Mötley Crüe begin rehearsals with new guitarist John 5 ahead of world tour

Mötley Crüe have officially begun rehearsals for their upcoming world tour with their new guitarist, John 5.

Due to commence next month, the sprawling seven-month tour will be the Rob Zombie axeman’s first with Mötley Crüe, having been drafted in last year to replace the band’s founding guitarist, Mick Mars.

Mars, who has been battling ankylosing spondylitis for much of his life, officially retired from touring late last year, and – after months of intense online speculation – was replaced by John 5, who will serve as the band’s onstage six-stringer.

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Now, Crüe bass guitar player Nikki Sixx has confirmed rehearsals for the forthcoming tour have commenced, writing, “42 years and I still get excited about the first day of band rehearsal. Here we go.”

In the comments, John 5 himself replied, “I’m more excited can’t wait buddy”, while the band’s vocalist Vince Neil confirmed in a post of his own that he has recovered from Covid and is “ready to conquer the world”.

Though we’ve seen John 5 cover various Mötley Crüe tracks since his appointment – such as Too Fast For Love – we’ve yet to see any footage of the whole band playing together. Fortunately, since rehearsals have now started, we’d wager a clip or two will make their way on to social media ahead of the tour.

We also imagine that said rehearsals will come off without a hitch for the new lineup, with Chad Kroeger recently saying he’s heard John 5 play “every single Mötley Crüe riff” flawlessly. That, and John 5 had been sneaking Mötley Crüe covers into his live solo sets well before the general public had any idea a lineup change was coming.

In a further attempt to perfect his Crüe chops, John 5 has also been indulging in “Mötley Mondays” – a recurring Instagram series during which he covers tracks from across the band’s repertoire. Previous installments have seen John 5 take on Looks That Kill, Louder Than Hell, Primal Scream and more.

When he was first announced as the new Mötley Crüe guitarist, John 5 said he was “honored to carry on Mick’s legacy” and voiced his excitement ahead of playing Crue’s catalog of tracks live with the band.

The band, meanwhile, called him an “absolutely outstanding musician” and a worthy candidate to replace Mars.

John 5 has received support from all corners of the guitar world following his recruitment, with Sixx revealing the band picked him to replace Mars as he’s an “insane player”.

“He checks all the boxes,” Sixx wrote on social media. “He's an insane player. Has respect for our music, is funny as fuck and has history with us and we've written some pretty big hits together.”

Mötley Crüe’s world tour is set to kick off on February 10 at Hard Rock Live in Atlantic City, and will conclude with a show at the El Paso Sun Bowl Stadium on August 18.

For a full list of tour dates, head over to Mötley Crüe’s website.