Alan in Dublin

good man alan. sad what haooened to him.health wise but at least he got to play with the band again. he deserved that.

Francis was the only one who could see that it just couldn’t go on.

Alan was never going to get better than he was , despite what he was saying about getting to 100 percent. Two tours with a year long gap in between showed that.

Plus if he was being late for sound checks etc ( which John mentioned) that would be a source of irritation.

Rick went back down a path of heavy drinking and not looking after himself , which led to another heart attack in 2014 - he ended up uninsurable ( hence the Last Night if the Electrics tour having to continue)

It was good we got two tours….how many Slade fans for example or Jam fans would love just one more gig let alone two tours?

Francis was right to knock it on the head.

Sorry but, nonsense to think it was the FF tour that set him back drinking. He was pissed at a gig I was at in 2010( Never missed a beat or a note though) He was well overweight from drinking in 2011 and that led to another heart attack. Absolutely nothing to do with any reunion tour. 
Rick was Rick.

Also, not insurable? I find that hard to believe. It's widely accepted Freddie knew he was ill during the Magic tour. Given the time and era that it was, how did he get insured for that tour? Alan had MS and other things, how did he get insured? How did Wilko get insured? If Rick couldn't be insured, how did he get insured for the Last Night of The Electrics tour? How was he going to be insured for future acoustic stints, if that is what the plan was, according to Francis?
That doesn't make sense

'Commercially' he probably was right - nice safe concerts from the current line up, an album that is OK but not something I get excited about. Artistically, maybe not, maybe there were a few 'classic' tunes left, a few more FF gigs of tracks not heard. With the benefit of hindsight, and now we know about Rick and Alan's health, I guess you could say he made the 'right' decision. Great he made Backbone but an album I listened to once or twice and thought, that's OK, and doubt I'll ever revisit.

The FF reunions had nothing to do with Rick's drinking. Rick never stopped overdoing it alcohol wise even in the periods when he officially was on the wagon. The reunion tours were just a chance to recapture the glory days with Alan and John and Bob and that included the post show drinking. I often wondered if Heidi's death tipped him into semi alcoholism, certainly on nights out in Munich Rick would always be the one to end up absolutely drunk, though he never dabbled as much with coke as some others. You can pretty much always get insurance for a tour, it just becomes increasingly expensive and cuts into the profit margin, Rick's problem was that his physical health and especially his voice were really deteriorating fast after the second FF tour. I still remember being shocked the last time I met Rick in May before his heart attack and was very shocked at how physically frail he was and how much weight he'd lost but of course he just laughed off any concerns and turned on "rockstar Rick" as soon as he hit the stage.
Freddie suspected he was HIV+ back as far as 84 but never actually got tested until 87 as he knew it was a death sentence then and despite the public persona he was an intensely private man. The news was gradually revealed to his inner circle and later to the guys in Queen but by then it was obvious Freddie was ill and obvious what with so those around him quietly formed themselves into a wall of protection to keep the gutter press at a distance. He kept entertaining at Garden Lodge till the week before he died in his own inimitable style. "Play something fantabulosa on the strillers Shorty".

After al the slagging of Francis for knocking it on the head in 14 it seems in hindsight we are all coming round to the fact he was 100% right.

Alan was a nice guy but ultimately comes across to me as removed from the reality of the situation. Like he can’t accept that he isn’t in the band anymore. Which I totally understand incidentally

I imagine for Francis having someone you used to work with come in after 30 years and trying to tell you what to do that next to impossible to be bothered with.

Francis has his own issues I think. I don’t think he’sa very good people person. He s charismatic, but as he gets older, I can see through his little quips and techniques he uses to try to dominate the conversation in interviews and on stage etc. It’s quite irritating. Half the time I just want to say to him “chill the fuck out and just relax” but that s the show off in him i guess.

Ultimately I don’t think these two people were meant to spend too much time living in each other’s pockets as they got older