Nikki Sixx has revealed that the chance for MÖTLEY CRÜE to headline a U.S. stadium tour was the main reason the band decided to suspend its retirement.

Fans of the band believed that the band’s 2014/2015 “farewell” tour would be their last, with their final ever concert being played in December 2015 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band had even announced that they had signed a “cessation of touring” agreement before the tour began, cementing it as CRÜE’s last adventure on the road.

Speaking to 98.3 CIFM radio station about their decision to reunite for next summer’s statium tour with bands like Def Leppard and Poison, Sixx said: “It was pretty ineresting. We knocked it on the head because we felt like we had said everything we wanted to say. We felt that we were young enough where we had time left on the clock to do other stuff. And I think it ended in a really good way.

“We never intended on getting back together,” he revealed. “It was [MÖTLEY CRÜE’s biopic The Dirt] … We always knew we were gonna do the movie … And it started – it just started rolling and rolling. Now there’s, like, 83 or 84 million people who’ve seen the movie, and the phone calls started coming in from around the world.”

Sixx explained that all of the members of the band sat down and had a conversation on whether they would get back together again: “We couldn’t leave two guys behind and go out and have two versions of MÖTLEY CRÜE. So it was an exciting time, something to celebrate. And if there was any hem and hawing, it was around the idea of going and doing arenas … We felt it wasn’t gonna get any bigger than how we ended it.”

When Def Leppard approached them, it seemed as if the stadium tour was going to be a massive success. “And then COVID came and knocked on its heels,” Sixx said. “And then we decided not to tour this year because we weren’t comfortable yet personally, and maybe it wasn’t the right thing for the fans, in our opinion, or for our crew.”

“The Stadium Tour” was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020 but then ended up being pushed back to 2021 then again to 2022, due to the COVID pandemic. Nikki Sixx is confident that the tour will happen next year. “100 per cent – June 19th, this tour kicks off in Atlanta, Georgia.”

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When asked what fans can expect to see from MÖTLEY CRÜE’s show this time around, Sixx said: “We have some very, very cool things in development, let’s say. Different than anything we’ve done before.”

“The Stadium Tour” will mark the CRÜE’s first live dates since they wrapped up their 2014/2015 farewell tour. This will also be the first time that CRÜE teams up with Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts on an extended tour.

For more on this topic, follow the Classic Rock Observer.

Check out Nikki Sixx talking about MÖTLEY CRÜE on the Nikki Omen show here:

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