Mick Mars has accused his estranged Mötley Crüe bandmates of trying to destroy his legacy.
“When they wanted to get high and f**k everything up, I covered for them,” the 72-year-old guitarist told Rolling Stone. “Now they’re trying to take my legacy away, my part of Mötley Crüe, my ownership of the name, the brand.”
Mars added: “How can you fire Mr. Heinz from Heinz ketchup? He owns it. Frank Sinatra’s or Jimi Hendrix’s legacy goes on forever, and their heirs continue to profit from it.
“They’re trying to take that away from me. I’m not going to let them.”
A founding member of the band, Mars announced last October that he was stepping away from touring due to his ongoing battle with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a degenerative disease that causes bones in the spine to fuse.
“Mick will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigours of the road,” the band said in a statement at the time.
Earlier this year, Mars claimed that Mötley Crüe demanded he sign a severance agreement that would divest him of his 25 percent share in the band’s business ventures. He alleged that after belittling him for years, Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil and Tommy Lee were now trying to throw him out of the band.
Mars also publicly accused the members of Mötley Crüe of not playing live. (A lawyer for the band countered in a statement that “Mötley Crüe always performs its songs live.”)