Bob Weston (guitarist)
| Bob Weston | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Robert Joseph Weston |
| Born |
1 November 1947 Plymouth, Devon, England |
| Died |
3 January 2012 (aged 64) Brent Cross, London, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1967–2012 |
| Associated acts | Fleetwood Mac (1972–74) |
| Website |
bobweston |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Gibson Les Paul Danelectro DC 59 | |
Robert Joseph "Bob" Weston (1 November 1947 – 3 January 2012) was a British musician who had a brief role as guitarist and songwriter with the rock band Fleetwood Mac in the early 1970s. He also recorded and performed with a number of other musicians, including Graham Bond, Long John Baldry, Murray Head, Sandy Denny and Danny Kirwan.
Early life and career
Weston was born in Plymouth on 1 November 1947[1] and moved to London in the mid-1960s. He joined a band called The Kinetic, and supported Jimi Hendrix and Chuck Berry at concerts in France.[1]
Fleetwood Mac
Weston was recruited into the Fleetwood Mac line-up in late 1972 as replacement for the recently sacked guitarist Danny Kirwan. Together with fellow new band member, vocalist Dave Walker, Fleetwood Mac recorded the Penguin album in January 1973. Weston's contribution to the album was mainly as a lead guitarist alongside Bob Welch, but he stood out thanks to his slide guitar, especially on the Christine McVie song "Remember Me", and his accomplished harmonica and banjo playing. He also sang with Christine McVie on the song "Did You Ever Love Me", and wrote the instrumental that closed the album, "Caught in the Rain".
Later in 1973 Dave Walker was asked to leave the band,[2] and the remaining members of Fleetwood Mac recorded their next album, Mystery to Me. Weston contributed yet more solid guitar work, for example his slide intro on "Why", a song for which he felt he did not receive the credit he deserved.[3] He also co-wrote one track, "Forever", with Welch and John McVie.
During a tour of the US in late 1973, when the band were beginning to gel particularly well onstage, it emerged that Weston had been having an affair with Mick Fleetwood's wife, Jenny Boyd.[1][2] Fleetwood tried to carry on regardless, but eventually after a gig in Lincoln, Nebraska, he had had enough and informed Welch and the McVies that he could no longer play with Weston. Weston was fired by their roadie John Courage and the rest of the tour was cancelled, the band members each travelling to a different part of the world to gather their thoughts.[3] It was this situation which gave rise to the "Bogus Fleetwood Mac" saga in which manager Clifford Davis recruited a new group of musicians, passed them off as Fleetwood Mac, and sent them out to complete the tour.[2] Although the fake band were quickly rumbled by fans, the subsequent legal battle lasted years, preventing the genuine Fleetwood Mac from recording.
Arguably Bob Weston had a very big effect on the Fleetwood Mac story, perhaps greater than his musical legacy, since it was this turmoil which strongly contributed to Welch's disenchantment with life in Fleetwood Mac, and his departure in late 1974 paved the way for the arrival of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, who would help the band on to superstar status.[2]
Solo
Weston went on to record with Murray Head, then briefly join, along with bassist Nick South and drummer Ian Wallace, Steve Marriott's newly formed All-Stars Band. When Marriott opted to play lead guitar himself, Weston went on to do a few solo albums, all of which are now quite hard to find.[3] Perhaps proving that there were no hard feelings over the affair he had conducted with Boyd back in 1973, Mick Fleetwood contributed drums to one track on Weston's second solo album, Studio Picks.
In January 2008, Weston announced he started working on new recordings, which would be released later in the year and would be recorded at Markant Studios in the Netherlands.[4]
While Frank Baijens, a Dutch singer-songwriter, was recording his album Odd Man Out, he accidentally met Weston who was also recording an album. Baijens asked Weston if he would play on one of the tracks, "Where the Heart Belongs", which he did.[5]
Death
Weston, who lived alone in a flat in Brent Cross, London, was found dead on 3 January 2012. He is survived by his younger brother Peter.[6] His post-mortem showed he died of a gastrointestinal haemorrhage.[1][7]
Discography
With Fleetwood Mac
- Penguin (Reprise 1973)
- Mystery to Me (Reprise 1973)
Solo albums
- Night Light (AZ International 1980)
- Studio Picks (AZ International 1981)
- There's a Heaven (Private pressing 1999)
Other releases featuring Bob Weston
- The Kinetic – Live Your Life (1967)
- Ashkan – In From the Cold (1969)
- Chimera – Chimera (1970 – Released 2008(?))
- Graham Bond – Bond in America (1971)
- Ashman Reynolds – Stop Off (1972)
- Long John Baldry – Everything Stops for Tea (1972)
- Dana Gillespie – Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle (1974)
- Murray Head – Say It Ain't So (1975)
- Sandy Denny – Rendezvous (1977)
- Adrian Wagner – Instincts (1977)
- Mark Ashton – Solo (1979)
- Danny Kirwan – Hello There Big Boy! (1979)
- Murray Head – Between Us (1979)
- Robbie Patton – Distant Shores (1981)
- Dick Morrissey – Souliloquy (1986)
- Bob Welch and Friends – Live from the Roxy (2004)
- Frank Baijens – Odd Man Out (2008)
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Bob Weston". Telegraph. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Brunning, Bob (1990). Fleetwood Mac: Behind the Masks. London: New English Library. ISBN 0-450-53116-3. OCLC 22242160.
- 1 2 3 The Penguin Q&A with Bob Weston, December 6–19, 1999
- ↑ "Official Home Site". Bob Weston. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ↑ "Frank Baijens – ODD MAN OUT". Frankbaijens.nl. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ↑ "Fleetwood Mac star dies | Showbiz | News | Daily Express". Express.co.uk. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ↑ "Bob Weston 1947–2012". Bob Weston official website. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
