Motley Crue [ tickets ]'s summer tour plan remains intact despite the announcement Thursday (4/29) that original drummer Tommy Lee would be leaving the band. The announcement noted that Lee intends to focus his energies on a reconciliation with his estranged wife, actress Pamela Anderson Lee, and on work with a side project, Methods of Mayhem.

Matt Sorum, drummer with the early 90's lineup of Guns 'n Roses and on recordings by Tori Amos, The Cult, Poe and Sammy Hagar, has been named as Lee's replacement for the tour. The announcement comes as shows for the band's summer tour are just beginning to go on sale.

In a brief joint statement from Lee and the band, Lee said, ''I wish the guys all the best of luck this summer. I will miss them and the fans, but it's time for me to totally embrace my family and my new projects.''

Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx responded, ''We support Tommy in his decision to take some time off from touring and trust he will enjoy success in whatever he sets out to accomplish.''

The band has been on the road fairly constantly since launching a 1998 tour in support of their Motley Records release Greatest Hits, the first release since winning the rights to their back catalog in a settlement that severed their ties to Elektra Records.

The band currently has tentative plans to re-release their entire catalog in re-mastered and expanded versions featuring additional tracks early in the tour, with additional plans to package the new releases as a boxed set near the end of the tour. The boxed set would include an album of live material recorded during their Greatest Hits tour.

The summer tour will be a co-headline outing with Scorpions, who will release Eye To Eye on June 29th.