Nikki Sixx has confirmed that Mötley Crüe are in the studio and working on new music.
The founding member and bassist of the hair metal icons shared a picture of himself, drummer Tommy Lee and new guitarist John 5 in a songwriting session. Sixx also said the band were working with producer Barry Pointer.
Sixx shared the photo on Thursday night (April 13) before following up with more news yesterday (Friday, April 14). The ‘Too Fast For Love’ writer said the band are getting set to “record a few off the floor” in the next week.
— 📷 (@NikkiSixx) April 13, 2023
Taking to his Twitter page, Sixx confirmed that Crüe are writing new music – despite the acrimonious exit of co-founder Mick Mars. “We are writing,” Sixx told his followers. “The creative process of songwriting has always been the heartbeat of our band.”
He added: “We’re gonna go in the big studio next week and record a few off the floor and see where it goes.”
However, this might not necessarily be confirmation of a new album, as Sixx added: “We don’t have a definitive plan at this point. Just letting the songs guide us.”
We are writing.The creative process of songwriting has always been the heartbeat of our band. We’re gonna go in the big studio next week and record a few off the floor and see where it goes. We don’t have a definitive plan at this point.Just letting the songs guide us.
— 📷 (@NikkiSixx) April 13, 2023
The band are about to embark on a European tour with Def Leppard, though it’s not yet clear if they plan to debut any new material live. Sixx also recently confirmed he’d linked up with Dolly Parton to help her with a rock album.
However, the band have mainly been hitting headlines this year due to a legal battle with Mars, who alongside Sixx, Lee and Vince Neil was a founding member of the band. Mars recently spoke about his legal battle with the other members of Crüe, following the lawsuit he filed against them over his share of profits.
“Those guys have been hammering on me since ’87, trying to replace me,” he told Variety. “They haven’t been able to do that, because I’m the guitar player. I helped form this band. It’s my name I came up with [the Motley Crue moniker], my ideas, my money that I had from a backer to start this band. It wouldn’t have gone anywhere.”
In response to Mars’ lawsuit, Sasha Frid, the band’s litigation lawyer said: “Mick’s lawsuit is unfortunate and completely off-base. In 2008, Mick voted for and signed an agreement in which he and every other band member agreed that ‘in no event shall any resigning shareholder be entitled to receive any monies attributable to live performances (i.e., tours).
“The band did everything to protect him (and) tried to keep these matters private to honour Mick’s legacy and take the high road. Unfortunately, Mick chose to file this lawsuit to badmouth the band. The band feels empathy for Mick, wishes him well and hopes that he can get better guidance from his advisers who are driven by greed.”