The spotlight rarely shines on the shoulders of Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars.

Often clad in black on black, with a top hat shadowing his mysterious face, Mars is considered the quiet one in the group -- a man of very few words who might or might not be a long lost relative of Cousin It.

And that's exactly how Mars wants things to remain.

In the annals of Motley Crue history, stories of debauchery, excess and ego are almost always tied to the actions of Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil and Tommy Lee. Celebrity girlfriends, reality-TV shows, hijinks too risque to mention here -- those are the handiwork of his bandmates. A quiet night in, with a guitar as his only company -- there you have Mars in a nutshell.

"I did my fair share of drinking and drugging, but, to me, it was, and still is, always about the music," Mars said. "You can take everything away from me and I'll play in sweats and a T-shirt with no shoes on stage. As long as I have my music, it's all I really, honestly care about. Playing the best that I can, writing the best that I can, good, bad or indifferent, it's my passion. That's the most important thing to me on the planet."

Mars, 58, plays a key and under-appreciated role in Motley Crue. He often looks uncomfortable with the showier side of the business, particularly videos and photo shoots, during which Mars can be seen cringing at the prospect. But never will he accept second-best when it comes to his band's music.

Sixx is considered the brains behind the group, a keen lyricist and shrewd songwriter whose melange of Sunset Strip sleaze and rock 'n' roll is all his own. Mars, on the other hand, brings to the table a solid grasp of the classics, from Jeff Beck and Aerosmith to the Paul Butterfield Blues and Alice Cooper -- even adding pedal steel and slide guitar to the band's songs in honour of his country and blues heroes.

Though he's the oldest member of the Crue, and the only one with grandchildren, Mars has a youthful spirit. Lee talks like Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but Mars is the most likely to act like him.

During an episode of the reality series L.A. Ink, which stars Sixx's girlfriend, Kat Von D, the Crue bassist waxed emotional about his love for Mars, and how much he appreciated his steady presence in the group. As a tribute, Sixx had Von D tattoo the image of his longtime friend on his thigh, a permanent reminder of Mars' contribution to the Crue and his role in Sixx's sobriety.

Each member of the band has struggled with drug and alcohol dependency in the past, yet few in the Crue deal with as much pain as Mars.

For decades, he has suffered from ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis that causes severe joint pain. The condition led to hip-replacement surgery in 2004, and continues to be problematic.

In order to tour with Motley Crue, Mars must take pain medication and anti-inflammatory drugs.

"Some days are good, some days are worse than others. But, on an average, it's pretty steady. You become accustomed to it after a while. I deal with it. I don't care, as long as I can play."

He has won the admiration of his bandmates for soldiering on; Crue concerts can be notoriously raucous. The group's most recent tour, which ended in September, was particularly brutal, Mars said. "We were pretty beat up. It took me a couple of months to get normal -- if you could call our band normal."

What keeps him energized is the adulation and support of his fans. Crue supporters are an extremely loyal lot, Mars said, and deserve much credit for sticking with the band through the perilous highs and lows of their nearly 30-year career. He wouldn't have blamed any of them if they had moved on when the band was at its worst.

To his surprise, few did.

Red, White and Crue, a collection of the band's biggest hits, debuted at No. 2 on the U.S sales charts in 2005, while the Crue's first album of original material in eight years, Saints of Los Angeles, entered the same charts at No. 4 in 2008.

"I have to put it all on the fans," Mars said. "They are very loyal to us. Our fans are hardcore. They came to our gigs when they were (teenagers). Now they've had their families and it's back around again.

"They're bringing their kids to the concerts, but they haven't lost that respect. They are fans of Motley and our music. And now they want to share it with the next generation."

And without a beat, the deadpan guy in the group, who supposedly never talks, quips with a mischievous laugh, "Man, are we getting old."

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