The Motley Crue guitarist’s lawsuit says he was fired

Mötley Crüe formed in Los Angeles in 1981 and have become one of the most popular hair metal bands. Mixing glam rock revues, heavy metal riffs, and radio-friendly pop hooks, they were a staple of MTV in the ’80s, and by the end of that decade, they were It topped the Billboard 200 chart With their 1989 album “Dr. I Feel Good.” The band’s memoir, “The Dirt,” which chronicled their rise to fame and rock history, was adapted into a Netflix biopic in 2019.

Mars, 71 his real name Robert Alan DaleAnd He joined Mötley Crüe shortly after its founding, and according to the lawsuit, came the band’s name. Diagnosed at 27 with ankylosing spondylitis, An inflammatory disease that can cause the vertebrae to fuse over time. The suit says the disease has caused his spine to “spasticate and completely freeze,” adding that he suffers from chronic pain and is unable to move his head in any direction.

Last fall, Mars told his bandmates that because of his ankylosing spondylitis he physically could not “handle the rigors of the road” and would not tour with the band, the suit says. Mars, who last performed with Mötley Crüe in Las Vegas on September 9, 2022, said he will still record and perform with the band in a “residence state”.

After Mars announced the change on October 26, the band released a separate statement saying he had “retired” and that a bassist named John 5 was taking his place.

The lawsuit says the other band members — Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil and Tommy Lee — called an emergency shareholder meeting, where they sought Mars’ expulsion from seven of the band’s subsidiaries and LLCs. Those entities – Mötley Crüe Inc. ; Mötley Crue Touring Inc. ; Reed, White & Crew Company; Masters 2000 Inc. ; Cruefest LLC; Motley Records LLC; and Masters 2008 LLC – are listed as defendants in the lawsuit, which requests that Mars be allowed to review the band’s business records. He is also seeking compensation for his legal fees.