It's the end of an era, and as they say, all bad things must come to an end: Motley Crue, led by half-Mexican singer Vince Neil, have announced their official retirement, and will close out their career with a multi-city, 72-date tour that will take them to the end of 2015. 

According to The Los Angeles Times, the group made the announcement yesterday at Hollywood's Beacher Theatre in front of more than 100 press outlets. The band even had an attorney present at the press conference, with a contract in hand that barred any of the group's members -- Neil, drummer Tommy Lee, guitarist Mick Mars, and bassist/founder Nikki Sixx -- from using the Motley Crue name after 2015.

The reason for the split, according to the band members, is because they wanted to go out on top, with the original lineup intact, and not become a parody of itself. 

"We don't want to be one of those bands that maybe have one guy left in it, or somebody's brother. We wanted to go out with the four founding members ... and go out on top,"  said Vince Neil.

"It's because we are on top, we are holding it together, we are playing better and sounding better. We want to leave a legacy and have some dignity," said Nikki Sixx. "We feel there's a lot of bands out there that don't have dignity. We started this band, and we want to call it a day and be proud."

And according to CNN, the binding agreement isn't a sign of rancor, but a sign of good faith. "Other bands have split up over rancor or the inability of people to get along, but this is mutual among all four original members and a peaceful decision to move on to other endeavors and to confirm it with a binding agreement," attorney Doug Mark said. 

It seems to make sense that they would retire with dignity, even if they got their start as the most ignoble band in Southern California: rock'n'roll, after all, is a young man's game, and the youngest member of Motley Crue (Tommy Lee) is 51 years old. Two of the four members (Mars and Neil) are grandfathers. And as a band that was known for its young excesses and living on L.A.'s Skid Row, it doesn't make sense that they would continue on that vein when they're all in a much different place in life now.