Motley Crue’s Mick Mars retires from touring due to “painful struggle” with disease
It is unclear who will be filling in for the guitarist at their upcoming World Tour.
Mick Mars. Image: Sandy Caspers / Redferns
Mötley Crüe co-founder Mick Mars has announced his retirement from touring as a result of his disease. The guitarist will however, remain a member of the band.
A statement from the group cites the 71-year-old musician’s struggles with Ankylosing Spondylitis, an inflammatory form of arthritis, as the reason for his retirement (via Variety): “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,” the statement reads.
“Mick will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigours of the road. A.S. is an extremely painful and crippling degenerative disease, which affects the spine.”
A replacement for Mars has yet to be named by the officials, though it’s been rumoured that Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 will be filling in for him on stage.
Mars, who has been with the band since its founding in 1981, was diagnosed with A.S. in his teens and has struggled with the disease for the better part of his career.
Speaking about it in the band’s 2001 biography The Dirt, he said, “My hips started hurting so bad every time I turned my body that it felt like someone was igniting fireworks in my bones. I didn’t have enough money to see a doctor, so I just kept hoping that I could do what I usually do: will it away, through the power of my mind. But it kept getting worse.”
The guitarist eventually underwent hip surgery in 2004, which then allowed him to tour extensively with the group.
Mötley Crüe recently announced another leg of their co-headlining 2023 tour with English heavy rockers Def Leppard. The ‘World Tour’ will see the two bands making stops in Mexico, South America, the UK, and Europe.
Check out the tour dates here.