Remember That Motley Crue ‘Cessation Of Touring’ Agreement? Blow It Up

Motley Crue Now
– Motley Crue Now

Presenting a novel legal argument for ending a contract, Mötley Crüe says that almost six years after signing a “Cessation of Touring agreement,” the band says the deal is “off the table because a whole new generation of Crüeheads are relentless in demanding” a reunion.

The Crüe announced in gloriously hyperbolic fashion Nov. 18 that after the success of its Netflix film “The Dirt,” they’ve decided to put the band back together and literally “blown up” the contract.

See Mötley Crüe blow up the deal:

The band famously made the signing of the “contract” a centerpiece of a tour announcement heralding “The Final Tour” more than five years ago. The tour, with Alice Cooper in support on most dates, ran from July 2014 through 2015, culminating in a New Year’s Eve show with The Struts at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

That was supposed to be it for The Crüe after 35 years on stage and 30 since the release of the landmark “Dr. Feelgood.” Vince Neil, Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars did rejoin in 2018 to participate in the making of “The Dirt,” a Netflix film that brought the band back into the spotlight.

According to data supplied in a press release, Mötley Crüe saw in the six months after the film’s release “a meteoric rise of almost 350% increase in streams of their music across all streaming platforms” while gaining new fans in the 18-44 demographic “now representing 64% of the band’s fanbase.”

The movie “unexpectedly” helped bring the foursome back together and, after several of years of going in different directions, they headed back into the recording studio. “The fuse was lit,” according to a statement.

Motley Crue Then
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
– Motley Crue Then
Motley Crue in 2014, announcing “The Final Tour.”

And so it was. Fittingly, the band released a video of themselves literally blowing up that old “cessation of touring agreement.” And if you had November 2019 in your “Mötley Crüe reunion” pool, be sure to collect your winnings.

Sure, there were the skeptics back in 2014 who didn’t believe The Crüe would refrain from touring for long. But so what? They were a force to be reckoned with and while the band did not formally announce a tour, or tour dates, Mötley Crüe fans may justifiably feel like celebrating.

With five years from the road and “The Dirt” in only the recent rearview, Mötley Crüe hasn’t been forgotten. And even the tour history from “The Final Tour” suggests there’d be plenty of appetite for another.

On that caravan, The Crüe played some 97 shows and sold 1,042,890 tickets for a total gross reported to Pollstar of $66,117,263. They sold 95% of tickets available, and averaged 11,335 per show for $718,666.

So never say never. But for those playing at home, don’t trying blowing up a contract in order to get out of one, though.