Stumbled across this discussion during a Google search.
I saw Davey three or four times in the early 2000s.
No, he wasn’t the twentysomething whizzkid of his glory days- he was in his 60s and not in peak health. His mind moved faster than his fingers sometimes. I was told that some of his medication interfered with his co-ordination and made it more difficult to play.
All but one of the gigs were very good. He played well and did interact with the audience, albeit not much. I saw no evidence that he was compromised by substance intake. He signed albums for me afterwards and was quiet, but charming and gracious.
The last time I saw him he hit too many bum notes and his nylon-strung guitar had a horrendous buzz on one of the bottom strings, which ruined (especially) Anji. I was told that these days he needed to prepare and rehearse before gigs; if he did he was fine, but he would sometimes forget that he wasn’t 25 any more and couldn’t just turn up and wing it.
We now know that by 2007, unbeknown to him or anyone else, he had lung cancer. At the time the only symptom he had was a persistent cough……I’ve read that at one 2007 gig he had to stop after 15 minutes or so, and Wizz Jones, who was in the audience, finished the gig for him.
As Brian Jones wrote to his parents- please don’t judge him too harshly.