The way I see it is that there will be another album (it's apparently already been recorded) and they will continue to perform occasionally with the whole line up, maybe at festivals and such.
If John became ill again and had to quit altogether I don't think they would ever replace him even though Stevie may continue to carry the songs solo.
Another full length tour I don't know but they've surprised me before.
Stevie has always been my favourite and it may once have seemed unimaginable to not have her there. But I think they could continue as a quartet if they had to and could be an interesting concept, though it doesn't seem likely because it would be going out on a wing.
Lindsey and Christine both understand musical arrangement and could collaborate. There was some cool interplay between them on the latest tour musically. It actually seemed to be Lindsey and Chris who were getting the best reviews for recent performances. There were many times that Lindsey seemed the crowd favourite and I heard many saying after the show that Lindsey was the show highlight for them because of his insane guitar skills, though 'they were all good'.
I had my concerns before they came to Australia, because I'd heard rumblings about Stevie being tired and weary of touring, finding it difficult to tolerate Lindsey etc. It didn't seem to bode well. But that's fairly par for the course with FM, they always seem to need some drama. At the show I saw there was no sign of trouble and Stevie apparently said a few times in Australia that this was not a 'goodbye tour'. How much of that was showbiz bravado and how much real, who knows?
In Brisbane she reportedly said they would be “doing this until we’re 9000 vampire years old”. Last month Mick was saying "This is not goodbye. Stevie [Nicks] mentioned it to me the other night, saying: 'this can't be the goodbye tour because no one said that it was'."
When an interviewer asked Stevie if she could ever see herself not performing, she replied "No. No, I would see myself being able to sing into my 70s because I will still have a really good voice when I'm in my 70s." (Once I might have laughed at that but last month hearing her live she seemed fine.)
When they went to New Zealand for the final shows they didn't seem to be saying much. The weather was unseasonably bad at the concerts and they were keeping chat between songs to a minimum because the crowds were in the rain.
If they continue good on them, if they decide to slow down well they've earned it. Time will tell.
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