Motley Crue's NIkki Sixx
Mötley Crüe have announced their Farewell Tour.
The 'Kickstart My Heart' band - Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee - will stop performing live after undertaking a huge 72-date jaunt across the globe beginning this summer, they announced today (28.01.14).
To prove how serious they are about splitting, the group signed a 'Cessation of Touring' document- a legally binding contract forbidding them to use the Mötley Crüe name after the run of shows is complete.
The heavy metal band arrived at a press conference to announce the tour in a hearse, and sat behind gravestones bearing R.I.P. and each of their names. When asked how they felt, each member of the band replied "dead".
Explaining their decision, singer Vince said: "We don't' want to be one of those bands that maybe have one guy left in it, or somebody's brother. We want to go out with the four founding members of Mötley Crüe, and go out on top."
Nikki added: "We started this band and nobody would believe in us ... none of us graduated high school, but we figured out how to form a record company, which was kind of funny ... and we've always been very pro-active about everything we do, including the end of our career."
Tickets are to be as affordable as possible for fans, with prices as low as $15 or $20, and rock 'n' roll showman Alice Cooper will provide support on all dates.
Nikki added the group want to go out on a high, saying: "We've talked about it for the last few years. It's because we are on top, because we are holding it together and playing better and sounding better, and we want to leave a legacy and we want to have dignity ... it's pretty embarrassing what's happening, the state of music, with bands out there. I don't want to name names, but there's so many bands out there are ripping you off. And we're not going to do that."
Mötley Crüe formed in 1981 and have sold over 80 million records in their career. They also became as notorious for their wild behaviour offstage as for their songs, embodying the 'Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll' ethos. Bass player Nikki died for a few minutes after a heroin overdose in 1987 and Vince went to jail after a car crash, which killed his friend Nicholas 'Razzle' Dingley in 1984. Meanwhile, Tommy was married to both Heather Locklear then Pamela Anderson, with whom he made a notorious sex tape.
Mötley Crüe's farewell tour will start on July 2 in Michigan, and will continue across North America until 2015 when the band will head overseas.
Tickets for most dates go on sale to the general public on Friday January 31.
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