TOMMY LEE: Why MÖTLEY CRÜE Decided To Blow Up 'Cessation Of Touring' Agreement

Tommy Lee says that the chance for MÖTLEY CRÜE to headline a U.S. stadium tour was the primary reason the band decided to cancel its retirement.

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 concert 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.

Speaking to SiriusXM's Debatable about the CRÜE's decision to reunite for this summer's stadium tour with DEF LEPPARD and POISON, Lee said: "[As far as we were concerned] that was it. 2016 — I'll never forget it. I think it was New Year's Eve. Staples Center [in] L.A. That was it. We all said goodbye. That was the dopest 32, 33 years of our lives. We're out. This is the best way ever to go out — on top. Mic drop, boom, see ya. We're out. And that was it. We're done. We didn't really speak to each other for probably a year. Everybody just went and did their own thing. And here it is four years later, [concert promoter] Live Nation asked us if we'd like to do a stadium tour, and all of us were, like, 'Ehhh…' And then we thought about it for a minute. We were, like, that is the one thing that this band has never done. Yeah, we played stadiums on festivals all over the place, but our own stadium tour? We were, like, 'Hold on. Let us think about this. Okay.'"

When "The Stadium Tour" was first announced last December, CRÜE said 2019's Netflix biopic "The Dirt", about the band’s formative years, sparked a renewed interest from younger fans who wanted to see them live.

"The movie exactly that — it really [inspired] a whole new generation of kids that are probably… I know, 'cause I've talked to many of them; I stay in touch with a lot of fans, and they're, like, 'Dude, is that really what it was like in the '80s when you guys were around?'" the drummer told Debatable. "And I'm, like, 'That's exactly what it was like.' They're, like, 'Oh my God.' That newer generation feels like they missed out, and they did, because shit isn't like that anymore, man. It was a free-for-all back then — anything went. And I think they wanna be a part of it and see it and witness it. So, yeah, there's this whole generation of kids that that movie has brought into the fold now that are super pumped to come and see what we do, come to see that life that we lived. And [they] probably can't believe we're all still alive. [They're] going, like, 'These guys are still doing this shit. What are they, cockroaches? You can't kill these motherfuckers.'"

Last December, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx said that he and his bandmates "missed each other" in the four years since they played their last show. He said: "Honestly, I don't think any of us thought, when we were on 'The Final Tour', we would ever get back together. We weren't really getting along at that point. We had been together 35 years, and it had been a lot of years on the road. I don't think we took a lot of time for ourselves off; we were just constantly touring for all that time. And when it came to the end, we broke the band up and everybody went their own ways. I think we really needed that break, and it was during the making of 'The Dirt' movie, we started working on the script, started being on the set, we started hanging out again together. And I think we really started to realize — without even talking about the music — how much we missed each other. And then that got us to go in the recording studio, which is where the whole thing always starts for all of us. And we wrote a bunch of new music, and had a blast in the studio. And then the movie took off. And our fans were super stoked, but we also got a new generation of people. And that kind of started the conversation. But it really was from the heart. We missed each other, to be honest with you, and we missed being in a band together."

Earlier in the month, MÖTLEY CRÜE, DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS announced that "The Stadium Tour" has been postponed until the summer 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The Stadium Tour" was scheduled to kick off in a week — on June 18 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida — and run through September 5 in Los Angeles. The bands reportedly also booked time at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville to rehearse for the tour.

As of January 30, "The Stadium Tour" had already grossed $130 million from one million tickets sold, plus another $5 million worth of VIP seats, according to Billboard.

Tickets ranged from $150 to $400, not counting some varied pricing that reflected demand as part of "dynamic pricing."

When it happens, "The Stadium Tour" will mark the CRÜE's first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour. CRÜE toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017 — but the upcoming jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.