Who is John 5? All about the new Motley Crue guitarist replacing Mick Mars

American heavy metal band Motley Crue has confirmed that guitarist John 5 will join the band in a touring capacity after the band’s founder and guitarist Mick announced his retirement.

Mick Mars hung up his boots citing the condition Ankylosing Spondylitis. While Mars will still be part of the band, his condition does not allow him to go on tours.

Meanwhile, Motley Crue’s bassist Nikki Sixx has noted that John 5 will complement the continuing band members perfectly. He noted that it is someone they know and like as they have worked together in the past.

While replying to a fan on Twitter about why they chose John 5, Sixx said:

"He checks all the boxes. He's an insane player. Has respect for our music, is funny as f**k and has history with us and we've written some pretty big hits together."

Motley Crue is scheduled to hit the road in 2023 along with English rock band Def Leppard.

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John 5 has collaborated with Motley Crue in the past

Sixx, who has collaborated with Motley Crue before, has worked on three of their original songs from the 2019 band biopic The Dirt. These songs include The Dirt (Est. 1981), Ride With the Devil, and Crash and Burn.

The two have also collaborated with American singer-songwriter Desmond Child on the title track from Meat Loaf's 2006 album, Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose.

John 5 worked as a guitarist for rock group Marliyn Manson and Rob Zombie

John 5, whose original name is John Lowery, took his stage name in 1998 when he joined the rock group Marilyn Manson as their guitarist. Additionally, he became the guitarist for Rob Zombie and collaborated with artists including Avril Lavigne, David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, and Steve Perry among others.

John 5 has also worked as a solo artist and has recorded ten guitar albums, with the most recent ones being Invasion and Sinner. They were released in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

He also has a remix album, Remixploitation, which was released in 2009, and live albums titled It's Alive and Live Invasion which were released in 2018 and 2020 respectively.

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Why did Mick Mars announce his retirement?

Mick Mars, 71, was the founding guitarist and decided to end his touring career after struggling with an arthritic disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis.

An official statement from the band reads:

"Mick Mars, co-founder and lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Motley Crue for the past 41 years, has announced today that due to his ongoing painful struggle with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.), he will no longer be able to tour with the band."

The statement further added:

"Mick will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigors of the road. A.S. is an extremely painful and crippling degenerative disease, which affects the spine.”

Mars was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 17. It impaired his movement, causing him a lot of pain. The artist underwent a hip-replacement surgery in late 2004, which deteriorated his problem, causing his lower spine to seize up and freeze.

It also led to scoliosis on his back and squashed him down and forward, causing him to become three inches shorter than he was in high school.