My transcription of a couple snippets of the Rolling Stone interview is slightly different and has a few other bits. I thought I'd add it here, although it's essentially the same in terms of pertinent content.
Interviewer: So I've heard for a long time there's plans to do a big tour in 2018. And at what point did you realize that it was going to be without Lindsey? How long ago did the split happen?
Mick: After MusiCares in New York, which is 3 months ago.
Stevie: Which was February?
Interviewer: I think it was late January maybe?
Stevie: I don't know, because I left for Maui on the fourth of February. So it was, had to be more like... I think it was like the 26th of January. Somewhere at MusiCares or somewhere in that...
Interviewer: Right. And prior to that, you thought the tour was going to be with Lindsey?
Mick: Well, we didn't...
Christine: Yes.
Mick: ...know we had a tour. That was, is, part of the problem in terms of where it became a total impasse. The four of us had to come to a decision where we planned to be doing a large, huge, lovely Fleetwood Mac tour, and Lindsey, for sure, had very different opinions about when that should start. And the whole thing, without belaboring it, was percolating in a way that was not OK for the majority of the band in terms of knowing that we were going to go on tour. And he had, for whatever reasons... and Lindsey would, I'm sure, address it in terms of a project he was working on... but it's not about oh, what do you mean, why couldn't you wait, and all that stuff. We'd planned on doing what we were doing for a long, long time and the majority rules in terms of what we needed to do as a band and go forward. And it literally hit a brick wall after the show and Fleetwood Mac is no... you're sitting there, you're very conversant with the strange animal known as Fleetwood Mac.... and really, a lot of other sensibilities came into play where it just wasn't a happy situation. And we made that decision that we were going to part company.
Interviewer: So the biggest issue was scheduling the tour? Is that what happened, Stevie? [she goes on with her story]
[~ later in the interview ~]
Interviewer: And just to clarify... there seems some confusion now. Did he quit, or was he fired, or was it somewhere in between? Just how would you clarify his departure?
Mick: All of the "fired" words and the, you know... they're all ugly references as far as I'm concerned. But not to hedge around... an impasse of hitting a brick wall... there was not a happy situation for us in terms of the logistics of a functioning band. And in truth, no secret to anyone in the room, quietly, without going into... some of the things had a muscle memory of not being hugely fun. And to that purpose, we made a decision that we could not go on with Lindsey. So it's really up to people such as yourself, with, "What do you mean, you let him go?" We made a decision: "We can go on without you." That is correct.
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- Nancy
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