DEF LEPPARD's PHIL COLLEN Says MÖTLEY CRÜE's Guitarist Change 'Worked Out Great': JOHN 5 'Fits In'

In a new interview with Barbara Caserta of Linea Rock, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen weighed in on MÖTLEY CRÜE's decision to hire John 5 to replace Mick Mars, the group's founding guitarist, who announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE last October as a result of worsening health issues. Collen, whose band toured with MÖTLEY CRÜE last summer as part of "The Stadium Tour" and recently launched "The World Tour" with CRÜE, said: "The thing with MÖTLEY CRÜE, Mick Mars was really in pain. We'd done the American tour with him, and he has physical issues. So it was great that John 5 had come out. John 5 is just a wonderful human being and plays great and everything, so he fits in. And he really helped the band out, because Mick couldn't really do that. Traveling is the problem; he was having trouble [with all the travel]. It just was painful. It worked out great."

This past February, DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen spoke about Mars's retirement from touring during an appearance on the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast. He said: "It was Mick's decision to really move on and just get to the next part of his life. And we all know that Mick has suffered terribly, terribly with pain; you see it on his face all the time. And I think the only time I ever saw him truly in his element [was] when he was up on stage playing with the band. It was more his decision. That must have been a super hard decision. I mean, it would have been different if the guy was being thrown out of the band, but it wasn't like that at all. It was a personal choice that he made. And you can't say that that's wrong. It was right for him at the time.

"Over the months — well, actually years — that I've known him, I really started to talk to him," Rick continued. "So unassuming. Such a soft, gentle soul. And when I first met him years ago, I was actually quite afraid, you know. [Laughs] But he's the exact opposite of that — just a really sweet, generous person. So it must have been a very difficult decision for everybody to have to go through that."

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, earlier this month the 71-year-old musician filed a lawsuit against CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting. Specifically, Mars claims he was asked to sign a severance agreement that would divest him of his 25 percent stake in the band's various business interests in return for a 5 percent stake in the band's 2023 tour. This stake, the lawsuit alleges, would be reduced to 0 percent for future tours. Mick claims CRÜE's management later upped the offer from 5 percent to a 7.5 percent stake in the band's 2023 tour, which would remain contingent on Mars divesting himself from the band and their businesses. When Mars refused to sign the papers, the band took the dispute to arbitration "rather than a public lawsuit so that the public would not be aware of the deplorable manner in which they treated their 'brother' of 41 years," Mick claims in the lawsuit.

Regarding Mick 's lawsuit against MÖTLEY CRÜE, bassist Nikki Sixx told Planet Rock: "If a member of a band tells you that they can't tour because of health reasons, you have two choices. You can quit as a band [after] 42 years of work. Or we could look at each other and go 'are we done yet?!' We're really peaking and we understand [Mick 's] health issues.

"We wish him the best and we know that he's a little bit confused and being misled by representatives right now. But we still have to stay focused on why we're here."

Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS),a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. After years of performing through the pain, he informed the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE last summer that he could no longer tour with them but would still be open to recording new music or performing at residencies that did not require much travel.

In his lawsuit, Mars also alleged that he was the only band member to play 100 percent live on their most recent tour, claiming Sixx "did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour."

After Mars filed his lawsuit, Sixx responded on Twitter, writing: "Sad day for us and we don't deserve this considering how many years we've been propping him up. We still wish him the best and hope he find's [sic] lawyers and managers who aren't damaging him. We love you Mick."

According to Variety, Mars's attorney said he was warned by the band's lawyers that "if your client rejects the severance package that was graciously offered to him by the band, he will get next to nothing. I suggest you think about the repercussions of this decision… There is undisputed legal cause here for Mick's removal. Mick is unable to perform as a full-fledged band member. Among other things, as demonstrated during the last tour, he repeatedly forgets his chords, does not play the right song, plays chords of a different song while on stage, and so on."

Mick's filing claimed that MÖTLEY CRÜE filed an arbitration case against him in February, "essentially suing him" to prove that it had the right to fire him from the band.

"They clearly commenced an arbitration, rather than a public lawsuit, so that the public would not be aware of the deplorable manner in which they treated their 'brother' of 41 years," lawyers for Mars wrote in the petition.

Mick is suing MÖTLEY CRÜE so he can go over all the financial books and determine if he's getting what he feels he deserves.