You gotta remember that she's what? 60? 61? That's not as old as you can possibly be but she's no spring chicken either. She's been in the business a long time, and the woman's been through a hell of a lot.
To be honest I think it's too much of a shock for her to deal with the stresses of touring without the drugs, booze, and cigarettes. Anybody remember "Homeward Bound?" A song she wrote in 1972 about hating being on the road and wanting to retire? That was 3 years before their breakthrough album and she was already sick of it! And notice that she had many vices from then up until the late 80s. She was obviously using substances to escape from something she didn't enjoy much. She's even said to Stevie "This is your passion. NOT mine." I'm sure she enjoyed music very much, but the road was just too much for her to cope with and in her older age she had just had enough.
I was in a band once that was somewhat enjoyable, but playing shows was usually a nightmare for me. There's just too much that could go wrong. Playing a gig at 1 AM is rough when you've been up since six in the morning and it's a weeknight and you work again the next morning. I couldn't imagine it being like that every day for months on end. Plus, I didn't care much for the music, which was really thrashy metal. People had actually told me I looked like I was taking a **** in my pants onstage I looked so miserable.
So, I drank a lot and smoked a lot of weed. There was a long period that I played most shows completely wrecked. I didn't just have a few, I blew 30 or 40 bucks at the bar. I really made a complete ass out of myself a few times. It sucks for me to even say this stuff. It got to the point where I was forgetting how songs went and playing different songs instead of the ones being played. Once the guitar player said something that wasn't to my liking after a bad show, so I started throwing equipment and cases all over the place. One show I thought it would be a good idea to get into a shouting match with the guitar player and drummer. After that, they told me I needed to slow down with the alcohol. So I did, no problem. Nobody wants to be a liability. When I started repeatedly playing shows sober I realized that I was more miserable than I had thought. Drunk I could deal with it, sober it was a major irritant. It wasn't long after that I quit, and they packed it in shortly after. I think things may have been similar with Christine.
As for the other stuff, I really don't know but if there was anything else involved, I'm sure it was trivial compared to her main reasons. I recently read an interview with Lindsey and Mick in Classic Rock magazine, and they both said that at first they held out hope that Christine would join in for sessions, but as time passed it looked less and less likely and that part way into making the album they realized that it just wasn't happening. So I really dont think theres THAT much animosity, if there is any. Maybe resentment from the boys in the band now, but I think it would only be resentment because they're bummed she isn't taking part.
Plus too, the woman has a ****ing CASTLE. At the age of 23, if I had a castle, I wouldn't be touring either!
