Robert Alan Deal known professionally as Mick Mars, is an American musician best known as the former lead guitarist and co-founder of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, being the oldest of the four original members. He is known for his aggressive, melodic solos and bluesy riffs.
Early life
Mars was born Robert Alan Deal, in Terre Haute, Indiana, He realized he wanted to become a musician at only three years of age, when his parents took him to see country singer Skeeter Bonn at a local 4-H Fair in Indiana. "He was wearing a bright-orange outfit with rhinestones all over the place, and a big white Stetson hat. I went, 'I'm doing that. That's what I want to do.'"
Career
Early career
His parents bought him his first guitar at age 12 and he began a relentless practice routine, thinking only of becoming a successful musician. He dropped out of high school and began playing guitar in a series of unsuccessful blues-based rock bands throughout the 1970s.
In his early 20s, he took a job in an industrial laundromat operating heavy machinery while moonlighting with his band Wahtoshi in the local club circuit. After recovering from a serious injury to one of his hands suffered in a workplace accident, he quit to focus on music full time.
Mötley Crüe
After nearly a decade of frustration on the California club circuit, he made the decision to reinvent himself. He shaved off his trademark mustache, changed his legal name from Bob Deal to Mick Mars, and dyed his hair jet black, hoping for a fresh start. In April 1980 he placed an ad in the LA newspaper The Recycler, describing himself as "a loud, rude and aggressive guitar player" in need of a band. Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee, who were putting together a new band which would soon become Mötley Crüe, contacted him and hired him after hearing him play. Lee opened the door and recalled "he's standing there looking like Cousin Itt from The Addams Family" and immediately turned to Sixx and said "This is our guy, he's perfect, he's disgusting and scary".
The name Mötley Crüe came about at the suggestion of Mars. In the early days of White Horse, someone had referred to the band as a "motley looking crew" and Motley Crew was a name they had initially considered using. Sixx liked the name and subsequently altered it to Mötley Crüe. They have also achieved seven multiplatinum and five platinum US certifications, nine Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, twenty-two Top 40 mainstream rock hits, and six Top 20 pop singles.
While Mötley Crüe gained a well-deserved reputation for partying, Mars was never a fan of drugs. "I went, 'Please don't ever, ever do smack. You can't make music when you're falling down'," he told his bandmates when heroin began to enter the picture. He did, however, develop a serious drinking problem after joining the band. and started touring again in 2022. However, several years away from the band had convinced Mars that he never wanted to tour again. He made it clear to his bandmates that he was open to recording again but could not handle another world tour, as he could no longer move his head from side to side and was permanently hunched over. The next day, the band confirmed that John 5 had taken his place. That same week, they announced Mars' complete retirement from the band, supporting his decision, with John 5 taking his place starting with the 2023's The World Tour with Def Leppard.
On April 6, 2023, Mars sued the band, alleging that the group were trying to "unilaterally" get Mars removed from the lineup. Later that day, the band released a statement stating that, whilst Mars hadn't been fired, he isn't touring with the group. Mars would state:
Solo career
In February 2023, amidst the controversies surrounding the band lawsuit, Mars began work on a solo album again, titled The Other Side of Mars, produced in Los Angeles. Cory Marks has described the album, saying: The Other Side of Mars was released on February 23, 2024.
The first single from the album, "Loyal to the Lie", was released on October 31, 2023.
Personal life
Family
With his girlfriend and later wife Sharon, Mars has a son and a daughter, both born in the 1970s. Sharon would later walk out on him with the children after a workplace accident left him unable to provide for the family or play guitar. He fathered a third child with a woman named Marcia Lea Martell (née Tucker), while playing in the band White Horse. His current wife since 2013 is former model Seraina Schönenberger. Mars says he's been financially destitute three times in his life. "One was before (Mötley Crüe) formed. Two was the first wife, and three was the second wife. They drained my bank accounts. I lost my house. I lost cars. I lost guitars. I lost everything," he remembers.
Mars has nine grandchildren and at least one great-grandchild, though he doesn't know the exact number. He has a relationship with his son, but is estranged from his other children. a chronic, inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. He says the pain began when he was 14 years old, with sharp pain at the top of his tailbone. Mars reported in 2013 that his neck is so stiff he could not even turn his head, preventing him from driving a car. The condition led to hip-replacement surgery at the end of 2004. Despite the pain, Mars refuses to use a cane or a wheelchair, saying "If I can't get up there myself, I'm not doing it."
Mars also claims that the albums: Axis: Bold as Love (1967), Truth (1968), Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds (1965), Disraeli Gears (1967), Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970), Bad Company (1974), Band of Gypsys (1970), Led Zeppelin II (1969), and various songs by Mike Bloomfield helped "change his life". Former Mötley Crüe vocalist John Corabi has said that Mars was a big fan of Leslie West and Jeff Beck; "To Mick, it was about kicking you in the chest and having this ungodly sound." and to the Swedish band Crashdïet. Their second album, The Unattractive Revolution, was released on October 3, 2007, and featured two songs co-written by Mars.
Mars played guitar on the title track of Hinder's 2008 album Take It to the Limit, and contributed a guitar solo to the song "Into the Light" by Papa Roach, on their 2009 album Metamorphosis. Mars also contributed a guitar solo to the song "The Question" on Rock Star: Supernova runner-up Dilana's U.S. debut album Inside Out. In 2010 he co-wrote a song with Escape the Fate for the band's self-titled album, which was instead withheld from the album and reserved for a later release. Mars co-wrote and appears in the music video of the song "Boss's Daughter" by Pop Evil on their 2011 album War of Angels.
In November 2019, Mars released a new song, "The Way I'm Wired", with Black Smoke Trigger. Mars was also featured on the hit single "Outlaws & Outsiders" by Cory Marks. In 2024, Mars was featured on another Cory Marks single titled "(Make My) Country Rock".
Equipment
Mars in his early career used guitars that were popular at the time: Kramer, and other Superstrats; on occasion he used a black Gibson Les Paul, and sometimes a B.C. Rich. However, according to an interview published in September 2009, Mars' main stage guitars for that tour were Fender Stratocasters with an "HSH" (humbucker, single coil, humbucker) configuration. He frequently used a Stratocaster modified from components of 1963, 1964, and 1965 models with J.M. Rolph pickups and a licensed Floyd Rose bridge system turning it into a Superstrat.
Discography
Solo
- The Other Side of Mars (2024)
With Mötley Crüe
- Too Fast for Love (1981)
- Shout at the Devil (1983)
- Theatre of Pain (1985)
- Girls, Girls, Girls (1987)
- Dr. Feelgood (1989)
- Mötley Crüe (1994)
- Generation Swine (1997)
- New Tattoo (2000)
- Saints of Los Angeles (2008)
With Hear 'n Aid
- Hear 'n Aid (1986)