It's official: Rob Zombie's John 5 to replace ailing Mick Mars as Mötley Crüe's new guitarist
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA: Mick Mars will no longer perform live, Mötley Crüe revealed after so much speculation. They announced that Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 will take his position. While responding to comments from fans on Twitter on Friday, October 28, Nikki Sixx reacted to John 5's inclusion in Crue. When asked why the group selected John 5, one of the three credited co-writers of Crüe's three original tracks, Sixx said, "He checks all the boxes. The Dirt soundtrack. He plays like a lunatic. Has written some really huge singles with us, respects our music, is funny, and has a history with us."
On October 7, Metal Sludge published the first rumor about John 5 joining the band as the group's new guitarist. After the veteran Rob Zombie guitarist failed to perform alongside the shock rocker at this year's Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, rumors that John 5 would replace Mars grew stronger. Mars ended his tour with the band due to his protracted battle with ankylosing spondylitis. According to the National Institute Of Arthritis And Musculoskeletal And Skin Diseases, ankylosing spondylitis is a kind of arthritis that produces inflammation in the joints and ligaments of the spine and can eventually cause rigidity.
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Mars told Metal Sludge in 2008 that his health had gotten worse over the years and that he had put his guitar down for nearly two years. "Today, it's not as horrible, but back then, when Mötley was taking a break and I was high on all those drugs, I knew if I didn't stop, I was going to die. In the end, a neuro-psychiatrist was required to straighten me out, and he advised me to simply hold the guitar for an hour each day rather than playing it. It was quite strange, but I made it through it and, in the end, I believe it has made me a better player," he reportedly said.
John 5 has previously performed a number of Mötley Crüe tracks. Back in 2018, he performed a cover of 'Shout At The Devil' at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California, with the assistance of Sixx, Scott Ian of Anthrax, and his wife Pearl Aday.
Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard will co-headline 'The World Tour' in 2023. The Live Nation-produced tour will begin on February 18, 2023, at Mexico City's Foro Sol and make stops throughout Latin America before arriving in Europe in May 2023.