Nikki Sixx says Mötley Crüe have been “having a blast” playing stadiums after retiring from touring in 2015.
The glam metal band quit the road seven years ago after their ‘The End Tour’ before reuniting three years later.
And the 63-year-old bassist admits he’s “so grateful” to be given a second chance after they played at the biggest venues across North America as part of ‘The Stadium Tour’, which wrapped in Las Vegas on September 9.
He said: “It’s been unbelievable.
“I’m so grateful to be doing this, and it started, like, three years ago when the movie came out — two and a half years ago. We kind of, we broke up the band. We just decided to quit touring. We’ve been doing it for, god, 35 years at that point.”
He went on: “Tommy does other stuff, and I do other stuff, and I remember getting the phone call from management, and I was, like, ‘No.’
“And they go, ‘You haven’t even heard what I have to say.'”
Drummer Tommy, 59, said: “We were done. We were done.”
The ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ rockers had signed a legal agreement promising not to perform as Mötley Crüe after 2015, and they felt bad going back on their word when they reunited in 2018.
Nikki continued: “And we were friends, and we were fine and everything’s good.
“We’re just like, ‘No, it’s a lot of work.’ When you see the show out there, you’re gonna go, ‘Wow.’ I mean, it’s years of work putting it together, and then they were like, ‘No, not eight arenas, eight stadiums,’ and I was like, ‘Let me call Tommy.’
“I was like, ‘Hey, dude, they’re talking about us touring,’ and he’s like, ‘No.’ Because we wanted to be — stand by what we said, and then it was 16 and 36, which we just entered our 36th stadium, and there’s, what, another 120 next year and the year after that, so, we’re grateful we said yes.”
Nikki admitted: “We’re having a blast.”
Tommy told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: “How can you say no to stadiums?”
Nikki concluded: “I mean, we’re all having a blast, everyone’s just having a good time …it’s amazing to be 41 years together? I mean, sometimes it’s just like, ‘What?’ Stepping into some sacred territory there.”
And the band – also comprising frontman Vince Neil, 61, and guitarist Mick Mars, 71 – are not done yet, with more shows planned and a potential third Las Vegas residency.