Mick's book- the "Time" Band

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by cascade13

(I'm going back a little bit in the thread, I know, but hadn't read it until now.)

A few reasons, I'm guessing. If Billy had been comfortable as a lead guitarist, I assume they would have hired him in that capacity in the first place, not both him and Rick...so they still needed a separate lead guitarist alongside him. As to why they kept Dave instead of trying to coax Rick back, etc. ... Mick and Dave were tight, and Mick sold him on being a member of the band, so he probably didn't want to back away from his decision. And it probably didn't hurt Dave's cause that he was the most widely known singer/songwriter in the band, aside from Christine.

All that said, obviously it wasn't the *right* choice. I never saw the chemistry and camaraderie with Billy and Dave that I saw with Billy and Rick. (Maybe it's because they were both the "new guys" at the same time...) Dave and Billy seemed to co-exist more than collaborate, on stage and in studio. I'm not surprised Mick hit "detonate" on that lineup as soon as it was clear Time was going nowhere...

I wonder how things would have panned out had Rick been in the Time band rather than Dave. Would the 'Rumours' band still gotten back together or would they have gone on harmoniously with a Mick, John, Billy, Rick, Bekka line-up? They would have never reached the heights of the past but I wonder whether they'd have been successful enough and happy enough to have continued for a while as a band. Rick Billy and Bekka would have made a really interesting creative grouping- ultimately a complete departure in sound and style from anything FM had done previously but I think they could have had some real success.