5 classic bands who gave a pink slip to 1 of their leading men

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https://www.guidelive.com/music/2019...sey-buckingham

Fleetwood Mac plays Dallas this week, but will we miss Lindsey*Buckingham? https://t.co/zX7c5IfZ9K pic.twitter.com/RSFzFDhVxn

— Dallas Informer (@Dallasinformer) February 5, 2019

Fleetwood Mac plays Dallas this week, but will we miss Lindsey Buckingham?

Feb. 5, 2019 1:30pm
With Thor Christensen

Getting pushed out of a band is never easy for a musician. But it's even more brutal when you were a big reason why the group got famous in the first place.

With Fleetwood Mac coming to town for the first time in decades without Lindsey Buckingham, here's a look at five classic rock and soul bands who gave a pink slip to one of their leading men.


John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham in 2009.
See Caption/Digital File_UPLOAD
Fleetwood Mac
DISMISSED: Lindsey Buckingham, in 1987 and 2018

ROLE: Co-lead singer, lead guitarist, songwriter and producer

DETAILS: In the mid-'70s, Buckingham helped transform Fleetwood Mac from a mildly successful British blues-rock act into global superstars. But he's squabbled with the other Mac members over creative control ever since. Stories differ on whether he was fired or quit. Either way, his ex-lover Stevie Nicks and the rest of the group have replaced him not once, but twice.

CURRENT STATUS: Buckingham is touring as a solo act - he played the Majestic Theatre in November - while the Big Mac are packing arenas with Crowded House's Neil Finn on vocals and Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers on guitar.

Details: Fleetwood Mac performs Thursday, Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. at American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave. $69.50 and up. ticketmaster.com.


In this file photo dated March 3, 1967, members of the rock band Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, left, Nick Mason, second from left, Syd Barrett, second from right, and Richard Wright, right, leap from the steps of EMI House in London.
/AP
Pink Floyd
DISMISSED: Syd Barrett, 1968


ROLE: Lead singer, lead guitarist and main songwriter

DETAILS: Barrett helped invent psychedelic rock, but mental health problems and chronic L.S.D. use derailed his career. While recording A Saucerful of Secrets, the band quietly replaced him with singer-guitarist David Gilmour and announced Barrett's departure a few months later.

CURRENT STATUS: Barrett quit the music biz and became a recluse before dying in 2006 at age 60. Pink Floyd became one of rock's biggest bands, but stopped touring in 1994.


This Nov. 11, 1965 photo supplied by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum shows, from left, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones on the NBC teen music show "Hullabaloo," in New York.
Bob Bonis/AP
The Rolling Stones
DISMISSED: Brian Jones, 1969

ROLE: Band founder, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist

DETAILS: Jones started the Rolling Stones and chose their name, but his drug and alcohol abuse led to a diminished role as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards began writing the group's songs and took control. Fired after the release of Beggars Banquet, Jones was replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor.

CURRENT STATUS: Jones drowned in a swimming pool at age 27, less than a month after he left the Stones. The surviving members - now in their 70s - will tour the U.S. this spring.


This 1966 file photo, provided by Gordy Recording Artists, shows "The Temptations." Clockwise from bottom left are David Ruffin, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Otis Williams, and in the center, Eddie Kendricks.
Uncredited/AP
The Temptations
DISMISSED: David Ruffin, 1968 and 1982

ROLE: Co-lead singer

DETAILS: The mournful, gospel-bred vocalist behind classics like "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," Ruffin struggled with cocaine addiction and was fired in 1968 after squabbling with band-mates and failing to turn up for a concert. He briefly rejoined the band in the '80s before the axe fell again after he missed another gig.

CURRENT STATUS: Ruffin died of a cocaine overdose in 1991 at age 50. The Temptations continue to perform, led by Otis Williams, their sole surviving original member.


Members of Black Sabbath shown in an Oct. 16, 1998 file photo taken in New York. Seated is Ozzy Osbourne. Standing from left are; Bill Ward, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler. 

JIM COOPER/AP
Black Sabbath
DISMISSED: Ozzy Osbourne, 1979

ROLE: Lead singer and co-songwriter

DETAILS: Ozzy's addiction to drugs and alcohol created dissent in the band, which replaced him with former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio.

CURRENT STATUS: After scoring solo hits like "Crazy Train" and "Mama, I'm Comin' Home," the Great Oz rejoined Sabbath in the late '90s and stayed all the way to "The End," the group's 2016/2017 farewell tour.

Thor Christensen is a Dallas writer and critic.