Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy recently sat down for an interview with ‘The Hook Rocks!’ podcast, where he delved into the ongoing challenge of reuniting with the original members of the band for a performance. Drawing parallels to Mötley Crüe’s lineup, Pearcy emphasized the significance of the band’s original era:

“When we released the box set [‘The Atlantic Years: 1984-1991′] last year, it was so cool. Besides looking great and it’s a great f*cking package, it was due. It was about time, ’cause that’s it — that was the real Ratt right there. ’84 — well, the EP could have been in there — but ’84 to ’90, ’91, that was it. After that, no matter who we had in the band, it just wasn’t Ratt without Robbin [Crosby]. And it wasn’t gonna be, whether it was [Michael] Schenker or whoever. It wasn’t gonna be. And that’s why it never really flew the second time, although it could work now.”

According to Pearcy, without all the original core members, the essence of the band is lost:

“But you don’t have all the elements, the proper elements. Like, say, Mötley bringing in John 5 — no disrespect — that’s not Mötley Crüe. Ratt without Robbin — I said it when he wasn’t playing, ‘This isn’t gonna work. We can do anything we want, we can try as hard as we want. It’s not gonna be the same.’ And it never was, and never will be.”

Pearcy Acknowledges the Difficulty of Reuniting

Over the years, Ratt has faced lineup changes and internal conflicts, making it challenging to reunite the original members. Pearcy admitted to attempting to bring the band back together several times but without success. He noted the lack of response from other band members to his efforts:

“I’ve asked the other guys, as did one of the original members, let’s get together, try to figure this out, and do some business. Because that’s what it is. And if somebody doesn’t [wanna do it], they don’t.”