MÖTLEY CRÜE’s Mick Mars Still Wants to Rock… But His Body Won’t Let Him

by Randy “Rocket” Cody

As rumors of Mick Mars being out of MÖTLEY CRÜE continue to circulate, speculation grows as to why exactly the guitarist is going to be replaced by ex-Rob Zombie shredder John 5. Mars seemed to do just fine during The Stadium Tour‘s hectic schedule of 36 concerts. There was no sign that his health was deteriorating, although that is what the rock sites pushing his demise in the band want us to believe.

Yes, Mick’s advancing age has undoubtedly become a big concern as time goes by and considering the glam metal act has now booked gigs around the world all the way into 2023, plus will play more shows in North America in 2024, it apparently comes down to making the best business decision for the entity as a whole.

Do you inject some youth into one of the hottest heavy metal bands of all time, so that their comeback can continue?

For those not in the know, at 71 years of age, Mick suffers from Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), which is an inflammatory disease that affects the joints and bones of the spine. It is less commonly known as Bechterew disease or Marie Strümpell disease. There is no cure for it, and those who have the condition experience severe pain. Mick Mars was first diagnosed with AS in his late teens.

Other notable celebrities who shared this same condition include Ed Sullivan and Dan Reynolds of rock group IMAGINE DRAGONS. Believe it or not, even Mick’s own daughter Stormy Deal, also suffers from it too.

She explains the day to day of living with AS:

“I mostly get pains in my legs and hips; I have a lot of lower back pain and left shoulder pain. And again, like my dad, I was hooked on all kinds of pain medication. A.S. affects your immune system, and the pain medication weakens it too. I got pneumonia, and it was really bad. It also affected my emotions to an extent. I got very apathetic at times and thought all would be better if only I took another pill or two. But now I have a good pain management team and I take alternate med’s to keep limber and as a result, my head is loads clearer.”

The condition is one of the best-known forms of spondyloarthritis, or arthritis of the spine.

“This AS crap has shrunk me down really small. I used to be almost five-foot-nine, and I’m just a little over five-three now.”

– Mick Mars

Doctors use many different names for this specific type of arthritis. By knowing these different terms, it can help you better understand the condition and how it progressively gets worse over time.

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According to WebMD:

“First, it’s important to note that axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is an umbrella term that covers several arthritis-related conditions of the spine. Think of axSpA as a wide spectrum of symptoms — the level of pain you feel and how it affects your everyday life varies depending on where you are on the spectrum. Most people with the condition will have back pain, but it’s possible to have pain in the neck, pelvic area, buttocks, arms, and legs.

Axial spondylarthritis mainly consists of two diseases:

Nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA)

Radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. This type is more commonly known as ankylosing spondylitis (AS).”

The latter being what Mick Mars suffers from.

In discussing his rare health condition with Music Radar, Mick Mars details his daily misery of having to cope with it:

Mars: “It’s no walk in the park. In fact, it’s why I kind of walk like Frankenstein. [laughs] The thing about Ankylosing Spondylitis is, it’s caused by a gene; you first start noticing pain in your hips, usually when you’re in your teens. What it does is it slowly fuses your bones together — your spine, your ribs…With most people it stops in their 30s, when the disease is still in their lower back. In my case, I have a rare form of the disease that hasn’t stopped, so it’s all the way up my whole back and into my brain stem. It’s literally squeezing my rib cage together, so I’ve lost some height. And now that it’s up in my brain stem it’s hard for me to move my head in any direction, be it up and down or sideways. So, I can’t drive, I can’t do any of that kind of stuff.”