Poco: Interview with Richie Furay

RICHIE FURAY has been one of the guardian angels of rock music over the past five years, coming to the fore in 1969 when he formed Poco out of the ashes of the Buffalo Springfield. Jim Messina and Randy Meisner have quit from the original line-up but Rusty Young and George Grantham are still there. Bass player Timmy Schmit came along after the first album, and after the third, lead guitarist Paul Cotton joined from the Illinois Speed Press. The band had just played Copenhagen and Midem and were preparing an assault on English ears for the first time when I spoke to Richie. He was holding court in one of London's plush hotels, at the same time catching his breath after a particularly hectic press reception for the band. Like the rest of Poco he is good-natured and chats lucidly and easily about the band to whom he dedicates everything.