Ex-Mötley Crüe vocalist John Corabi doesn't "believe" band's Mick Mars retirement statement
Mick Hutson/Redferns
Ex-Mötley Crüe vocalist John Corabi says he doesn't "believe" the band's statement announcing the retirement of guitarist Mick Mars.
The statement, which was posted in October, reads, "We accept Mick's decision to retire from the band due to the challenges with his health," referring to his long battle with the inflammatory disease ankylosing spondylitis. That followed a statement a rep for Mars gave to Variety, which read, "Mick will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigors of the road." Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 will replace Mars for Mötley's upcoming 2023 tour dates.
Speaking with the Life in the Stocks podcast, Corabi, who sang on Mötley Crüe's 1994 self-titled album, says, "I don't even know if [Mars] left Mötley, I think maybe he was shown the door."
Corabi recalls the rest of Mötley "complaining about [Mars'] guitar playing" dating back to their 1997 album, Generation Swine, which Corabi had begun recording before he left the band in 1996.
"The majority of the guitars on the Swine record…are mine," Corabi says. "They were complaining about Mick the whole f***ing time."
Corabi adds that the guitars on Mötley's 2008 album Saints of Los Angeles were played by onetime Guns N' Roses guitarist and Nikki Sixx's Sixx:A.M. bandmate DJ Ashba, while John 5 played guitar on the new songs they recorded for 2019's The Dirt soundtrack.
Regarding Mars' departure, Corabi concedes that he could "be totally wrong" but says he's waiting to hear from Mick himself.
"The [statement] that we've all heard came from Mötley and their management," Corabi says, adding that he's reached out to Mars personally but hasn't heard back.
"This is all a theory…but, personally, I don't believe a word of that statement, at all," he concludes.
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