Lindsey was fired. RIP Fleetwood Mac.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by rhiannondontgo

Jeez, some of you guys make it sound like Stevie is the wicked witch of the west hatching some evil plot to ruin poor lindsey’s life for no reason. Nobody woke up and randomly said “hey Lindsey, you’re fired because we’re sick of you”. Stevie & Mick aren’t dumb. They both live for money and attention and they know full well that the full rumours line up is what gets them the most of both those things, so neither would ever prefer to tour with the band incomplete.
Meanwhile they had this tour pre-planned and scheduled. I’ve heard from a few sources that there were even contracts already signed and in place. And he pulled out last minute, just like he did in 1987. Sure Stevie has delayed lots of stuff, but warning your band a year in advance that you want to delay a hypothetical tour is very different from signing on for a preplanned tour and then trying to pull out in the 11th hour. I’m sure they put forth every bit of effort to try to get him back on board. If he chose to continue being the hold-out and the rest of the band grew tired of fighting him on it, then his absence is his own fault. There’s a difference between a band spitefully firing somebody for no reason and a band deciding to continue with their plans despite one member’s absence.
If your argument is that you think they should’ve just broken up or that they shouldn’t call the new incarnation “Fleetwood Mac”, I can understand that. But demonizing & attacking the rest of the band while making Lindsey out to be a completely innocent victim with no complicity is ridiculous IMO.

BUT, the story that's out there is actually that STEVIE was the one who issued an ultimatum-- "it's either me or him"-- to the band, not Lindsey.

[guillamene]

Originally Posted by elle

starting a clean slate, because it seems that new people keep coming out of the woodwork asking why he "left" every few seconds. some people don't want to accept the sad truth that the band he made huge fashioning its music for the last 43 years betrayed one of their own, a family member.

Lindsey's kids are on the internet very clearly saying - he was fired. and that FM is not FM without him, and how proud of him they are.
his brother is out there too, saying the same.
his wife's IG is sporting #teamlindsey hashtag.

news outlets confirmed that he was fired by the band insiders who don't want their names out there, but want the truth to be known. Rolling Stone and Variety are not gossip rags that put out there some unconfirmed gossip. Billy's leaks pulled the trigger before Fm was ready.

i can't help but wonder what's going on behind the scenes. there is a lot of buzz that Lindsey was fighting it legally, but who knows. not clear whether he's fighting to stay in the band or just suing the pants out of them. i understand all my friends who are FM fans first and are sad that the band's longest and most successful incarnation is dead (and properly moved to post-rumours forum here), and want him back. ii did sign and amplified all the various petitions from people wanting him back. but i can't help thinking how betrayed he must feel by the people he considered family, and that he probably doesn't want to see them for a while now. as far as the band members, Stevie, i'm just sad for. she must be a very unhappy person. but mostly i'm disgusted with Mick. and his cold statement cements it and is lower than low.

from all the backlash, maybe their tour will bomb badly. wouldn't that be karmic considering that they fired him because of money, ie pretty rational calculation that FM minus Lindsey would make more money than FM minus Stevie? most general social media comments are laughing at the complete craziness and yet another post-success chimera version of the band. i think with this move they made sure there will be movies made about FM.

Now that the dust is beginning to settle, this is one of the most sensible observations I've read on this mess.Three random thoughts over the past few days:
1.You cannot compare this with 1987 - the 1987 tour was the first in five years and was a virtual comeback. It was successful because it was on the back of TITN and we had 4 tango songs/singles in the set.
2. I listened to the Toronto show from Unleashed tour 2009 yesterday (in 'memory'of LB) and was struck by how good it was with just him and SN.
3. When I first listened to the UK edition of 'The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac' from 2002 -which contained Peter Green era hits, I remember being struck by the sense of a common thread going through ALL of the songs on this collection, despite them being two very different incarnations of the band.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

BUT, the story that's out there is actually that STEVIE was the one who issued an ultimatum-- "it's either me or him"-- to the band, not Lindsey.

Because Lindsey couldn't/wouldn't have said that.

They know which side their bread is buttered on.

[elle]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

BUT, the story that's out there is actually that STEVIE was the one who issued an ultimatum-- "it's either me or him"-- to the band, not Lindsey.

Yup. The story this Rhiannon person wrote is the one circulated on Stevie only fans boards, I hear. That’s the story this newest version of post/FM WANTED out there - saying they parted ways makes it look like they are martyrs and are covering for Lindsey letting them down right before the booked tour once again. He was always an a**hole, that story goes. Public would be on their side in that scenario.

But the truth came out because enough people had Lindsey’s back and spoke the truth. Guess he must not be as bad as some are trying to portray him if people have his back so much! Some radio stations are reporting that the band is furious!!

The only positive spin they are getting is their own statements and SN fan boards.

[bombaysaffires]

hmmm... so any response countering the claim that comments about Stevie qualify as "misogynistic" have been removed by mods and/or moved to the 'hot topics' thread so they will be lost. Interesting.

[bwboy]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

BUT, the story that's out there is actually that STEVIE was the one who issued an ultimatum-- "it's either me or him"-- to the band, not Lindsey.

That is a rumor, being passed as fact. It seems to validate a few people's feelings on this board. I'll just wait until Lindsey talks before I spread misinformation. I really want to hear his version of what went down and he has no reason to stay silent. Well, there would be only one reason he would keep silent.

[secondhandchain]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

BUT, the story that's out there is actually that STEVIE was the one who issued an ultimatum-- "it's either me or him"-- to the band, not Lindsey.

Ironic isn’t it? Back in the day Lindsey said it’s either both of us or I can join the band. She sucks.

[SisterNightroad]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

hmmm... so any response countering the claim that comments about Stevie qualify as "misogynistic" have been removed by mods and/or moved to the 'hot topics' thread so they will be lost. Interesting.

I moved that on the Hot Topics thread where it belongs and also responded to it, if anyone simply makes the effort to click either on the redirecting link here in the Rumours board or even directly on the Chit Chat link they'll simply find it there.

[elle]

Originally Posted by bwboy

That is a rumor, being passed as fact. It seems to validate a few people's feelings on this board. I'll just wait until Lindsey talks before I spread misinformation. I really want to hear his version of what went down and he has no reason to stay silent. Well, there would be only one reason he would keep silent.

Nope that was first publicly reported by that Tom Petty insider who got raked over the coals for the whole report. Most stuff that he reported was confirmed since so i’d call this a bit more than a made up rumor.

I don’t see Lindsey talking any times soon. First he is usually pretty classy about not dumping really low stuff in the interviews, and second if he’s suing them and there is some kind of settlement I have no doubt he won’t be allowed to as one of the clauses of the settlement. I hear FM is already fuming with the way reactions are all on his side so far, they would not willingly allow him to add to that by confirming it’s all true.

[dontlookdown]

Originally Posted by Lola

You sound like my sig other--he's trying to help me with gentle reminders that nobody died. He means it seriously like wouldn't it be worse if one of the members had died.

Exactly. And what the Heartbreakers just went through is a close reminder.
I’m honestly gutted with what happened given how long Ive been a fan; but the shows have gotten a little paint-by-numbers lately. And as much as I loved the idea of a farewell tour, the
setlist would have been constructed in our sleep. And I’m not interested in seeing them phone in performances anymore.
So at least this is something different, and Lindsey will be missed.
But Mike is always shockingly good. And has been for decades.

[rhiannondontgo]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

BUT, the story that's out there is actually that STEVIE was the one who issued an ultimatum-- "it's either me or him"-- to the band, not Lindsey.

I’m in no way disillusioned here. I don’t doubt that she issued that final ultimatum but my point is, she did not wake up and say “hey let’s break up the band today and ruin LB’s life for sh*ts & giggles”. She may not always like him but she knows full well that keeping the whole band together is the best thing to do financially, creatively, and for PR purposes. They all know that. So sh*t really had to hit the fan to get 4/5 FM members to just give up and move on without such a vital part of the band. While none of us actually know what the final fight was that caused them to actually go through with something this drastic, it’s been said by multiple people that the drama was sparked by LB wanting to postpone the upcoming FM tour to focus on his solo project. Which is backed up by the fact that he is indeed in the studio currently working on his solo album. Clearly that’s not the whole cause because if it was, they’d just announce that Lindsey won’t be joining them on this specific tour due to scheduling conflicts. Instead they came out and said flat-out that LB is no longer in the band and that it’s “final” and “firm”, leading me to believe that the disagreement ended up becoming far deeper and more personal than just the schedule issue. I assume the ensuing argument over the schedule started an even bigger fight and all the lingering resentment and bitterness just came to a head.
Either way, I don’t believe that any one band member is entirely at fault and I fail to see any possible scenario where LB isn’t somewhat complicit in the drama that lead up to this. There’s no “hero” or “villain” here. There’s 5 very imperfect, petty, difficult people who constantly make each other miserable and have never been able to fully co-exist peacefully. This situation sucks but if they can’t tour all together, they can’t tour all together. I’m not going to tell them to break up. There’s still lots of fans that love the girls and while it’s not preferential, would still rather see 4/5 members than never see them again.

[mitzo]

Maybe Lindsey really crossed the line, by getting physically aggressive. It has happened before. That would get him kicked out, surely.

[Frankenstein]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

Back in 1980 blah blah blah MEEEEEE blah blah blah TOM blah blah blah MEEEEEEEEEEEEE lbhalbhalbhalbhalbh MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE $$

4 minutes later... SO THIS SONG IS ABOUT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE....

Stevie when asked about the firing: “If Tom were here, he would say ‘Stevie, I’m so proud of you. This pain with Lindsey’s gone on too long. Go and write some real songs, and don’t buy that doll.’ I know he’s looking down on all of us and smiling.”

[dontlookdown]

Read Mike Campbell’s statement on Tom Petty official Instagram account.
It makes it hurt a little bit less.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by rhiannondontgo

I’m in no way disillusioned here. I don’t doubt that she issued that final ultimatum but my point is, she did not wake up and say “hey let’s break up the band today and ruin LB’s life for sh*ts & giggles”. She may not always like him but she knows full well that keeping the whole band together is the best thing to do financially, creatively, and for PR purposes. They all know that. So sh*t really had to hit the fan to get 4/5 FM members to just give up and move on without such a vital part of the band. While none of us actually know what the final fight was that caused them to actually go through with something this drastic, it’s been said by multiple people that the drama was sparked by LB wanting to postpone the upcoming FM tour to focus on his solo project. Which is backed up by the fact that he is indeed in the studio currently working on his solo album. Clearly that’s not the whole cause because if it was, they’d just announce that Lindsey won’t be joining them on this specific tour due to scheduling conflicts. Instead they came out and said flat-out that LB is no longer in the band and that it’s “final” and “firm”, leading me to believe that the disagreement ended up becoming far deeper and more personal than just the schedule issue. I assume the ensuing argument over the schedule started an even bigger fight and all the lingering resentment and bitterness just came to a head.
Either way, I don’t believe that any one band member is entirely at fault and I fail to see any possible scenario where LB isn’t somewhat complicit in the drama that lead up to this. There’s no “hero” or “villain” here. There’s 5 very imperfect, petty, difficult people who constantly make each other miserable and have never been able to fully co-exist peacefully. This situation sucks but if they can’t tour all together, they can’t tour all together. I’m not going to tell them to break up. There’s still lots of fans that love the girls and while it’s not preferential, would still rather see 4/5 members than never see them again.

This.

Nobody died, here.

Lindsey was visibly unhappy with Fleetwood Mac (or at least Stevie), and all but said as much. And let’s be honest, many of his fans have stated that they’d rather see Lindsey do a solo tour than another cash grab tour.

As for the new lineup, I can’t imagine better additions. Yeah, I’d rather have had the classic lineup, but I can’t argue the merits of the new guys. I’d go see any band with them. Glad it’s Fleetwood Mac.

Personally, I was over the LB-SN drama a long time ago and had written off the band unless Christine returned. Hopefully, that drama gets even further buried.