Bob Weston

Bob Weston, like Dave Walker, was hired to fill the void left by Danny Kirwan's departure. Born in England, he met FM while on the road with Long John Baldry, an R&B singer. Weston made two albums with the band, Penguin and Mystery to Me, both released in 1973. The band was extremely proud of their work on the latter-- it was also doing well on the charts-- and set out on tour to promote it in September of that year. All went very well for about a month, when Mick Fleetwood suddenly became aware that his wife, Jenny, was having an affair with Weston. As Weston recalls in Bob Brunning's book, Behind the Masks, "I didn't coldly weigh up the pros and cons of my career versus my inner feelings...I thought the band was on its last legs anyhow. John and Christine were saying, 'You leave the band and I'll stay; no, you leave and I'll stay.' And they were the kingpins of Fleetwood Mac! Bob Welch was saying, 'I'm going to have to go and pursue a solo career.' Christine's affair with Martin was rattling on. It was all in tatters!" Jenny insisted on telling Mick about the affair herself; she then left the tour and took the Fleetwood children to L.A. Not wanting to be the one to cut the tour short, Mick tried to carry on playing with Weston in the band. The tension continued to build, however, and on October 23rd, 1973, in Lincoln, Nebraska, he told the McVies and Welch that he couldn't do it any longer. Fleetwood Mac's road manager, John Courage, fired Weston, who was put on a plane and not seen again by the group for years. As Weston remembers, "I got a phone call early one morning after a gig, about eight. I hadn't even had a cup of tea! Next thing, there's a knock at the door, and the entire road crew was standing there. They were all looking daggers at me, very menacing, all broken noses and scars...It was horrible seeing all those lads with whom I'd worked so happily emanating such a lot of hostility towards me. I think I was a scapegoat. There were all these other affairs going on within the band, but I wasn't good at boxing. I didn't duck at the right time!" Recently, Weston wryly recalled that it was, "...the most expensive affair I've ever had in my life...cost me a career, that did. "

Bob Welch then called FM's manager in England, Clifford Davis, and tried to explain why the tour would have to be cut short. A furious Davis, who felt he 'owned' the name Fleetwood Mac, soon put together a fake band and sent them out on the road, beginning a year-long legal battle which almost did the real Fleetwood Mac in for good.

Weston toured with blues veteran Alexis Korner and played on Sandy Denny's final album, Rendezvous (1977). His most lucrative project was with the actor Murray Head, star of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar. Weston featured on Head's album Say It Ain't So (1975), a big hit in France and Canada, and led Head's touring band.

Weston recorded three solo albums, Nightlight (1980), Studio Picks (1981) and, lastly,  There's A Heaven, in 1999.  Weston  was a guest in The Penguin Q&A Session in December 1999. In reference to his last release, Bob said "The new album is extremely eclectic, offering 50% songs and 50% instrumentals. It's a bit of a world journey, touching on latin, gospel, indian tabla, delta blues (slide and straight guitar). Blimey - you have to hear it."

Weston moved on to write and arrange soundtracks for film and television.

In 2012, Weston, had been due to record with the former Rolling Stone, Mick Taylor, but was found dead in his London flat by the police after friends had been unable to contact him for several days. A post-mortem revealed that he died from a gastrointestinal haemorrhage.

Weston's website reported:  "He was found in his bed with the TV on; it is presumed he was asleep and didn't suffer," and "He was in fine spirits, and was involved in several new projects," his website reveals. "He also seemed to be very fit."

One of Weston's friends, Steve Fairhead told the UK's Time: “Bob came to live with my family for about nine months in 2007. My wife was a little bit worried because she didn’t know him terribly well, and she thought he might be this arrogant ex-rock star. But he charmed the socks off her and they winded up being firm friends. Bob was an absolute gentleman. . . We shared a daft sense of humour and a sense of the absurd. He was gregarious and he was compassionate. He will definitely be missed – more than missed – my hearts broken.” 

Photographer Fin Costello recalled for The Times:  “He was seen as the wunderkind of the time and much talked about. . .He was one of the great underrated guitarists of his time and great company as well. Lots of Rock and Roll tales. He and I had travelled the same road for many years so the sessions were long and entertaining.” 


Bob Weston, born November 1, 1947, found dead on January 3 2012