Don't discount that Richie could have been lying when he said he wanted to play in London just to placate fans/press. I, for one, took it just that way. He was all too happy to boast about never playing Runaway again. Yeah, insult the song that got the Jon, therefore you, a record contract. Classy.

Richie's drug problems were the reason Phil was on standby and are probably a great contribution to his split. If it were Jon directly, why are David, Tico, and Hugh still loyal to Jon? The WAN tour could have been the end, justified easily by Richie's departure and Tico's health problems and Dave's pursuit of Broadway projects.