Def Leppard’s Rick Savage sat down with Made In Metal for a new interview and he talked about touring with Mötley Crüe two years in a row.
The two bands toured together in the 2022 ‘The Stadium Tour’ and the 2023 ‘The World Tour.’ When the two tours were mentioned during the chat, the rocker explained how it went:
“It was great. [I] absolutely loved it. We’d known Mötley Crüe over the years — well, obviously for 30 years — but we never knew them really well as friends. But we’d met each other in different circles. And I have to say, they turned out to be some of the nicest people that we’ve ever, ever worked with — just really, really great. Contrary to popular belief, they were very professional, they were always on time, they were very friendly. They were even friendly with each other, which some people tend to think that they’re not. Well, they were perfect to be with — absolutely perfect.”
In the bassist’s words, Mötley Crüe was ‘very tight’ and Nikki Sixx wasn’t like what people expected him to be:
“The whole thing just worked out — [it] actually exceeded my expectations. ‘Cause when you get paired with a band that you don’t really know, you’re never sure how the relationship is gonna work. But literally from day one, the relationship between Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe was very, very tight, very, very close. Nikki Sixx is one of the nicest men I’ve ever met, one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, apart from David Bryan from Bon Jovi. But [they’re] just good, good people. And like I say, it just made for a really, really enjoyable tour.”
Phil Collen And Mötley Crüe Have ‘A Lot In Common’
The two bands’ friendship goes way back.
In another interview in May last year, Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen talked about touring with Mötley Crüe. He mentioned his common points with the members and said:
“I knew Tommy [Lee] and all of the guys, actually, from the ’80s. And they used to hang out and they used to get crazy. So we’ve known each other. We’ve all gone through all these different things. Me and Nikki Sixx both have five children. Our birthdays are a year apart but only four days apart as well — both in December. So we have a lot in common.”
Collen Thinks John 5’s Inclusion Worked Out Great
Collen also shared his thoughts on Mick Mars’ departure from the band in another interview.
Mars left the band for health-related issues back in 2022. After his departure, John 5 replaced him as the new guitarist.
Collen said of Mars:
“The thing with Mötley Crüe, Mick Mars was really in pain. We’d done the American tour with him, and he has physical issues. So it was great that John 5 had come out. John 5 is just a wonderful human being and plays great and everything, so he fits in. And he really helped the band out, because Mick couldn’t really do that. Traveling is the problem; he was having trouble [with all the travel]. It just was painful. It worked out great.”
You can see the interview below.