Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac has spoken out over the death of former member of the band, Bob Welch, who died Thursday (June 7th) after an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.
His former bandmate called the supposed suicide “unbelievably shocking” and “incredibly out of character”. Fleetwood said, “He was a very, very profoundly intelligent human being and always in good humor, which is why this is so unbelievably shocking”.
He added, “He was a huge part of our history which sometimes gets forgotten…mostly his legacy would be his songwriting abilities that he brought to Fleetwood Mac, which will survive all of us…If you look into our musical history, you’ll see a huge period that was completely ensconced in Bob’s work.”
Stevie Nicks, who replaced Welch in the band in the mid-seventies with her then partner Lindsay Buckingham, also released a statement about his passing, saying: “He was an amazing guitar player – he was funny, sweet – and he was smart – I’m so very sorry for his family and for the family of Fleetwood Mac – so, so sad.”
Ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch was found dead at his Nashville home. He was 65. Local news network WKRN reports that Welch’s wife found his body.
Born in Los Angeles in 1946, Welch was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974, playing on five albums with the group.
Welch formed the band Paris in 1975 and released two albums with the group, before going on to release his first solo record, ‘French Kiss’, in 1977. The album featured a version of the song ‘Sentimental Lady’, which had originally been recorded for Fleetwood Mac’s 1972 album, ‘Bare Trees’.
He went on to release a host more solo albums, his last being 1999’s ‘Bob Welch Looks At Bop’.
by Wallace McTavish
