I did watch an EMG era with James recently where he basically said that continuing as a band was relatively easy as that's what James, Nick and Sean do, make music. What they lost more deeply was a friend, rather than a band member or colleague. I think you can see that in the offer for Richey to be reduced member or even not a member at all, as the well being of their friend was of the utmost importantance.
My feeling is that Richey didn't build much of a life outside the band which effectively made the band a double edged sword for him. A lifeline made out of barbed wire. On one hand it gave him meaning and purpose, on the other the lifestyle tore his mental health asunder. I don't think there was ever really case of of the band falling apart because of internal friction, I also think too much is made of the screamadelica-berlin-nine inch nails direction (since when did Richey have a strong musical compass, this is the guy who only committed one chord to astudio recording), though Richey probably would have had to leave for his own benefit to find a way where he could live a stable life. It's a great tragedy that that never happened.
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