Motley Crue announced yesterday (October 26) that guitarist Mick Mars is retiring from touring, due to Mars’ struggles with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.), a degenerative disease that affects the spine. However, the band says despite Mars no longer touring, he’s still very much a member of Motley Crue

With this void in the Crue’s touring lineup and a world tour with Def Leppard set for 2023, this got us thinking about who should fill it. Here are just five guitarists we think should be considered for the job.

• John 5

  John 5 seems to be the heavy favorite and the heavily rumored guitarist to fill in for Mars when the Crue hits the road again. His credentials are outstanding having played for the likes of David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. John 5 was also spotted in the photos and video Tommy Lee shared from his destination 60th birthday bash, which was also attended by Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil, so one would assume he has a good rapport with the band already.

   

• Richie Sambora

  This one might be out of leftfield, but hear us out. Sambora is a brilliant and often underrated guitarist, much like Mars himself. He’s more than capable of handling the Crue’s massive riffs and could really be an asset with providing backing vocals. Plus, the idea of having two of Heather Locklear’s ex-husbands in a band together is just pretty funny.

   

• Nita Strauss

  Strauss is an incredibly gifted guitarist who already knows how to hang with rock legends. Alice Cooper doesn’t just hire anyone to be in his backing band on tour; The Godfather of Shock Rock has high standards. If Strauss has Cooper’s approval, she could definitely play with the Crue. Even though she left Cooper’s band to be the touring guitarist for Demi Lovato, the pop singer’s current tour is wrapping up in November, so Strauss should be available.

• Izzy Stradlin

  If you thought Sambora was out of leftfield, the thought of Izzy Stradlin filling in for Mick Mars is basically out of the parking lot of the baseball stadium. (Forgive us for trying to have a little fun.) There’s honestly no way Stradlin would actually fill in for Mars, especially considering he’s not fond of the spotlight at all and likes to keep a very low profile. Also, there’s that whole matter of Vince Neil punching Stradlin backstage at the 1989 VMAs. However, Stradlin is undoubtedly brilliant, and, like Sambora, he would be a valuable asset when it comes to backing vocals.

• Kiki Wongo

  If you’re not familiar with Kiki Wongo, allow this to be an introduction to one badass shredder. Wongo has a handful of credits including backing Taylor Swift at the 2014 VMAs and Bret Michaels in an ad campaign for Nissan. Wongo has racked up over 1.3 million followers on TikTok due in large part to her impressive clips tearing up some heavy tunes, like Megadeth’s “Tornado of Souls” as seen below.

  @kikiwongo

  Tornado of Souls by @Megadeth 🤘🏼 What song do you want to hear next? 🎸 #guitar #guitartok #guitarcover

  ♬ original sound - Kiki: Daily Metal Guitar Riffs

   

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