Poison were set to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their debut album, Look What the Cat Dragged In, with a major tour in 2026, but drummer Rikki Rockett says those plans were nixed over singer Bret Michaels’ exorbitant financial demands.
Despite the band teasing the outing, with guitarist C.C. Deville even posting “Poison tour 2026. Are you ready?” on social media this past summer, the outing never materialized. Rockett told the New York Post that Michaels wanted six-times the amount of money than each of his bandmates.
“We had a great offer, I thought,” said Rockett. “But we left the table. It didn’t work.”
He continued, “Really what it came to was C.C., [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. It’s like $6 to every one of our dollars. You just can’t work that way.”
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Rockett went on to say, “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.”
Despite the letdown, Rockett says he’s not angry with Michaels, noting, “Every member of this band has given me so much privilege in life. It’s like hating your parents.”
However, he didn’t rule out the band touring with a new singer, although it’s not his preference. “It’s not out of the question. But doing that is like surgery: it’s the last resort. 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.”
Instead, the drummer will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Look What the Cat Dragged In by playing the album in its entirety on a tour with his side project Rockett Mafia.
