I’m not necessarily saying Richard should be replaced with Robbie but it was just the size of the band that was cool. Not just Mark and Guy but not the full works either.
I love Robbie. I thought he was such a nice guy when I met him at the Blues Club gigs and, a bit like Ianto, you do spot him on lots of YouTube clips and even on telly from time to time.
Richard might be more versatile than Robbie but it’s not like Robbie is just a guitar player. He played 5-string banjo on a couple of Tom Jones songs when he toured with him and there’s a clip of him on YouTube knocking out a mandolin solo on Midnight Special when playing with Paul McCartney. I wonder if Mark had him on board from ‘96, whether it would have affected his writing.