Poison canceled plans for a 40th anniversary tour after their leader Brett Michaels he allegedly demanded 600 percent more money than his bandmates.
“We had a great offer, I thought. But we left the table,” the glam rock band’s drummer, broken rockettsaid the New York Post‘s Page Six on Sunday January 18. “It didn’t work”.
Rockett (real name Richard Allan Ream) said that he, the lead guitarist CC DeVille and bass player Bobby Dall They were “all in” on the idea, but Michaels (real name Bret Michael Sychak) allegedly refused to sign on the dotted line over the financial dispute.
“He wanted the lion’s share of the money, to the point where it’s not even possible to do that. It’s like six dollars for every one of our dollars,” Rockett, 64, said. “You can’t work that way.”
He continued, “I don’t just do this for the money. I have a love for it, absolutely. But at the same time, you don’t want to go out and work really hard just to make someone else money.”
Despite the drama, Rockett insisted he and Michaels, 62, are still on good terms.
CC DeVille, Bret Michaels, Rikki Rockett and Bobby Dall
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SiriusXM“Every member of this band has given me so many privileges in life,” he noted. “It’s like hating your parents.”
Poison released their first album, Look what the cat draggedin May 1986, which included the singles “Cry Tough”, “Talk Dirty to Me”, “I Want Action” and “I Won’t Forget You”. The group became a household name two years later thanks to the success of their signature song, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” from their second LP, Open and say… Ahh!
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According to Page Six, DeVille (real name Bruce Anthony Johannesson) first hinted at a 2026 tour commemorating 40 years of Poison in a social media post last summer.
Now that talks have broken down, Rockett shared that he plans to take action Look what the cat dragged in its entirety while touring with his other band, The Rockett Mafia.
Rockett remains hopeful that Poison will find a way to celebrate on the road at some point, joking that it would be “perfectly crazy for Poison to do a 41st anniversary tour.” However, if Michaels still isn’t on board, Rockett admitted he won’t rule out finding another lead singer.
“It’s not out of the question,” he told the gossip column. “But doing it is like surgery — it’s a last resort. I don’t want to do it. I’m not going to fight Bret… We just didn’t come to an agreement. I don’t like it, and I’ll say it, but it’s not like, ‘Let’s assume our dukes.’ I don’t think there’s a better leader for Poison.”
Us Weekly Michaels’ rep has been reached for comment.