Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx: We missed being in a band together

Motley Crue
Motley Crue at the tour press conference (Image credit: Kevin Winter - Getty)

Motley Crue (opens in new tab) will head out on the road again next summer – the first time they’ve hit the stage together since 2015.

The band famously blew up the cessation of touring contract they signed in 2014 in spectacular style last month (opens in new tab), clearing the way for a live return.

And with 22 stadium shows lined up for next summer with Def Leppard (opens in new tab), Poison (opens in new tab) and Joan Jett (opens in new tab), bassist Nikki Sixx has revealed what brought the Crue together again after what appeared to be the end of the road for them.

He says (via Rolling Stone (opens in new tab)): “Honestly, I don’t think any of us thought, when we were on the final tour, we would ever get back together. We weren’t really getting along at that point. 

“We had been together 35 years and it’s been a lot of years on the road. I don’t think we took a lot of time for ourselves off. We were just constantly touring for all that time. 

“And when we came to the end, we broke the band up and everybody went their own ways. I think we really needed that break.”

He adds: “It was during the making of The Dirt (opens in new tab) movie – we started working on the script, we started being on the set and we started hanging out again together. 

“I think we sort of realised how much – without even talking about the music – how much we missed each other. We missed each other to be honest with you. We missed being in a band together.”

At the press conference last night announcing the tour, Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott hinted that the live dates could continue after the initial run of 22 shows.

He said: “There’s 22 stadium shows, so it’s pretty much most major territories. And in fairness it seems to be growing and there’s more interest before it’s even gone on sale. So it may extend one way or another, even in the next year.”

A ticket pre-sale will get under way on December 16, with tickets going on general sale of December 20. Find a full list of dates below.

Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts tour
Jul 07: Miami Hard Rock Stadium, FL
Jul 09: Orlando Camping World Stadium, FL
Jul 11: Charlotte Bank of America Stadium, NC
Jul 14: Arlington Globe Life Field, TX
Jul 15: Houston Minute Maid Park, TX
Jul 19: San Francisco Oracle Park, CA
Jul 23: San Diego Petco Park, CA
Jul 25: Phoenix State Farm Stadium, AZ
Aug 09: Atlanta SunTrust Park, GA
Aug 11: Hershey Hersheypark Stadium, PA
Aug 13: Buffalo New Era Field, NY
Aug 15: Philadelphia Citizens Bank Park, PA
Aug 16: Pittsburgh PNC Park, PA
Aug 18: Milwaukee Miller Park, WI
Aug 20: Detroit Comerica Park, MI
Aug 22: Washington Nationals Park, DC
Aug 23: Flushing Citi Field, NY
Aug 25: Boston Fenway Park, MA
Aug 28: Chicago Wrigley Field, IL
Aug 30: Denver Coors Field, CO
Sep 02: Seattle T-Mobile Park, WA
Sep 05: Los Angeles SoFi Stadium, CA

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.