Poison’s long rumoured 2026 tour plans have reportedly collapsed, and it sounds like it came down to one ugly word, money.
The band had been circling the idea of a proper run to mark their 40th anniversary, even if nothing was officially locked in or announced publicly.
Back in September 2024, Bret Michaels himself talked it up as something that basically had to happen, saying:
“It would make perfect sense to have the possibility of a reunion in 2026,” and calling it “the perfect 40th anniversary tour, with 40 awesome limited dates to go out, play real live hit songs and rock the world.”
Now though, that whole idea has apparently been shoved straight into the bin.
Speaking to Page Six, drummer Rikki Rockett confirmed the offer was there, but the band walked away. “We had a great offer, I thought. But we left the table,” Rockett revealed. “It didn’t work.”
According to Rockett, the rest of Poison were ready to go, but Michaels allegedly wanted a payout that made the numbers impossible to justify.
“Really what it came to was [guitarist] C.C. [DeVille], [bassist] Bobby [Dall] and I were all in, and I thought Bret was, but he wanted the lion’s share of the money, to the point where it makes it not possible to even do it,” Rockett noted. “It’s like $6 to every one of our dollars. You just can’t work that way.”
Not about money for Rockett
Rockett also made it clear this wasn’t coming from greed on his end, saying, “I don’t do this just for the money. I do have a love for this, absolutely. But at the same time, you don’t want to go out and work really hard just to make somebody else a bunch of money.”
Even with the tour falling apart, Rockett doesn’t sound like he’s trying to turn this into a public brawl. “Every member of this band has given me so much privilege in life,” he said, “It’s like hating your parents.”
As for touring without Michaels, Rockett didn’t totally shut the door, but he wasn’t thrilled about it either: “It’s not out of the question. But doing that is like surgery: it’s the last resort,” he explained.
“I don’t want to do that. I’m not quarreling with Bret… We just didn’t come to agreement. I don’t like it, and I’ll say that, but it’s not like, ‘Let’s put up our dukes.’ I don’t think there’s a better frontman for Poison.”
For now, Michaels has solo dates lined up for 2026, while Rockett will be touring with Rockett Mafia, if you’re still holding out hope, Rockett even joked about 2027 being the year Poison finally pull it off, calling a possible comeback “a perfect Poison folly to do a 41st anniversary tour.”
MORE IN News
