Other replacements besides Billy or Rick
 

I’ve made no secret of my love for Billy Burnette and Rick Vito and the Behind the Mask album- if Lindsey had to leave, they were great additions, IMO. Having said that, I thought it would be fun if we discussed other possibilities and how that might have impacted the FM legacy. So Tango in the Night came out in April of 1987 and the tour started at the very end of September. Who else could or should have been considered to replace Lindsey?

1) Bob Welch- seemed obvious, but I have no idea what FM’s relationship with Bob was like in 1987. Maybe the band would have felt like they were going backwards rather than forward?

2) Marshall Crenshaw- he has similar musical sensibilities to Lindsey, but his stage shows are incredibly simple. Might have been interesting. Too bad Lindsey and Marshall never collaborated.

3) Steve Perry- okay, no, this would never have happened, but I get chills down my spine just imagining Christine and Steve in the recording studio singing a duet. And a certain female sitting in the booth fuming, to say the least LOL.

4) George Harrison- again, never would have happened, but imagining George on a FM album is fascinating to me. He did play guitar on Leave a Light On by Belinda Carlisle, and he had to have known FM; it’s fascinating to me to imagine.

I would love to hear other ideas for replacements. This is all in good fun, but there were an awful lot of one-hit wonders in that era so there would be many folks to choose from.

Todd Sharp may have been a strong candidate. He worked on Christine and Mick's solo albums as well as with Bob Welch on Man Overboard and The Other One. Steve Ross was another connection to Mick too with The Zoo.

Following the "this would never have happened", I just thought in Don Henley. That would be fun and ironic, but interesting.

A-men
I was shocked he did not get the call. I suppose its Chris not sticking up for her peeps again. He was already playing Fleetwood Mac songs on the road just like Billy. I also think he's a better singer than Rick or Billy. Chris loved working with him and writing songs with him. Nothing against Rick but Todd should have gotten the call.

Since we are pipe dreaming of people who would have never been asked nor accepted...how about Angus Young. An AC/DC version of Rhiannon and Isn't It Midnight makes get excited.

Peter Frampton. Strong frontman, great voice, incredible guitarist, got started with the blues in England and was a contemporary of Fleetwood Mac when both were the top acts in the world. He had a big name and he had a few massive hits that wouldn’t have been out of place in the setlist.

Bruce Springsteen. I think he would've brought a harder rock sound to the band. Strong lyrics as well.

Stars might join bands. Superstars rarely do. Bruce owns his own brand. Neil and Mike don't.

Traveling Wilburys(sp) is an exception(and I'm sure there are others). :laugh::wavey:

His ongoing and worsening hand issues (he has some form of autoimmune disease) probably would have precluded him from such large tours. He would def have worked well with the Brits in the band. I know he appears in Stevie's Red Rocks video, but don't know much about how well they know each other in reality. But he doesn't have the ego that demands he be the star, he likes just being a player.

He lives in Nashville, and I have several friends that have met him, and say that he's so down to earth, and has very little ego. A very nice guy.

Exactly. Bruce was bigger than the Mac at that time. You are exactly right. Bruce is a brand and sound. It would make no sense. Sammy Hagar was an excellent replacement for Roth. He played guitar, could sing better than Dave, wrote songs, etc. He was a C list rock performer before Van Halen. That rating is not by talent but by commercial success prior to Van Halen.

But he would have been... THE BOSS!!!:laugh:

I’m loving these suggestions! Here are a few more:

1) Lou Gramm, from Foreigner. I think he played guitar as well.

2) Rick Astley- he would have brought some much needed youth to the band. Plus he’d never let FM down, or run around and desert them! They could have been together forever!

3) John Mellencamp

4) John Cafferty- from the Beaver Brown Band. He even slightly resembled Rick Vito.

5) Corey Hart- FM had England and America represented, so why not Canada as well?

Sorry for being silly- the only one on this list I was serious about was Lou gramm, and he would have had no reason to jump from Foreigner to Fleetwood Mac.

I’m familiar with their names, but not so much with their work. Did Todd Sharp and Steve Ross sing? Steve Ross was fun to watch in Lindsey’s video for Trouble.

Fleetwood Mac Comes Alive!

Frampton would have been an interesting choice, and I think it’s realistic that he would have been offered the job AND that he might have taken if.

That’s actually one pairing I would never want to see- AC/DC and FM. Angus Young kind of creeps me out. But if Celine Dion could record an AC/DC song, I suppose FM could, too.