[Author]

Interesting this, when is a member of a group A Member (With Capital M) or not. Is it regulated by contracts, administrative paperwork and mundane juridical technicalities, like when most of us are hired as employees to perform our daily duties? Or is it a fuzzy photo of a group on stage of likeminded friends where some are destined for success while others fall by the wayside? Isn't it something Bigger, when musical magic is created in the Greatest of Groups where the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts? Wasn't that what happened once John McVie transferred from Mayall to Mac?

As an aside, there is a parallel to the Brunning-McVie case in Peter Green's ever-so-brief stint with John Mayall when Eric Clapton was in Greece at the end of 1965. Peter played with Mayall for a few nights before Clapton reappeared and Mayall duly told Green that, well, his services were not required anymore. Was Green a member of The Bluesbreakers for those few nights? Hmmm.

Duane Allman a member of Derek & The Dominoes? Of course not. Just like George Martin was never a member of The Beatles, although no-one will deny either Allman's or Martin's profound importance on record with Derek & The Fab Four.