Mötley Crüe is celebrating a legal victory. In a press release, the band announced that it’s won “a decisive victory” against its former guitarist, Mick Mars.
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An independent arbitrator ruled entirely in favor of the band following a years-long legal battle. After Mars’ 2022 retirement, the guitarist sought 25 percent of the band’s touring revenue.
That wish, the band argued, went against their 2008 governing agreement. That agreement “explicitly provides that any member who stops touring does not share in touring income.”
“The arbitrator flatly rejected that position,” the press release read. “The final award also upheld the band’s decision to terminate Mars as an officer and director for legal cause and ordered him to repay more than $750,000 in unrecouped tour advances.”
While the litigation was pending, Mars “launched a public media campaign accusing the band of not playing live.” Specifically, he alleged that Nikki Sixx’s bass and Tommy Lee’s drums were prerecorded. He made his allegations, which the band strongly denied, both under oath and during press interviews.
Eventually, after testimony from a New York University professor specializing in music technology, “Mars was forced to admit under oath that his statements were false.”
“This dispute was about protecting the integrity and legacy of one of the most successful bands in rock history,” the band’s lawyer, Sasha Frid, said. “With the arbitrator rejecting every claim and enforcing the parties’ agreements as written, the band has been fully vindicated—legally, financially, and factually.”
After the ruling, Sixx reacted to the news on Facebook, writing, “Finally the truth.”
Mötley Crüe’s Upcoming Tour
Mötley Crüe is currently comprised of Six, Lee, vocalist Vince Neil, and guitarist John 5. The band will set off on a North American tour this summer. The tour is being put on in honor of the 20th anniversary of Carnival of Sins. It’s also marking Mötley Crüe’s 45th anniversary as a group.
Dubbed The Return of the Carnival of Sins, the run will kick off July 17 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and criss cross the nation. The band’s last show is scheduled to take place Sept. 26 in Ridgefield, Washington.
$1 of every ticket sold will be donated to ASAP! (After School Arts Program) through the Mötley Crüe Giveback initiative to support students with hands-on programs in music and the arts.
Photo by Chris Walter/Getty Images
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