As expected, Motley Crue’s original lineup will reform for an extensive tour in 2005. The Red White & Crue Tour…Better Live Than Dead will kick off Feb. 17 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and will proceed to Latin America, the United Kingdom and Europe through mid-June. In August and September, the band will play 40-plus North American amphitheatres before continuing on to Australia, New Zealand and Japan in November and December.
Tickets for some shows begin going on sale Saturday (Dec. 11), although VH1.com is offering a limited quantity of seats beginning today. This will be Motley Crue’s first tour with vocalist Vince Neil, guitarist Mick Mars, bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee since 1999.
The tour will be booked by Artists Group International and promoted by various promoters, including AEG Live and Clear Channel Entertainment.
The band will be promoting a new 37-track, double-disc retrospective, “Red White & Crue,” due Feb. 1 via Island. Included on it are three newly recorded songs: the single “If I Die Tomorrow,” “Sick Love Song” and a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Street Fighting Man.”
A variety of other related projects are in the works for 2005, including a feature film based on the Crue autobiography “The Dirt” and Lee’s as-yet-untitled NBC reality show, which documents his recent enrollment at the University of Nebraska. Lee recently released his autobiography, “Tommyland.”
