuse after he was accused of kicking his then-wife Pamela Anderson while she was holding their seven-week-old baby, and Sixx’s conviction for inciting a Riot a concert in Greensboro, North Carolina.
According to the filing, Sixx was also “imprisoned in Japan when, while under the influence of Halcion and alcohol and in response to discovering Mars’ relationship with a dancer (whom Mars eventually married), he threw a bottle of Jack Daniel’s at Mars to startle it , and eventually injured a Japanese passenger in the head when the bottle smashed against the front wall of a bullet train”. (All of these crimes, Mars claims, are definable offenses under Motley Crüe’s band contract, and he points out that he never did such things did.)
The lawsuit also documents Mars’ long battle with ankylosing spondylitis, who was first diagnosed at the age of 27. “This illness caused Mars’ lower spine to spasm, causing him to become completely rigid, causing scoliosis in his back and forcing his spine down so that he is now at least two inches shorter than he was in high school , according to the lawsuit . His spine is now fully engaged from pelvis to skull, a condition known as “bamboo spine”. He can’t move his head in any direction. The disease is so debilitating that he has to sleep 24 hours after a trip abroad.
Mars accuses Sixx of moral harassment, claiming that Sixx told him that he “had some kind of cognitive dysfunction, his guitar playing was bad, he forgot chords and sometimes started playing the wrong songs”.
After the band decided to embark on the Stadium Tour, which originally had 12 dates, Mars said it would be his last tour but would be open to gigs that didn’t involve a lot of travel. He claims management assured him the proposed arrangement would work. Then the 12 dates became 36, and Mars went ahead anyway.
Sixx reportedly continued to harass Mars about his playing throughout the tour, although Sixx did not play bass himself. “Amazingly, Sixx made these claims about Mars playing despite not playing a single note on the bass during the entire US tour,” the document reads. Ironically, 100% of Sixx’s bass parts were nothing but recordings. Sixx was seen punching the air while playing the bass part. In fact, much of Neil’s vocals were pre-recorded as well. Even some of Lee’s drum parts were recorded. Some fans actually noticed Lee walking towards his drum kit as they heard his drum part begin. »
Mars admits playing the wrong chords, blaming faulty in-ear headphones
The guitarist played his last concert with the band on September 9, 2022. He claims that just over a month later, a lawyer handed him documents banning him from the band and its activities.
According to the records, Mars’ share of the group’s touring earnings would be reduced from 25% to 5% for the remainder of the year and then to 0% thereafter. So would merchandise featuring the Mars surrogate John 5. The group then held a meeting, he said, to oust him.
But behind the scenes, Mars informed the group that he was not going and was quitting his role in their affairs, according to the complaint. His attorney continued to negotiate his share of the group’s profits and businesses. “They have clearly instituted arbitration, rather than a public trial, lest the public become aware of the deplorable manner in which they have treated their 41-year-old ‘brother,'” the statement said.
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Translated by the editor