REO Speedwagon bassist Bruce Hall seems to be getting the runaround from the band in regard to his return to the road.
Having undergone back surgery last November, he wrote on Facebook in June that it was his "intention to be back on the road again by now for sure. I'm feeling better every day and have been cleared by my doctor to perform. If it were up to just me, I'd be there...but it's unfortunately not. The consensus feeling is that I don't have good enough posture to perform at the level expected by our fans...
"Trust me, I have no intention of retiring or walking away from the band I have loved for almost 50 years..."
And now, Hall's daughter Sara has weighed in, calling the whole situation BS. She says, "HE’S HEALTHY AND READY TO GO!! And has been for some time now.
"Unfortunately, the business is businessing and people’s egos are getting the best of them. At this point some of the so-called powers that be won’t let him back out due to not being able to 'stand up straight enough' OR because a certain someone now just wants to play with the stand-in guy instead of the actual member of the band.
"It’s absolutely [crap] if you ask me. My dad has poured his entire life into his craft and this band just to be told he can’t play or be on stage anymore because of how tall he can stand? What a joke. Another reason as to why I love the music but hate the business. I mean, it’s not like [the band members] are doing too many laps around the stage or jumping off speakers at this point in their career. All in all, just know that he COULD and SHOULD be on that stage."
A spokesman for the band has not responded to our request for comment.
The band is on tour this summer with Train with Matt Bissonette from Elton John's band filling in.
Last November, when Hall stepped aside, singer Kevin Cronin said, "Bruce is our brother -- and times like these test us all. We have faith that Bruce's surgery will be successful, that he will make a complete recovery, and that he will be back to being the hard-rocking bassist/singer that we all know."
Hall joined REO in 1977.
Hot Takes:
- There is a lot of truth in what Hall's daughter says, especially where she writes, "A certain someone now just wants to play with the stand-in guy instead of the actual member of the band."
- We've heard through reliable sources that moving forward without Hall could result in the band having to bill themselves differently.
- With all due respect to Hall, no one is going to an REO show to see him, but the excuses they're feeding him to keep him off the road are low and not right.
Check out the original posts about it here and here from Bruce and also his daughter Sara's Instagram accounts.