John 5 Says ‘It All Went Bad’ For Nikki Sixx And Tommy Lee, “I don’t know” About New MÖTLEY CRÜE Album

MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s replacement guitarist, John 5, recently appeared on ‘Talkin’ Rock with Meltdown’ and recalled the South America leg of their world tour with Def Leppard. John recalled how their high spirits fizzled out with Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee. He explained:

“It was such an incredible time like, it’s a time in my life that I’ll never forget. But then it all goes bad because one day Tommy was like [coughing], and I didn’t think anything of it. I thought, ‘He’s got a little cough,’ and then he’s like [more coughing], ‘Oh, I don’t feel so good,’ and then Nikki was coughing, and I was like, ‘Oh no, now they’re both coughing.’”

The rocker shared that by the end of the tour, everyone had a taste of the ‘Mötley flu.’ John continued:

“We all hang out together, so we have four SUVs that take us to the show, but we want to hang out with each other, so we’re all squeezed in this one car. So we’re all talking in each other’s faces like this [gets closer to the camera] ‘So what’s up dude, yeah yeah.’ All of a sudden I get sick, so we’re all sick in it. We called it the Mötley flu, but it was right near the end of the tour, but we all got it.”

In addition to sharing behind-the-scenes moments from the tour, the guitarist also gave updates on ‘Meltdown’ regarding the new album. John 5 seems to back pedal for the first time, indicating there is potentially trouble in paradise:

“I don’t know when it’s going to come out, but everything is a plan. Everything is mapped out and structured, and everything is, ‘We’re going to do it here and there,’ and blah, blah, blah. So, the songs are recorded, mixed, and mastered. And they’re so good. I can’t wait for them to come out. They’re so good. I’m really excited about them.”

The Crue has been found guilty of using “backing tracks” during concerts last year and in 2023, as confirmed by ousted guitarist Mick Mars, in his newly launched lawsuit against the band for “ripping him off”.

Things have continued to get uglier, as the real dirt begins to leak about the inner drama within the founding membership of the Crue.

John added that he has done his part, but there is no firm timeline for the release. Is the recreation of Vince Neil’s vocals with AI technology the hold up? He expressed:

“Who knows what’s going to happen? I don’t know if we’ll just release singles or an album.” 

John 5, in the meantime, has just announced his solo band will be heading back out on the road at the start of 2024.

You can watch John 5’s appearance on Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station below.