Bad news for hair metal mavens everywhere: Vocalist Vince Neil has announced that Mötley Crüe's next tour will be the band's final trek, and his band is in agreement (unlike say, when Scott Weiland announces that Velvet Revolver won't tour ever again).
Mötley Crüe was, in our humble opinions, the best of the the hair metal scene (Guns 'n' Roses weren't hair metal), and Neil said the group wanted to go out where they currently stand in the music world, not playing shows at shady nightclubs.
"We'll do one more time around the world and kinda call it quits," he said. "It's just that time. We're going out on top. We don't want to be some band that people are like, 'Oh, they're playing a club now,' that kind of band. We still sell out arenas, have stadium stuff and things like that, so let's go out when it's a big deal."
Neil, bassisst Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee are all in good health (at least compared to during their drug-fueled heyday of the '80s), but guitarist Mick Mars has struggled recently with arthritis and a hip replacement. Neil acknowledges the possibility of touring again in five or ten years, but he doesn't want to turn into the seemingly constant retirement party that is KISS.
"It's not gonna be like a Kiss farewell to the farewell to the farewell to the farewell tour," Neil said. "It won't be like that. We're not going to say farewell and then try to get people to come back again in a little while."
Granted, this farewell tour hasn't actually been planned yet. For the time being Mötley Crüe has a 12-show gig planned at the Hard Rock Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas. Neil hinted that there could be new music released before the band set out its last tour, possibly to go with the film adaptation of the band's autobiography, which is currently in the works.
