Nigel Watson passed away in 2019

[dino]

https://humanisttributearchive.uk/tribute/1304/

[lazy poker]

how sad - r.i.p. nigel, and thanks for everything you did for peter!
(strange that this went without notice - even wikipedia doesn't mention it at the time of writing this.)

[dansven]

Thanks for posting this, Dino!
I did a google search only a few weeks ago to find out whatever happened to NW, but I found nothing. From the link you provided, it seems he had a bit of a rough time the last years of his life.
Roger Cotton died in 2016. Pete Stroud is still active. From what I can see on FB Larry Tolfree is looking good and happily retired.
-Daniel

[chriskisn]

Originally Posted by lazy poker

how sad - r.i.p. nigel, and thanks for everything you did for peter!
(strange that this went without notice - even wikipedia doesn't mention it at the time of writing this.)

Hmm..the question is did he do more harm than good for Peter?

Anyone around remember the threads getting removed on here when the lawyers stepped in to apparently protect Peter from Nigel? We weren't even allowed to discuss it. Think that was back in Marty's days?

For the record, I actually really liked Nigel's music. Most people seem to think he was boring but I enjoyed his splinter group stuff.

[lazy poker]

Originally Posted by chriskisn

Hmm..the question is did he do more harm than good for Peter?

Anyone around remember the threads getting removed on here when the lawyers stepped in to apparently protect Peter from Nigel? We weren't even allowed to discuss it. Think that was back in Marty's days?

For the record, I actually really liked Nigel's music. Most people seem to think he was boring but I enjoyed his splinter group stuff.

i'm terribly behind on all things green-watson in its last stages. thus i just read of a falling out between the two and an ensuing lawsuit. i know nothing about nigel having had bad intentions or doing peter any harm.

were financial things at play? was nigel accused of ripping off peter or upstageing him or pushing him too much into work?

i was certainly surprised when i saw the splinter group in concert and nigel played what originally were peter's guitar phrases and solos - and very well so. i was in front of the stage, so i saw who played what. but as the stage was rather low and the house was packed, people in the rear half of the club could see nothing more than the musicians' heads - they were absolutely convinced that peter miraculously had regained his style and playing ability from the days of old again. no wonder they were raving with thunderous applause and i'd heard some say "unbelievable - he's back on his zenith!". so i have to say nigel was a talented guitarist indeed.

anyway i'd be interested in what was to cause such a sad ending.

[chriskisn]

From the Ledge 15 years ago:

Originally Posted by ThePenguin

Please note that we have been contacted by The Simkins Partnership, The Solicitors for Peter Green, and informed that there is a gag order in effect for the Peter Green vs. Nigel Watson case. The Honourable Mr. Justice Newman in the High Court of Justice Queen's Bench Division signed the Order on April 2, 2004. The Court approved the following single press release concerning the matter:

"In High Court proceedings, an interim injunction has been obtained by guitarist Peter Green against Mr Nigel Watson, a member of the Peter Green Splinter Group, which forbids Watson from using violence, threatening or harassing Mr Green or encouraging anyone else to do so; and from contacting Mr Green except through Mr Green's solicitors. Mr Watson disputes the proceedings and contests Mr Green's claim.

All other aspects of the claim and the proceedings remain confidential by Order of the Court and may not be published"

Three threads discussing this matter have been removed from The Ledge. We would respectfully request that individuals refrain from discussing this matter further on The Ledge. So as not to become embroiled in this dispute and as notification has been provided, future related posts will be deleted and the posters will be banned.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

[chriskisn]

From the Mail on Sunday back in 2004

"Rock legend told to ditch his band - by order of his Government minders

ONE of Britain's greatest music legends is at the centre of an
extraordinary wrangle over his career and private life.

Friends of troubled Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green say a
Government-run legal body which controls his money wants to break up
the band credited with rescuing him from obscurity.

Members of the Peter Green Splinter Group insist only they can look
after him and nurture his talent.

But Green's family says officials are acting in his best interests and
protecting him from people who want to profit from him financially.

Now there are fears that the guitarist could be plunged back into the
drugs and mental health nightmare that nearly killed him a decade ago.

Fans were shocked when the Public Guardianship Office decided Green,
57, should leave the group. It claimed he was in danger from another
band member and insisted he was better off without them.

But the move appeared to have backfired this month after Green's first
solo outing was panned by critics. And The Mail on Sunday reveals today
how Green's career is again in doubt, amid claims that the PGO,
controlled by Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer's Constitutional Affairs
Department, 'kidnapped' Green to keep him away from the band.

Born in Bethnal Green, East London, Peter Green shot to stardom in the
Sixties as Fleetwood Mac's lead guitarist. His compositions, such as
Albatross and Black Magic Woman, were hits worldwide. As recently as
1996, Mojo magazine voted him one of the top three rock guitarists of
all time, alongside Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.

But Green loathed his success. Turning to drugs, he became increasingly
unstable. He left the band in 1970 and became a hermit. In 1977 he was
arrested after threatening his accountant with a rifle for trying to
give him a royalty cheque.

Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Green spent several years in and
out of mental institutions where he was given electric shock treatment.

When lifelong friend and fellow guitarist Nigel Watson tracked him down
in the Nineties, Green's fingernails were six inches long and he was
unable to play a note. Watson nursed him back to health and taught him
to play guitar again.

In 1996 the pair formed Splinter Group, which has recorded four albums
and performed nearly 1,000 concerts, all to widespread acclaim.

Watson protected the deeply introverted Green on and off stage. It was
Watson who arranged for his affairs to be handed to the PGO, an
official body set up to safeguard the financial interests of the infirm
or mentally ill. It pays Green £250 a week and invests the rest of his
£30,000-a-year earnings. Green is said to have complained to friends
about the PGO's control. 'He said they wouldn't even let him buy a new
guitar,' said one.

Now the PGO has turned the tables on Watson and obtained an injunction
banning him from contact with Green or speaking publicly about the
musician. However, last week, the High Court threw out its bid to keep
the dispute secret.

Watson's friends believe the PGO wants to launch Green as a major star
and help him earn another fortune. But they say that will lead to a
repeat of his breakdown.

Green disappeared in December after the PGO announced he was leaving
Splinter Group.

Friends tracked him to Sweden, where he had been for three months with
the agency's full knowledge. The PGO said it acted to safeguard the
guitarist, but some claim it 'kidnapped' him to break his links with
the band.

'Peter cannot cope on his own,' said a friend. 'Nigel is the only
person who understands him and his music, and the group takes care of
all his needs.

'Separating them is cruel and could be dangerous. He doesn't want to be
rich, he just wants to play guitar.'

Manager Arthur Anderson said:'The PGO won't tell us where he is. We're
desperately worried.'

The agency's actions have been defended by Green's older brother
Michael, a guitar tutor who lives in Peacehaven, East Sussex. 'It was
Peter's decision to leave the band,' he said. 'He was unhappy and
getting stressed.'

And a PGO spokesman said: 'The Public Guardianship Office has a
statutory duty to act in the best interests of its clients, who are
vulnerable people. We cannot talk about individual cases and have a
duty to maintain confidentiality at all times.'