The Time Mötley Crüe Almost Fired Mick Mars, Bob Daisley Recalls

Ozzy Osbourne bassist Bob Daisley looked back on when Mötley Crüe performed as their opening act during a recent interview with The Metal Voice. According to the rocker, Crüe intended to fire their lead guitarist Mick Mars, but he convinced them not to when they asked for his opinion.

Following the release of their second studio album, ‘Shout at the Devil‘ on September 26, 1983, Mötley Crüe achieved worldwide success. The record established the band as one of the top-selling heavy metal acts of the 1980s with singles such as ‘Looks That Kill,’ and ‘Too Young to Fall in Love.’

Thanks to the success of their 1983 album, Mötley Crüe ended up being the opening act during Ozzy Osbourne‘s 1984 ‘Bark at the Moon’ tour. Touring with Ozzy brought them tremendous recognition and built a solid foundation for the future of their music career.

Although it seemed like everything was going perfectly for them during the 1984 tour, Ozzy Osborne’s bassist recently revealed that was not the case. During an interview, Bob Daisley explained an incident regarding Mick Mars and the rest of the band.

Apparently, Daisley paid a visit to Mötley Crüe’s bus while Mars went to theirs to see Osbourne. When he entered their bus, the bassist caught the Mötley Crüe members having a meeting about firing Mars and getting somebody new as their lead guitarist.

When the band asked him about his opinion, Daisley said there’s no point in fixing something that isn’t broken. According to him, the band worked just fine with Mars, whereas they could ruin the chemistry by firing him. Although this may come as a surprise when considering their impulsiveness, the Crüe members actually listened to Bob Daisley and continued with Mick Mars.

About Mars and Crüe, Daisley said:

“That night, after the show, Mick went on our bus to be with Ozzy, and I went on on their bus, so I was the only one of our lot that went on their bus. And they were having a meeting.

What they were planning on doing was getting rid of Mick and getting another guitarist in. And they asked me for my opinion. So I said, ‘Well, if you want my opinion, for what it’s worth, I would say do not try to fix something that’s not broken.’ I said, ‘I ‘ve seen it before, with Lee Kerslake in the Blizzard of Ozz.’

I said, ‘You’ve got chemistry there, you’ve got a functioning unit. Mick Mars is part of that. Don’t fuck it up. That’s my opinion. Just don’t do it.’ And I think I saved Mick’s neck that night ’cause they were getting serious about getting someone else.”

You can watch the entire interview below.