Nigel Watson passed away in 2019

[FuzzyPlum]

RIP Nigel Watson.

Everything I've read and seen makes me think he genuinely had good intentions and was indeed a good friend to Peter. That 2003 article even says it was Nigel who initially set up the PGO. It's a shame (and perplexing) the Man of the World documentary some years ago didn't delve into that period. Perhaps it couldn't for legal reasons. I might be off the mark, but I'd be less trusting of his sister. I don't know how much of an involvement she had with Peter in the 2000's.

On another matter, that article references £30,000 a year earnings. I do hope that doesn't include royalties. I had imagined PG would be taking in much more than that.

[chriskisn]

Originally Posted by FuzzyPlum

RIP Nigel Watson.

Everything I've read and seen makes me think he genuinely had good intentions and was indeed a good friend to Peter. That 2003 article even says it was Nigel who initially set up the PGO. It's a shame (and perplexing) the Man of the World documentary some years ago didn't delve into that period. Perhaps it couldn't for legal reasons. I might be off the mark, but I'd be less trusting of his sister. I don't know how much of an involvement she had with Peter in the 2000's.

On another matter, that article references £30,000 a year earnings. I do hope that doesn't include royalties. I had imagined PG would be taking in much more than that.

Yes, I do seem to remember we speculated at the time (in those deleted threads) that Peter was very much Nigel's ticket out of manual labour, and he couldn't sustain the fame without Peter. You could imagine him pushing Peter to perform more, record more, and spending more than he should, and needing more money coming in. That is just idle speculation though.

As for Michele Davis/Reynolds or whatever her name is, I guess the history is certainly there in terms of Clifford Davis. Didn't she get the rights to Peter's music after divorcing Clifford? Speculation again though.

Despite the £30,000 a year earnings, there was one interview in Splinter Group days when it was mentioned that Peter arrived in a Jaguar (although that may have been Nigel's?).

It is another one of those FM stories where we won't know the truth and everyone will have their own version of the truth anyway.

Oh and an old interview off of the net I was just reading:

http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=4778

[michelej1]

It sounds like those were interesting conversations.If the old threads were still on the system I would restore them. A gag order binds people under the court’s jurisdiction. In that case, the partIt’s to the lawsuit. It would have no effect on fan conversations.

[SteveMacD]

Bob Welch and I corresponded about how it seemed awfully convenient that the woman who got the rights in the divorce was now the manager. It smacked of puppet mastering.

That said, Mich seemed nice enough when I saw the SG.

Didn’t they get Dave Walker right after Pete left?

[Murrow]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Bob Welch and I corresponded about how it seemed awfully convenient that the woman who got the rights in the divorce was now the manager. It smacked of puppet mastering.

That said, Mich seemed nice enough when I saw the SG.

Didn’t they get Dave Walker right after Pete left?

If you mean immediately after then no. Dave was recruited along with Bob Weston after Danny Kirwan was fired in 1972. Weston filled the need for a lead guitarist but Walker was only brought in because Clifford insisted they needed a frontman. The band of course didn't agree hence why Walker was cut.

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by Murrow

If you mean immediately after then no. Dave was recruited along with Bob Weston after Danny Kirwan was fired in 1972. Weston filled the need for a lead guitarist but Walker was only brought in because Clifford insisted they needed a frontman. The band of course didn't agree hence why Walker was cut.

I think Steve might be referencing the period after Peter left the Splinter Group.
Nigel Watson did contribute to a Dave Walker album when SG folded. I'm not sure whether Mich Reynolds had any involvement in that though and I don't know whether Nigel was a leading figure in that album/band.

[dino]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Bob Welch and I corresponded about how it seemed awfully convenient that the woman who got the rights in the divorce was now the manager. It smacked of puppet mastering.

That said, Mich seemed nice enough when I saw the SG.

Didn’t they get Dave Walker right after Pete left?

Indeed. But even if Mich had sinister- ie financial- motives, she did nurse Peter back to health and playing again, traveling, experiencing new things and adulation from fans. Better than the secluded, medicated life he was leading before.

I have it on good words that Nigel was originally an intermediary support and the idea was to replace him with a more experienced player like Snowy White.
In the first years, Nigel and the band were clearly supportive of Peter and his needs, then it seemed like their own motives took over and they tried to hog the spotlight rather than helping Peter evolve.

Dave Walker did an album in 2004 that Nigel and Roger Cotton played on, right after the dissolution of Splinter Group.

[LesPaul7]

Wow, RIP Nigel Watson. I never knew about this. I suppose I haven't frequented the board much.

I know he was close with PG, going all the way back to filling in for Spencer and recording Beasts of Burden, etc.