Brett Tuggle has died

[HomerMcvie]

I just read about it. So sad. He was such a nice guy.

[BombaySapphire3]

Just saw it too on the We stand with Lindsey Buckingham FB group I am in. Sad news.

[bombaysaffires]

Rick Springfield put it out on his official Twitter as well.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

Rick Springfield put it out on his official Twitter as well.

He always seemed like such a genuinely nice guy. Have you seen a cause? Covid?

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

He always seemed like such a genuinely nice guy. Have you seen a cause? Covid?

Nope, nothing so far. I was thinking maybe cancer... because he looked terribly frail when I saw him with LB on tv... I was trying to remember where that was... I think it was Colbert, but the video comes up as removed.

[DownOnRodeo]

I saw mention on Facebook of brain cancer.

Selfishly I'm glad Brett's final days of touring were with Lindsey, but I can't shake my sense of anger at Stevie for denying him the opportunity of going out on a bigger-scale FM tour.

Thank you, Brett, for your comradery and loyalty to Lindsey, and for being engaging with the fans--including a Ledge Q&A back in 2004.
It's sad to think that he had more years in him, but I think Brett did live life to the full.

[elle]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...-dead-1370965/

JUNE 20, 2022 1:00PM ET
Brett Tuggle, Fleetwood Mac and David Lee Roth Band Keyboardist, Dead at 70

He spent 20 years on the road with Fleetwood Mac, and also co-wrote the 1988 David Lee Roth hit “Just Like Paradise”

By ANDY GREENE

Brett Tuggle performs onstage during the 'Music Strong' benefit concert at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on February 10, 2019 in Thousand Oaks, California.Brett Tuggle performs onstage during the 'Music Strong' benefit concert at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on February 10, 2019 in Thousand Oaks, California.
Brett Tuggle performs onstage during the 'Music Strong' benefit concert at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on February 10, 2019 in Thousand Oaks, California.

Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Brett Tuggle, a journeyman keyboardist who logged two decades in Fleetwood Mac during their reunion era and also served as a founding member of the David Lee Roth Band in the Eighties, died June 19 from complications related to cancer. He was 70.

Tuggle’s son Matt confirmed his death to Rolling Stone. “He was loved by his family so much,” Matt says. “His family was with him throughout the entire time of his illness. He was a lovely father. He gave me music in my life.”

Over the course of his long career, Tuggle also played with Jimmy Page, Rick Springfield, David Coverdale, John Kay and Steppenwolf, Styx’s Tommy Shaw, and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. During his tenure with David Lee Roth, he co-wrote the 1988 hit “Just Like Paradise.”

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“Our sweet Brett Tuggle made it home tonight,” Rick Springfield wrote on Twitter. “God bless his beautiful spirit.”

Tuggle entered the world of Fleetwood Mac in 1992 when he landed a gig with Mick Fleetwood’s side project the Zoo and remained in the band’s orbit through Lindsey Buckingham’s solo tour late last year. He played keyboards on every Fleetwood Mac tour from 1997 to 2017, and also gigged extensively with Stevie Nicks, Buckingham, and Buckingham McVie.

“This guy is just a master,” Buckingham said of Tuggle while introducing his band at Washington DC’s Warner Theater on September 14, 2021. “He is a superb keyboardist, bassist, guitarist, singer. And he also brings so much clarity and integrity. There’s no way in the world we could do this [show] without him. We’ve never been able to do it without him, nor could we in the future. We love him to death.”

Tuggle grew up in Denver, Colorado and loved rock music from a very young age. “Like everyone else in the country, we got sucked in by the surf scene,” he told Rolling Stone in 2020 when he was featured in our Unknown Legends interview series. “The Beach Boys were a huge influence in junior high. I got sucked into the harmony thing with them. And like everybody else, pretty much, I saw the Beatles on TV and things were never the same.”

Inspired by Steve Winwood’s work in the Spencer Davis Group, Tuggle began playing keyboards as a teenager. He landed his first professional gig in 1970 when he was hired by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels for a tour and to work on their LP Detroit. He only stayed in the band for a year and a half, struggling to find steady work in subsequent years. But in 1981, he was recruited by John Kay and Steppenwolf to play keyboards on their world tour. In 1982, he teamed up with Springfield right after “Jessie’s Girl” broke.

“I’ll never forget walking out onto the stage at this auditorium in Sacramento [for our first show],” Tuggle told Rolling Stone. “The noise was like a jet engine. It was unbelievable. It was kind of scary, it was so loud. It was such hysteria. I’d look down at the audience and these little girls were going ape over this guy, just completely losing it.”

Tuggle spent three years on the road with Springfield, and later toured briefly with Tommy Shaw and Belinda Carlisle. In 1986, David Lee Roth hired him to play on his Eat ‘Em And Smile tour — his first trek since leaving Van Halen — alongside guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Gregg Bissonette. “There was a lot of bad blood in the press between the two camps and it got very heated,” Tuggle recalled. “We had security guards when we went places.”

When the tour ended, Tuggle sat down at his home keyboard and came up with the music that Roth eventually fleshed out into his 1988 hit “Just Like Paradise.” It peaked at Number Six on the Hot 100. The only time Roth had a more successful solo single came in 1985 with his cover of “California Girls.”

Tuggle continued to play with Roth through 1994, though he did take a break in 1993 to accompany David Coverdale and Jimmy Page on their Japanese tour that year. Shortly before that, he cut an album with Mick Fleetwood’s side project the Zoo. And when the Rumours lineup of Fleetwood Mac reformed in 1997, he was asked to be a part of their world tour. He divided up the keyboard work with Christine McVie. “Basically, we shared them because Christine had to sing,” he told Rolling Stone. “She’d play her main keyboard part on either the piano or the organ. I did all the colors and synthesizers and other stuff. There were so many parts on things, so it was really easy.”

His role grew when McVie left the band following the tour, and he also started joining Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham on their solo outings. That arrangement, however, inevitably led to some scheduling conflicts. “It came to a point where Stevie said, ‘You’re going to have to decide,'” Tuggle recalled. “I said, ‘You know, Stevie, I love playing with you. I support you. But Lindsey doesn’t have a band.’ She said, ‘I know he needs good people.’ She seemed to be OK with it when I went off to do Lindsey’s thing. But think in the end, she looked at me a little as abandoning her and going over to Lindsey’s camp.”

Buckingham kept Tuggle busy over the last 15 years with both solo work and the Buckingham McVie offshoot band. But when Fleetwood Mac parted ways with Buckingham in 2018, Tuggle didn’t last longer than a single rehearsal with the new lineup in Hawaii.

“I was really shocked when I got the call that they weren’t going to use me,” Tuggle told Rolling Stone. “I also realized that I was in the middle of the politics of Lindsey and Stevie and this band and there was nothing I was going to be able to do about it. I had become Lindsey’s guy and that was it and I had to accept it. There was nothing else I could do.”

Tuggle toured with Buckingham in 2021, but was absent when the tour started back up in April. “I do want to mention the gentleman who is noticeably absent from the stage tonight,” Buckingham told the crowd at the tour opener in San Francisco on April 5. “Mr. Brett Tuggle is having a little bit of an health problem. Hopefully he’ll be back for the next show, whatever it takes. We missed him tonight.”

In This Article: David Lee Roth, Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham

[michelej1]

It was inevitable, but still so heartbreaking. I am glad he was touring until the end because that’s obviously the way he wanted it.

[elle]

obituary from the Times shared by one of our own (thanks so much nodmod!) - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=...40942580790037

also, some many other band and crew members shared social media posts, some examples:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jimmy Paxson (@jimmypaxson)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Walfredo Reyes Jr. (@walfredoreyesjr)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Taku Hirano �������� (@takuhirano)

[moon]

So sad to read this...It comes in a very special moment in my life too, so I take it very very sadly...
As for what I knew, Brett was a very close man to Lindsey, I remember always the little band with Neale, Taku and him, only four musicians and they made incredible things!! How they rocked it!!
As Lindsey said, he was a very complete musician, and we always saw it on stage, with Lindsey, with Stevie Nicks, with Fleetwood Mac.
Still can't believe it, and I guess I already won't.
My love to his family, and of course to the whole FM family. What a great man he was!
RIP Brett.

[elle]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lindsey Buckingham (@lindseybuckingham)

[WalkAThinLine.]

Rick Springfield dedicated a segment to Brett Tuggle on Sirius XM's 80s on 8, where Springfield played songs by bands Tuggle played with (David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Steve Lukather [they played a Toto track instead], Steven Tyler, and Springfield himself). I only caught 30 minutes of the segment, and surprisingly didn't hear them play a Fleetwood Mac song. Springfield was also very complimentary of Tuggle, placing special emphasis on his vocals, even comparing them to Paul McCartney's at one point.

[John Run]

I wasn't sure if Lindsey would make a social media post about Brett's passing. Lindsey has seemingly been reluctant to use social media when it comes to his personals life, particularly regarding family and friends. It was nice to read and it was written succinctly without using any Lindseyisms. I believe he is the only member of Fleetwood Mac to publicly acknowledge Brett's death.

As for who may replace him on a Lindsey tour, my inclination is that he won't be replaced. Mike Kianka can always add one more Keyboard to his rig. We all know technology can sub for players, so much of the instrumental parts he was responsible for will continue to be heard. I actually think where he will be missed most, links back to what Rick Springfield mentioned. Brett was a very good singer and his high range sang above and / or fattened Lindsey's leads a lot in both FM and solo performances. Let's face it, one less touring musician also reduces the costs, especially when taking the show overseas. J

[TrueFaith77]

I’ve skipped a lot of live Mac related stuff in the last decade. Really glad now I was able to see Brett in his last tour with Lindsey. The tour supported a beautiful album, and it demonstrated the beauty of loyalty. Really sorry to hear this, for me me as a fan, for Brett and his loved ones, for Lindsey, and for those here who knew him or appreciated him.

As for Stevie, this just really brings home the finality of her decisions.

Let’s pray for redemption.

[Storms123]

Originally Posted by TrueFaith77

I’ve skipped a lot of live Mac related stuff in the last decade. Really glad now I was able to see Brett in his last tour with Lindsey. The tour supported a beautiful album, and it demonstrated the beauty of loyalty. Really sorry to hear this, for me me as a fan, for Brett and his loved ones, for Lindsey, and for those here who knew him or appreciated him.

As for Stevie, this just really brings home the finality of her decisions.

Let’s pray for redemption.

Hoping to see something said about this fine gentleman by someone from FM--RIP Brett. Thoroughly enjoyed our brief "chat" in NY last year.