Nikki Sixx Says He Understands Why David Lee Roth Turned Down Mötley Crüe Tour

You might remember — and we certainly do, given the gangbusters traffic numbers the story put up — when David Lee Roth said a couple of months ago that he turned down an offer to open up for Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard on the two bands’ giant summer stadium tour, saying “I don’t open for bands that I influenced.” At least that’s how Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx relayed the story.

Now, in a new chat with Forbes, Sixx addressed that claim and elaborated on the ensuing fallout a bit.

Sixx has always struck me as a reasonable fella, and he takes a completely reasonable stance regarding DLR’s decision:

“Yeah, well, he probably influenced everybody. That band [Van Halen] is a monster. But, you know, understandably. We all get to make our choices and stuff. I just thought with the body of work that he has with a lot of people, it could be really exciting. I understand his position, too.”

Reversing the roles, it’d be like Black Veil Brides some day asking Mötley Crüe to open. I’d understand them not wanting to. Sixx gets this.

Nikki then turned his attention to the media’s coverage of his quote:

“It’s interesting for me now, when I do press, I’m really aware that a lot of press outlets are looking for clickbait. And what I like about [his new book] ‘The First 21’ is I don’t really feel like there’s a lot of clickbait in there. Maybe that’s a bad thing because, you know, you click on the link and someone gets five cents in advertising. I don’t want to sell advertising. I want to sell an experience of what these first 21 years are about. So I tried to be very honest, and ‘this is kind of how it is,’ but no [cheap] shots.”

Sixx has previously blasted the press over the incident on his own Twitter account, saying:

“Media takes one sentence outta new book and makes it a headline. Clickbait. I’ve comes to despise bottom feeder press. Ripping off fans to sell advertisements..”

And now it’s my turn to attempt to be reasonable: look, I get it. That one line was certainly made into a bigger deal than it likely was. But for the fans it’s a fun tidbit that plays into the legends of everyone involved; of course Mötley Crüe are a much bigger band than DLR’s solo act at this point, but of course DLR turned it down anyway. And as such, no one has been harmed in the making of this particular film. Everyone understands both positions, no harm no foul, and we all move on. Plus MetalSucks gets a bunch of clicks in the meantime (I can say, as a fan, that I would have clicked!).

Sixx is currently promoting a new book, The First 21, about the early years of his life. Roth, meanwhile, just announced his upcoming five-show residency in Las Vegas will be his final shows ever… or not.

Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are scheduled to tour dates next year. Scheduled dates are as follows:

6/16 – Atlanta, GA @ Suntrust Park [tickets]
6/18 – Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium [tickets]
6/19 – Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium [tickets]
6/22 – Washington, DC @ Nationals Park [tickets]
6/24 – Queens, NY @ Citi Field [tickets]
6/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park [tickets]
6/28 – Charlotte, NC @ Bank Of America Stadium [tickets]
6/30 – Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium [tickets]
7/2 – Jacksonville, FL @ TIAA Bank Field [tickets]
7/5 – St. Louis, MO @ Busch Stadium [tickets]
7/8 – Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field [tickets]
7/10 – Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park [tickets]
7/12 – Hershey, PA @ Hershey Park Stadium [tickets]
7/14 – Cleveland, OH @ First Energy Stadium [tickets]
7/15 – Cincinnati, OH @ Great American Ballpark [tickets]
7/17 – Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Field [tickets]
7/19 – Kansas City, MO @ Kauffman Stadium [tickets]
7/21 – Denver, CO @ Coors Field [tickets]
8/5 – Boston, MA @ Fenway Park [tickets]
8/6 – Boston, MA @ Fenway Park [tickets]
8/10 – Buffalo, NY @ New Era Field [tickets]
8/12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PNC Park [tickets]
8/14 – Minneapolis, MN @ U.S. Bank Stadium [tickets]
8/19 – Houston, TX @ Minute Maid Park [tickets]
8/21 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome [tickets]
8/22 – Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Park [tickets]
8/27 – Inglewood, CA @ Sofi Stadium [tickets]
8/28 – San Diego, CA @ Petco Park [tickets]
8/31 – Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park [tickets]
9/7 – San Francisco, CA @ Oracle Park [tickets]