Lindsey Buckingham Sues Remaining Fleetwood Mac Members Following Sudden Dismissal from Band

Lindsey Buckingham Sues F...PEOPLE.com

Lindsey Buckingham has leveled a lawsuit against his former Fleetwood Mac bandmates following his sudden dismissal from the legendary group in early 2018. In the suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by PEOPLE, the guitarist accused his ex band of seven offenses, including breach of fiduciary duty, breach of oral contract and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.

“Fleetwood Mac strongly disputes the allegations presented in Mr. Buckingham’s complaint and looks forward to their day in court,” the band’s publicist Kristen Foster said in a statement to PEOPLE. “The band has retained Dan Petrocelli to handle the case.”

Mr. Buckingham. You've got a case

what a mess

After filing the lawsuit, Buckingham released a statement of his own to Rolling Stone: “Last January, Fleetwood Mac made the decision to continue to tour without me. I remain deeply surprised and saddened, as this decision ends the beautiful 43-year legacy we built together. Over the last eight months, our many efforts to come to an agreement have unfortunately proved elusive. I’m looking forward to closure, and will always remain proud of all that we created, and what that legacy represents.”

lool said:

Signing on to tour with FM for 2 years. Then scheduling a solo tour coinciding with the FM dates and asking them to postpone their tour. Really ninja? He thought he was irreplaceable. Oops.

The way it sounds to me is he already had his solo tour scheduled. I hope he wins, Fleetwood Mac is nothing without him.

It seems that Lindsey rescheduled his solo tour and yet they still fired him from the band...at least that's what he's arguing.I'm guessing that they thought he was too interested in his solo work and wasn't 100% on board with a Fleetwood Mac tour.Such a shame that it has to come to this

PennyPurple said:

lool said:

Signing on to tour with FM for 2 years. Then scheduling a solo tour coinciding with the FM dates and asking them to postpone their tour. Really ninja? He thought he was irreplaceable. Oops.

The way it sounds to me is he already had his solo tour scheduled. I hope he wins, Fleetwood Mac is nothing without him.

Then...maybe not commit to the FM tour...just sayin'. Fleetwood Mac were something long before Lindsey, during his 10 year absence, and most likely long after all the current members are dead and gone.

That's about as sad as the Heart sisters breaking up and not speaking to each other. Without the Wilson sisters, there is no Heart; without Mic, John, Lindsey, Christine, and Stevie, there is no Fleetwood Mac anymore. At least not to me. Glad I saw the bands with the line-ups I like and not the 2.0 versions. And as far as The Eagles go--no Eagles without Glenn Frey...

purplethunder3121 said:

That's about as sad as the Heart sisters breaking up and not speaking to each other. Without the Wilson sisters, there is no Heart; without Mic, John, Lindsey, Christine, and Stevie, there is no Fleetwood Mac anymore. At least not to me. Glad I saw the bands with the line-ups I like and not the 2.0 versions. And as far as The Eagles go--no Eagles without Glenn Frey...

That's for sure. And the Eagles brought in Vince Gill.

I don't know the whole story,but I will say this.....shame on Fleetwood Mac for going out on tour with two "replacements" Fans spend so much money on concert tickets and they deserve to see the real thing.I was actually excited about seeing Fleetwood Mac again...until I found that they fired Lindsey.

Well. to be honest, he already left the band back in 1987 to persue a solo career and was replaced by 2 guitarists as well

PANDURITO said:

Well. to be honest, he already left the band back in 1987 to persue a solo career and was replaced by 2 guitarists as well

yeah but this time,it's different.Seems that he was actually forced out of the band this time.

Yes he was forced out, this was a decision that was made by a person that is not even a founding member, Stevie Nicks. Now there has always been issues there, and bigger issues with all of them, but this time it was different, Irving Azoff who is a piece of shit, has been doing this crap for eons, he was the one WAY BACK in the day that takes Don Felder out to dinner and while Felder is out Frey and Henley steal Victim of Love from him and do lead vocals. Irving pushed the decision of letting Steve Perry go, which was going to happen. He was behind kicking out Felder again and cutting him way less money, and yet again here is Azoff chatting with Lindsey and then a week later calling him cowardly and saying, "they voted you out". Plain and simple Fleetwood Mac was stupid to do this now, they are what in there 70's or close, Lindsey wrote an email to Mick stressing that this was a really bad time to do this, because it is the end of the band. AND yes there was a band before him just like Journey existed before Steve Perry but BE FUCKING REAL, no one bought Journeys records prior to Perry no one remembers a damn thing of that time, no one looks back on Pre Lindsey and Stevie BE REAL. ANd sorry but Stevie as good as she can be , she is less than half of what makes this band go. So to plop in Finn and the Petty guitarist seems like OK thats good, thats not good. And also the reason they CLAIM Lindsey was booted was his solo tour, is BS, because guess who is doing a solo tour that will conflict with FM, Neil fucking Finn is touring with his son, and FM said COOL you do that. So this was not LB being a dick, this was a lot more. But this is the end of this band make no mistake, and for those who dont think so, remember that "BEHIND THE MASK" album, that piece of shit they forced on people when Lindsey and Stevie were gone. Yeah no one remembers it.

According to his lawsuit, he did not actually schedule a solo tour at all. He originally asked the band to postpone the Fleetwood Mac tour from August 2018 to November 2018 (three months) in order for him to do a solo tour, but when they refused, he agreed to start the Fleetwood Mac tour in August and no solo dates were scheduled. (It's worth noting that in 2012, the band were planning to tour, but Stevie Nicks asked to postpone the tour for a whole year so that she could do a solo tour, and her request was granted). After firing Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac ended up delaying their tour by two months anyway (presumably to rehearse the new members)!

The full document is here (as a longtime Fleetwood Mac fan, I had to read it all). From the opening paragraph:

"Lindsey Buckingham was informed by his manager that, despite Buckingham's willingness to perform, Fleetwood Mac (the "Band") would proceed with its upcoming and already organized 2018-2019 concert tour without him. After 43 years of cameraderie and friendship, not a single member of the Band called Buckingham to break the news to him. In fact, not a single member of Fleetwood Mac has returned any of Buckingham's phone calls to provide him with an explanation for his purported expulsion from Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham was looking forward to the Band's tour and had even agreed to postpone the release of his upcoming solo album to accomodate the touring schedule preferred by the other members."

The document also includes an email that Lindsey sent to Mick Fleetwood in February (that Fleetwood never responded to):

"In times past, the band has always relied on its center, its heart and soul to work through difficulties as they arose. But now, those around the edges - attorneys, management- have stepped in and rendered that center silent and impotent... After 43 years and the finish line clearly in sight, it's hard to escape the conclusion that for the five of us to splinter apart now would be the wrong thing. Wrong for the beautiful legacy we've built together. Wrong for our legions of loyal fans who would hate to see the final act be a breakup. ...If there is a way to work this through, I believe we must try."

[Edited 10/14/18 11:42am]

[Edited 10/14/18 11:56am]

Fleetwood Mac has a long history of drama and feuds,yet they somehow manage to work it all out and reform.This time,it feels different I really think that Lindsey is out of the band for good and that makes me sad.

duggalolly said:

According to his lawsuit, he did not actually schedule a solo tour at all. He originally asked the band to postpone the Fleetwood Mac tour from August 2018 to November 2018 (three months) in order for him to do a solo tour, but when they refused, he agreed to start the Fleetwood Mac tour in August and no solo dates were scheduled. (It's worth noting that in 2012, the band were planning to tour, but Stevie Nicks asked to postpone the tour for a whole year so that she could do a solo tour, and her request was granted). After firing Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac ended up delaying their tour by two months anyway (presumably to rehearse the new members)!

The full document is here (as a longtime Fleetwood Mac fan, I had to read it all). From the opening paragraph:

"Lindsey Buckingham was informed by his manager that, despite Buckingham's willingness to perform, Fleetwood Mac (the "Band") would proceed with its upcoming and already organized 2018-2019 concert tour without him. After 43 years of cameraderie and friendship, not a single member of the Band called Buckingham to break the news to him. In fact, not a single member of Fleetwood Mac has returned any of Buckingham's phone calls to provide him with an explanation for his purported expulsion from Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham was looking forward to the Band's tour and had even agreed to postpone the release of his upcoming solo album to accomodate the touring schedule preferred by the other members."

it looks like his former bandmates really did him wrong,smh

..

[Edited 10/14/18 12:09pm]

FM used to be 1 of my favorite bands back in the day.

I don't like Stevie anymore. Ever since she said that Prince committed suicide it turned me off to her. Now with her the 1 wanting Lindsey out, makes me not like her that much more. I hope she doesn't get her solo nod in the Rock N Roll hall of fame.

I gotta admit,I'm really disappointed in Stevie Nicks

SoulAlive said:

Fleetwood Mac has a long history of drama and feuds,yet they somehow manage to work it all out and reform.This time,it feels different I really think that Lindsey is out of the band for good and that makes me sad.

As Lindsey put it its not like they are in their 30's and doing this, they are 70 and up so its over at this point, and its sad it ends like this at this age.

lastdecember said:

SoulAlive said:

Fleetwood Mac has a long history of drama and feuds,yet they somehow manage to work it all out and reform.This time,it feels different I really think that Lindsey is out of the band for good and that makes me sad.

As Lindsey put it its not like they are in their 30's and doing this, they are 70 and up so its over at this point, and its sad it ends like this at this age.

sad,indeed I didn't want it to end this way

SoulAlive said:

lastdecember said:

As Lindsey put it its not like they are in their 30's and doing this, they are 70 and up so its over at this point, and its sad it ends like this at this age.

sad,indeed I didn't want it to end this way

It truly is... At this stage of life, you'd think they would have worked out a way to put their differences aside and be able to perform together. I guess not all the old acts can be like the (almost immortal at this point! LOL) Rolling Stones...

purplethunder3121 said:

SoulAlive said:

sad,indeed I didn't want it to end this way

It truly is... At this stage of life, you'd think they would have worked out a way to put their differences aside and be able to perform together. I guess not all the old acts can be like the (almost immortal at this point! LOL) Rolling Stones...

true

On an interesting side note, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham released an album of new songs in 2017. It did well in the UK, hitting the top five on the charts (whatever that means in this day and age LOL). I haven't heard it but I think I will listen to it now. I have the feeling that Lindsey was growing impatient to record and release a new Fleetwood Mac album and the other members couldn't agree on what that would entail...

purplethunder3121 said:

On an interesting side note, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham released an album of new songs in 2017. It did well in the UK, hitting the top five on the charts (whatever that means in this day and age LOL). I haven't heard it but I think I will listen to it now. I have the feeling that Lindsey was growing impatient to record and release a new Fleetwood Mac album and the other members couldn't agree on what that would entail...

amazing that she could be friendly and do an album with him last year......but suddenly,she can't even pick up a phone to call him and talk

SoulAlive said:

purplethunder3121 said:

On an interesting side note, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham released an album of new songs in 2017. It did well in the UK, hitting the top five on the charts (whatever that means in this day and age LOL). I haven't heard it but I think I will listen to it now. I have the feeling that Lindsey was growing impatient to record and release a new Fleetwood Mac album and the other members couldn't agree on what that would entail...

amazing that she could be friendly and do an album with him last year......but suddenly,she can't even pick up a phone to call him and talk

I know, right? I don't get it. And Linsey apparently just did a solo appearace in the Bay Area btw...

purplethunder3121 said:

On an interesting side note, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham released an album of new songs in 2017. It did well in the UK, hitting the top five on the charts (whatever that means in this day and age LOL). I haven't heard it but I think I will listen to it now. I have the feeling that Lindsey was growing impatient to record and release a new Fleetwood Mac album and the other members couldn't agree on what that would entail...

The Lindsey/Christine album was originally supposed to be a Fleetwood Mac album (Mick and John even appear on the album) but Stevie Nicks didn't want to contribute, so they finally decided to release it as a duet project. Lindsey & Christine did a tour to promote it last year... I went to one of the shows, and it was obvious that they were having a great time together onstage. So I don't know what to think now, it seems like someone in their management (Azoff?) stepped in and told her not to contact Lindsey. This whole thing seems really cold and calculated.

duggalolly said:

purplethunder3121 said:

On an interesting side note, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham released an album of new songs in 2017. It did well in the UK, hitting the top five on the charts (whatever that means in this day and age LOL). I haven't heard it but I think I will listen to it now. I have the feeling that Lindsey was growing impatient to record and release a new Fleetwood Mac album and the other members couldn't agree on what that would entail...

The Lindsey/Christine album was originally supposed to be a Fleetwood Mac album (Mick and John even appear on the album) but Stevie Nicks didn't want to contribute, so they finally decided to release it as a duet project. Lindsey & Christine did a tour to promote it last year... I went to one of the shows, and it was obvious that they were having a great time together onstage. So I don't know what to think now, it seems like someone in their management (Azoff?) stepped in and told her not to contact Lindsey. This whole thing seems really cold and calculated.

That sucks, if true.

sometimes i think all this stuff these bands do is for publicity