“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.”
— Rikki Rockett on Poison‘s 2026 summer tour offer, and how he feels about Bret Michaels
LOS ANGELES, California — A recent story has hit Page Six about Poison and how their planned 40th Anniversary (1986/2026) tour with Live Nation was left in the dust because the band members could not agree on a fair split when it came to the profits.
This subject has been in and out of the press for several months and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.
Metal Sludge reported on this subject previously back in the spring of 2025 with our story: “POISON TOUR 2026 … Rikki Rockett says: “We got a great offer, and to be honest with you, it’s all in Bret’s (Michaels) lap right now honestly.”
We then did a follow up in November 2025 with our article: “EVERY BAND HAS ITS THORN ….. Rikki Rockett says 3/4 of Poison have agreed to a Live Nation offer/contract for 2026 adding: “Bret Wants More Than The Lion’s Share!”
Now it’s January 2026, a full 8 months later and it seems the fire is still hot in the Poison camp.
Rockett spoke to Page Six and it appears nothing has been resolved as for the band going forward with the originally planned 40th Anniversary tour.
Below are a few excerpts from the new article on Page Six.
Poison’s 40th anniversary tour nixed after Bret Michaels demands 600% more money than bandmates
By: Oli Coleman
Every rose has its thorn. And every band has its party pooper.
Poison is one of the very few classic rock bands to have made it four decades with its original lineup.
But Page Six has learned that the band has shelved its much anticipated 40th anniversary tour — because lead singer Bret Michaels wants to earn $6 for every dollar his bandmates earn from the dates.
Poison hoped to tour this year to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary.
But they couldn’t come to an agreement with lead singer Bret Michaels.
The band even began promoting the tour online, with guitarist C.C. DeVille posting over the summer, “Poison tour 2026. Are you ready?”
“We had a great offer, I thought. But we left the table,” drummer Rikki Rockett told us, “It didn’t work.”
“Really what it came to was C.C., [bass player] 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. It’s like $6 to every one of our dollars. You just can’t work that way.”
He added, “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.”
Rockett says he’s not angry with his pal of many years.
“Every member of this band has given me so much privilege in life,” he said, “It’s like hating your parents.”
But when asked if he’d consider finding a replacement for Michaels and doing the tour with a new singer, he said, “It’s not out of the question. But doing that is like surgery: it’s the last resort.”
He added, “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.”
Read the full story at Page Six.
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