Jeff Giles | Ultimate Classic Rock
The members of Mötley Crüe have been asked countless times if they can envision ever taking the stage together again after their Final Tour concludes Dec. 31. With his latest refusal, singer Vince Neil offered former Crüe tourmates Kiss as an example of what the band is trying to avoid.
“Kiss had five farewell tours and four reunion tours. That’s exactly what we don’t want to do,” Neil told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “That was the whole reason. … We wanted to go out on top, with people saying, ‘Yeah, man, I saw the last concert. It was awesome!’ We don’t want to be that band, where it’s [billed as] Mötley Crüe, and it’s maybe one [original member’s] brother left in the band, and they’re playing clubs. … If we let that happen, we wouldn’t be thought of or remembered like we wanted to be.”
To that end, the band members signed their much-touted “cessation of touring” agreement when they announced these final dates, and although Neil admits breaking the contract wouldn’t carry a legal penalty, he insists it’s there as a reminder that unlike those other acts, the Crüe’s retirement will definitely stick.