TOMMY LEE On His MÖTLEY CRÜE Bandmates: 'We're Actually Closer Now Than We've Ever Been'

In a new interview with Bonnie Laufer, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee spoke about the band's longevity. Asked what the "secret" is to the secret to MÖTLEY CRÜE's ability to stay together as a band for 45 years, Lee responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know, sweetheart. I pinch myself on a daily basis. Truly. The fact that we're all still here doing this, and our fans are so awesome. They've stuck with us. We're all very fortunate and blessed because this doesn't happen very often. It just doesn't."

Regarding how he keeps things "fresh" for himself after playing in the same band for more than four decades, Lee said: "That's a really great question. Not a lot of people ask that because, look, if you're out there and you're rehearsing or, whatever, or you're performing, I'm always looking for some way to update it. I would play it differently now than I did when we recorded it. So I'm always constantly pushing the band to, like, 'Let's do a new version of this,' even though some people wanna hear the original version. But I don't know — it inspires me to keep things fresh, because I don't know if people understand. You got these guys that are playing these songs and then playing 'em the same way over and over and over and thousands and thousands of times, we, as artists, we gotta keep it fresh too. There's nothing worse than watching a band phone it in."

Asked if he and his MÖTLEY CRÜE bandmates are "more patient with each other" as they get older, Tommy said: "Well, like any good brotherhood or marriage or whatever you wanna call it, we have our moments, of course. The one thing that is very exciting for us is [MÖTLEY CRÜE's new guitarist] John 5. With all due respect to [original MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist] Mick Mars, when [John 5] came in, he lit a fire under everybody. It was just this new energy, new fire. So I can tell you that that's been really inspirational. And we feed off that — we all feed off that. So, we're actually closer now than we've ever been."

John 5 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE in the fall of 2022 as the replacement for Mars.

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, in April 2023 the now-74-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.

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 in the summer of 2022 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 2026, MÖTLEY CRÜE will embark on the "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of CRÜE's groundbreaking 2005-2006 "Carnival Of Sins" tour and the 45th anniversary of the band. The 33-city Live Nation-produced trek will kick off on July 17, 2026 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania at the Pavilion at Star Lake and will feature support acts EXTREME and TESLA.

MÖTLEY CRÜE said that $1 from every ticket sold for "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" will be donated to ASAP! (After School Arts Program) through the Mötley Crüe Giveback Initiative to fund hands-on arts programs for young people.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's Las Vegas residency launched on September 12 and at Dolby Live at Park MGM and ran through October 3. The shows had initially been set for spring but were rescheduled after frontman Vince Neil revealed he had suffered a stroke on Christmas 2024.

In September, Vince said that he had actually had a series of strokes before he suffered the "big one" in his sleep the Christmas night of 2024, rendering him unable to get out of bed when he woke up the next day.

When MÖTLEY CRÜE originally postponed the Las Vegas residency, the band said it was because Neil needed a "medical procedure," but offered no further details.