Quote:
Originally Posted by KarmaContestant
What if: Instead of hiring Billy and Rick and hitting the road, Mick had instead recognized that Lindsey needed a break, said "No hard feelings. We love you. Take as long as you need." and just cancelled the entire tour?
Hiring Billy and Rick was probably deemed necessary at the time, if only for purely financial reasons; i.e. the tour revenue. I wonder how much further that pushed Lindsey away, by providing a definite finality to the situation that might not have otherwise been there.
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I like your interesting assumptions! I doubt there was any assurance Lindsey would return to the group; he left on his own terms of self preservation. Mick's main concern has always been to keep the Fleetwood Mac brand alive and fluid, in whatever form. After all, the music industry is a business. For Mick to remain in the business, he needs an active band; bringing Billy and Rick into the ring was just par for course.
When Peter Green departed from the group, it was the first huge blow to them and their fans, since he was the defining leader/main draw of the band. Mick wasn't holding out for Peter's return -- his pattern was to just admirably move on and on, despite the numerous upheavals. He eventually hit pay dirt with the Lindsey and Stevie configuration.
Tango in the Night was a commercial success. From a business prospective, it would have been foolish to not to capitalize on that momentum with a tour. Mick's
"on with the show" mentality, not surprisingly, prevailed. It's pretty amazing that after a few more slightly drastic shake ups, the band, in it's most popular and successful configuration, is back intact. Fleetwood Mac, in the entirety of its circuitous history, is peerless; a band like no other.