Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars announced his retirement from touring back in October, citing his ongoing battle with the inflammatory disease ankylosing spondylitis, or AS. But it sounds like there may have been more to his decision.
In a new interview with Ultimate Guitar, drummer Carmine Appice, who’s worked with Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart, King Kobra and more, claims that Mars “was not happy” while out on Mötley’s Stadium Tour with Def Leppard.
“Basically, everything was on tape; it was all planned out and ultimately a lot of crap,” Appice, who’s friends with Mars, explains. “And Mick is a pretty good player, and so, to [not] let him loose and play the way he wants, that was never going to work for him.”
He notes, “The truth is that everything has been weird for a while with Mötley Crue,” adding that Mick was “pissed off” that everything was on tape, with Appice saying it was obvious.
The drummer also says Mick wasn’t getting along with his bandmates and he “would travel alone on a bus while the other guys flew everywhere. They were all busy still trying to be rock stars, and Mick just wanted to play the music,” he says. “Their lifestyles are different than his, and so there were a lot of disagreements. I think he was just done.”
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