The L.A. Guns singer says it as a fan, not a rival — and he’s “a bit disappointed.”
By Theon — The Superfan, CelebnMusic247
Phil Lewis has never been one to varnish an opinion, and the L.A. Guns frontman isn’t starting now. In a new interview with Dawn Osborne of TotalRock, transcribed by Blabbermouth, Lewis was asked about veteran bands that announce farewells and then come back — and Mötley Crüe landed squarely in his answer.
The topic came up by way of Deep Purple, whose farewell-that-wasn’t Osborne raised as an example. Lewis called the band’s return “very noble,” then admitted recent live performances had left him cold: “I’ve recently heard some stuff that [Deep Purple is] doing live. And it’s disappointing.” He contrasted Purple singer Ian Gillan — whom he says he “absolutely worship[s]” — with Led Zeppelin‘s Robert Plant: “Robert Plant got the right idea. He toned it down, and he’s not trying to do the screaming ‘Whole Lotta Love’ bit… I really feel that Ian could take a lesson from that.”
Then came the Crüe line. “And [that’s] very much the case with Mötley Crüe,” Lewis said. “They retired and they came out of retirement, and I’m not necessarily sure that that was a good thing.”
Lewis was quick to frame where the criticism comes from. “I know I’ve got kind of a reputation for slagging off bands. I don’t slag ’em off,” he said. “All I’m doing is saying it how I see it… I’m just [saying it] from a punter’s perspective more than anything. I don’t see them as peers. They’re so, so way above me in the stratosphere. But just as a fan, I’m a bit disappointed to see that, to be honest.” (For the record, his history with the Crüe is spicier than this interview suggests — in 2023 he called them an atrocious band and bassist Nikki Sixx a fraud, remarks Blabbermouth recapped alongside the new interview. No response from the Crüe camp accompanies this latest round.)
Retirement, notably, is not on Lewis’s own horizon. Asked about new L.A. Guns music, he said another album after five in quick succession — capped by 2025’s Leopard Skin and the 2026 live album Live From The Guild Theatre — would be “an exercise in futility,” but hanging it up is another matter: “There’s only one stop after retirement, and I’m not ready to do that. I love doing what I do. It keeps me young.”
The 247 Take — Strip away Lewis’s long-running Crüe feud and the point underneath is one a lot of fans quietly share: a farewell tour is a promise, and un-retiring spends trust. He can afford to say it out loud precisely because, as he admits, he’ll never be asked to open for them.
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Sources: Blabbermouth
