From a QandA with Bob Welch on fleetwoodmac.net

"Thanx for your comments about Ebony Eyes ! A lot of times, when I was on tour opening up on FM shows, Stevie would come up and do Ebony Eyes with me, just for fun. One time at the LA coliseum, I was opening for "The New Barbarians" which was like Keith Richards, Stanley Clark..but the big thing was everybody was thinking that Mick Jagger might show up. The first 10 or so rows of seats were all invited "critics", writers from the LA Times etc. They were VERY hostile to me, yelling things like, "get off, 'ya wimp!" , and "where's Mick Jagger" etc. At the end of my 40 min set, Stevie came to my rescue. She marched up on stage during Ebony Eyes, the last song, and motioned for the band to stop. Then she gave those front rows a piece of her mind.. Saying things like "Bob is my friend, and this is unfair", and Bob is the "Fred Astaire of rock and roll"," I love his stuff" etc. etc. I wish I had it on tape ! You could've heard a pin drop! Here was Stevie, who at the time was at least as "big" as Mick Jagger telling these snotty critics off ! THAT's the kind of person Stevie is, I'll never forget it ! And by the way, Jagger never did show up...'

"get off, 'ya wimp!"



A rather appropriate comment, under the circumstances. Needing to have Stevie Nicks come running to your defense is the very definition of wimpiness. Any other self-respecting rock star, even the most sensitive of singer-songwriters, even someone as wimpy as James Taylor, would have just told the hecklers to @#$%& off.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-11 15:52 by tatters.

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tatters
"get off, 'ya wimp!"



A rather appropriate comment, under the circumstances. Needing to have Stevie Nicks come running to your defense is the very definition of wimpiness. Any other self-respecting rock star, even the most sensitive of singer-songwriters, even someone as wimpy as James Taylor, would have just told the hecklers to @#$%& off.

-- both at the story and tatters' great response!

-swiss

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peoplewitheyes
From a QandA with Bob Welch on fleetwoodmac.net

".... Here was Stevie, who at the time was at least as "big" as Mick Jagger ...'

Is that in her 6 inch platform boots ?

I was at that show, sitting in the 3rd row. It was at the Forum.

I don't remember yelling stuff at Bob Welch...but I think I did at Stevie Nicks.

Funny anecdote, but...

New Barbarians played at the the LA Forum (not the LA coliseum) with Billy Preston opening.
Bob Welch opened for them at the San Diego Sports Arena.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball
Funny anecdote, but...

New Barbarians played at the the LA Forum (not the LA coliseum) with Billy Preston opening.
Bob Welch opened for them at the San Diego Sports Arena.

Nope.

Preston joined the Barbarians for the encore. Welch opened.

We sat so close that my buddy told me afterwards he felt bad when he cringed as Bobby Keyes hit a bum note...and then saw a sheepish look on Bobby and realized Keyes had seen his reaction.



(One time a guy in line for a Ronnie Wood show told me he went to that show and insisted the New Barbarians were the opening act for Bob Welch!)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-11 23:11 by loog droog.

Nick's should have spoken up for Welch when it really mattered:

[blog.cleveland.com]

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loog droog

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Hairball
Funny anecdote, but...

New Barbarians played at the the LA Forum (not the LA coliseum) with Billy Preston opening.
Bob Welch opened for them at the San Diego Sports Arena.

Nope.

Preston joined the Barbarians for the encore. Welch opened.

I stand corrected!

I knew they never played the gigantic L.A. Coliseum, so did a little search.
One of the links I found is a preview from the book New Barbarians: Outlaws, Gunslingers, and Guitars By Rob Chapman (never heard of it) which only states Billy Preston as 'special guest' at the Forum show, and Bob Welch as 'special guest' in San Diego, so it's a bit confusing. If you scroll up a bit there's some nice pics of San Diego Arena, as well as various band pics, text, etc.

Can't remember why I wasn't at either of those shows...wish I would have been!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

I distinctly recall when Preston came out thinking that it was a breakthrough for him.

He hadn't played with the Stones since two years before at the El Mocambo shows in '77. McLagan had taken over the keyboard duties on the Some Girls album and the '78 tour, and by '79 there was some talk about Billy having a falling out with the Stones over his role in an early version of Miss You where he played the bass, and whether he was an uncredited co-songwriter.

So his appearance sort of cleared the air of that controversy.





Billy Preston: Brilliant player, legendary performer, MVP sideman, hit recording artist....and shamefully, NOT a Member of the RnR HoF.

Not sure I buy this bit, either:

The first 10 or so rows of seats were all invited "critics", writers from the LA Times etc. They were VERY hostile to me, yelling things like, "get off, 'ya wimp!" , and "where's Mick Jagger" etc.

First 10 rows is a lot of critics, and they rarely get the best seats; nor do they yell stuff; and how would Bob be able to ID them?

P.S. The LA Times review didn't bother to mention Bob Welch.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-12 03:58 by DeanGoodman.

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loog droog
Billy Preston: Brilliant player, legendary performer, MVP sideman, hit recording artist....and shamefully, NOT a Member of the RnR HoF.

That's astonishing. The Stones and remaining Beatles (at the very least) should lobby for his induction.

-swiss

Here's another similar version he gives from a Q&A he did: Bob Welch Q&A on The Penguin

Q: Can you give us an account on how Stevie defended from the jeers and taunts of the crowd at the concert you decribed ?

BW: Well first of all, it was a stupidly booked gig. I should never have been opening for "The New Barbarians". The audience was 100% Rolling Stones fans who were hoping Mick Jagger or Jerry Hall might show up. The front rows were filled with critics from the super snobby and cynical press, and I knew they hated me even before I went out.

I got through my short set okay, but when they started hollering "we want Keith...get off Bob" or something to that effect, Stevie, who was backstage came running up on stage and motioned for the band to stop playing. Then she put her arm around my shoulders and started scolding the audience "this is my good friend Bob Welch...he's a wonderful musician...he's the Fred Astaire of rock 'n roll...you people are entitled to your opinions but you should give Bob a chance...he's written some wonderful music...." etc. etc. Stevie went on for what seemed like ten minutes.

That was something she didn't have to do....and something I've never heard of anybody else in the business doing. What a trooper !

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball


BW: That was something she didn't have to do....and something I've never heard of anybody else in the business doing. What a trooper !

Artimus Pyle did it when Clover (Huey Lewis' band) opened for Skynyrd in London, in 1977. I recall Kris Kristofferson did something along those lines when fans booed Sinead O'Connor at the Dylan tribute show in 1992-ish after she'd ripped up the picture of the pope on SNL. Still, as eloquently stated earlier, Stevie coming to Bob's rescue is akin to a girl rescuing a boy from playground bullies. A tad embarrassing.

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DeanGoodman

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Hairball


BW: That was something she didn't have to do....and something I've never heard of anybody else in the business doing. What a trooper !

Artimus Pyle did it when Clover (Huey Lewis' band) opened for Skynyrd in London, in 1977. I recall Kris Kristofferson did something along those lines when fans booed Sinead O'Connor at the Dylan tribute show in 1992-ish after she'd ripped up the picture of the pope on SNL. Still, as eloquently stated earlier, Stevie coming to Bob's rescue is akin to a girl rescuing a boy from playground bullies. A tad embarrassing.

Lol...yes embarrassing, but he kind of falls in to the 'Wimp Rock' category after he left Fleetwood Mac imo.

When I saw the Clash at the Santa Monica Civic in 1980, Jamaican reggae producer/DJ Mikey Dread opened for them.
Amdist escalating boos and unrest amongst some knuckleheads in the crowd, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones (and/or maybe bass player Paul Simonen?) came out from the wings disguised in overcoats, sunglasses, and hats, and proceeded to dance around the stage along to Mikey Dread's heavy reggae dub music. Many towards the front (including myself) recognized the Clash members who were then met with huge cheers and applause, which seemed to work for the entire auditorium as the rest of the set went uninterrupted.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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loog droog
I was at that show, sitting in the 3rd row. It was at the Forum.

I don't remember yelling stuff at Bob Welch...but I think I did at Stevie Nicks.

I was gonna say- I was there too. No way was it the Coliseum. It was the forum. I remember Modeliste's drums being WAY over modulated.