NIKKI SIXX Says MÖTLEY CRÜE's Unretirement Has Been 'Unbelievable': 'I'm So Grateful To Be Doing This'

MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee spoke to Entertainment Tonight 's Kevin Frazier about what it has been like for them to return to the road as part of the band's recently completed stadium tour. The musicians announced the trek in 2019, just months after they supposedly noticed a massive surge in interest following the huge success of their Netflix biopic "The Dirt".

"It's been unbelievable," Sixx said. "I'm so grateful to be doing this, and it started, like, three years ago when the movie came out — two and a half years ago. We kind of, we broke up the band. We just decided to quit touring. We’ve been doing it for, god, 35 years at that point."

According to Sixx, he was initially opposed to the idea of touring again with MÖTLEY CRÜE, especially since CRÜE fans who shelled out for the band's 2014/2015 "farewell" tour were led to believe that the group would never return after playing its final show on December 2015 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band touted the signing of a pre-tour "cessation of touring" agreement as cementing the fact it truly was the end of CRÜE's life on the road.

"Tommy does other stuff, and I do other stuff, and I remember getting the phone call from management, and I was, like, 'No,'" Sixx said. "And they go, 'You haven't even heard what I have to say.'"

"We were done. We were done," Lee said.

"And we were friends, and we were fine and everything's good," Sixx continued. "We're just like, 'No, it’s a lot of work.' When you see the show out there, you're gonna go, 'Wow.' I mean, it's years of work putting it together, and then they were like, 'No, not eight arenas, eight stadiums,' and I was like, 'Let me call Tommy.'"

He continued: "I was like, 'Hey, dude, they're talking about us touring,' and he's like, 'No.' Because we wanted to be — stand by what we said, and then it was 16 and 36, which we just entered our 36th stadium, and there's, what, another 120 next year and the year after that, so, we're grateful we said yes."

"We're having a blast," Sixx said. "How can you say no to stadiums?" Lee agreed.

Sixx continued: "I mean, we're all having a blast, everyone's just having a good time...it's amazing to be 41 years together? I mean, sometimes it's just like, 'What?' Stepping into some sacred territory there."

CRÜE's long-delayed North American trek with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021 and then to 2022.

Earlier this month, MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil said the band will continue touring internationally with DEF LEPPARD in 2023, through Mexico and South America in the spring and soccer stadiums in Europe next summer. Plans are for MÖTLEY CRÜE to return to U.S. for more shows in 2024.

In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Sixx said "the most important thing about a farewell tour is that the band doesn't lie to the fans, and the band doesn't tour and then come back years later. That's what's important for us, planning what's the right time to go out."

Three years ago, Sixx said that "The Dirt", about MÖTLEY CRÜE's formative years, sparked a renewed interest from younger fans who wanted to see them live, contributing to the band's decision to renege on its infamous "cessation of touring" contract.