Put tight pants, hairspray and bandana back in the closets. Poison will not celebrate 40 years of their recording career, despite having repeatedly hinted at the possibility of doing so. Drummer Rikki Rockett has been hinting as much for several months and has now conceded to Page Six an interview in which he says it clearly. «They made us what I consider to be a generous offer», explains Rockett, «but we didn't accept… Basically, I, CC (DeVille, guitarist, ed) and Bobby (Dall, bassist, ed) we were there and I thought Bret was there too (Michaels, singer, ed.)but he wanted most of the money for himself, making that impossible. For every dollar we pocketed, he wanted like six. You can't work like this… I'm not just interested in money, I love what I do, but I can't work hard to make someone else make a lot of money.”
Poison last toured in 2022 with Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Once that experience was over, Michaels returned to his solo band with which he almost only sings Poison classics. In September 2024 the singer wrote a letter to fans explaining his future plans: «I am happy to announce that 2026 will be the 40th anniversary of Poison's first album Look What the Cat Dragged In. It would make sense to do a reunion, it would be the perfect 40th anniversary tour, with 40 fantastic dates to play the hits.”
Expressions such as “it would make sense”, “in my opinion”, “none of this is confirmed” and “a lot of coordination is needed” however suggested that he was willing to embark on the tour only under certain conditions and with the right agreement. It's not uncommon for bands to split profits unequally, but Poison find themselves in the rare position where all four original members are still part of the lineup. It's nice for the fans, but it makes financial negotiations difficult.
While Rockett spoke to the press about the impasse, the other members remained silent. It's also impossible to know exactly what Michaels' proposed split of the proceeds was. What we know is that in the increasingly crowded summer 2026 concert calendar, Michaels has set a series of solo dates and Rockett has no intention of staying home. He is planning a tour with his band, Rockett Mafia, with whom he will do everything again every night Look What the Cat Dragged In. That Poison's 40th anniversary tour will eventually happen seems unlikely. Will we have to wait for the 50th anniversary, which will fall in 2036? Who knows, maybe by then they'll be able to find a fair way to split the money.
From Rolling Stone US.
