For years, many fans believed MÖTLEY CRÜE’s 2015 farewell tour really was the end of the road. The band went all-in on the narrative, signing a cessation of touring agreement, staging a massive global run, and talking openly about closing the book on their career. Now Nikki Sixx has pulled the curtain back on just how final it felt at the time – and how a surprise Netflix hit dragged the band right back into stadiums.
Why MÖTLEY CRÜE Were Sure It Was Over
When CRÜE wrapped their farewell tour in 2015, Sixx and company were convinced they had done things the “right” way. The band had announced the end well in advance, gave fans one last chance to see the classic hits live, and even signed legal paperwork that publicly guaranteed they would not tour again. For a group known for chaos and excess, the goodbye was unusually organized and definitive.
Sixx has now confirmed that inside the band, there was no secret long-term plan to cash in on a reunion. Emotionally and mentally, he says they were ready to move on to other projects, confident that they had given fans the full experience one last time.
Transcribed by KPTV FOX 12 / Blabbermouth:
“We did in 2015 do a farewell tour. And we honestly thought that was it. We were done. Everything was cool. And then the movie came out on Netflix, ‘The Dirt’. And I don’t know how many hundreds of millions of people saw that, and [it] put us in a place where they came to us and asked us if we wanted to do eight shows.”
That offhand statement carries significant weight. For Sixx, the book seemed genuinely closed, the legacy protected, and the band emotionally prepared for their next chapter. What he could not have anticipated was how a single Netflix film would reignite interest in an entirely new generation of listeners and casual fans alike.
How ‘The Dirt’ Changed Everything
“The Dirt” landed on Netflix in 2019 and quickly became a major talking point among rock fans and casual viewers alike. The film dramatized CRÜE’s ascent through excess, conflicts, near-self-destruction, and survival, giving younger audiences a crash course in why the band had become one of the most notorious acts in rock history.
Sixx points out that the scale of Netflix’s reach was unprecedented. The streaming platform turned what might have been a niche rock film into a global cultural moment, introducing MÖTLEY CRÜE to viewers who never caught their original touring years and reigniting passion among longtime devotees.
From ‘Eight Stadiums’ To A Global Run
At first, Sixx and the band were hesitant to jump back into the machine. Putting on a full-scale CRÜE stadium show is an enormous undertaking, from stage production to logistics to the physical demands of performing night after night.
Transcribed by KPTV FOX 12 / Blabbermouth:
“And we were, like, it’s a lot of work to put a show together. And we were, like, ‘We love to play for our fans, but we’ve kind of already wrapped it up,’ and blah, blah, blah. They said, ‘No. Eight stadiums.’ And we were, like, ‘Oh.’ And then we ended up doing 138 stadiums, us and DEF LEPPARD. And it was just exciting to be back out there again.”
MÖTLEY CRÜE’s decision to return after a highly publicized “final” tour has sparked plenty of debate among fans. For some, walking back the farewell narrative feels opportunistic. For others, it reflects rock music’s true nature – one where comebacks, reinventions, and “never say never” moments keep the genre alive. Whatever the fans’ perspectives, Sixx’s honesty about initially believing the 2015 tour would be the end suggests this wasn’t merely a cynical long-term cash grab. Instead, the Netflix effect created an unanticipated wave of interest that proved too compelling to ignore. With 138 stadium shows alongside DEF LEPPARD and continued momentum, MÖTLEY CRÜE continues to prove they still have plenty of rock left in them.
