Mick Mars Says He Barely Played on Motley Crue’s Last Three Albums

Mick Mars says he hardly played on Motley Crue's last three albums: Generation Swine (1997), New Tattoo (2000) and Saints of Los Angeles (2008).

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the guitarist recalled how the band first started squeezing him out of the decision-making process over two decades ago when they reunited with singer Vince Neil.

"I don't think there's one note that I played," Mars said, referring to Generation Swine. "They didn't want my guitar to sound like a guitar, basically. They wanted it to sound like a synthesizer. I felt so useless. I'd do a part, they'd erase it, and somebody else would come in and play."

Former Motley Crue vocalist John Corabi, who was present for the beginning of the Generation Swine sessions before being replaced by Neil, supported Mars' claim. "They had no respect for Mick," he said. "Mick was just the grumpy old bastard to them. [Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee gave] Mick shit about his finances and the girls he dated. He'd been dealing with over 20 years of this."

A few years later, Mars said he was barely included in sessions for 2000's New Tattoo. "I didn't write any of those songs, since I wasn't invited," he said. "I think I got one lick on that album."

Sixx denies this was the case, telling Rolling Stone that Mars played "lead guitar, rhythm guitar and any other guitar that's on that record."

For Motley Crue's most recent album, 2008's Saints of Los Angeles, both Mars and Sixx agree that most of the guitar work was done by D.J. Ashba, who was uncredited. "Mick was struggling to play his parts," Sixx explained. "So there's [a] mixture of D.J. and Mick, and we would always make Mick the center focus unless, of course, he couldn't play his parts or remember his parts."

Last year, Motley Crue announced that while Mars would no longer tour with them "due to his ongoing painful struggle with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.)." The two sides have since traded public insults and legal challenges, arguing over whether Mars remains an official member of the band.

Meanwhile, Motley Crue has moved forward recording music with Mars' replacement, guitarist John 5, and Mars has continued work on a new solo album titled Another Side of Mars.

Though his relationship with his bandmates is strained, Mars still says he doesn't have regrets about joining Motley Crue in the first place. "The rough spots were rough spots, and hard to deal with," he said, "but I got to see the world and play with a group that was this successful. So I don't regret anything...besides Generation Swine."