Why didn't FM sue Lindsey when he left them in 1987?

[Feather Blade]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Because he WILLINGLY left.

Yes, but breach of contract on a tour would still be an issue. I believe that is the point bwboy is making.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by Feather Blade

Yes, but breach of contract on a tour would still be an issue. I believe that is the point bwboy is making.

I don't think we were quite as litigious back then. I'm sure they would NOW.

[Feather Blade]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

I don't think we were quite as litigious back then. I'm sure they would NOW.

I agree with you on that. As a society we do seem to have become litigious in general. Bad news for everyone but the lawyers.

[bwboy]

Yes, he left willingly, but his decision could have cost the rest of the band millions of dollars... when you thnk about it, it's pretty incredible how quickly FM was able to replace Lindsey. If I recall, they had at least 8 weeks of dates committed for the tour that Lindsey had agreed to, and then he dropped out. And I'm not saying he was wrong to do so, but that's what happened.

Yeah, a lot of laundry is going to be washed in the public, but FM is definitely going to bring what he did in 1987 up. They're going to say they figured Lindsey was going to do in 2018 what he did in 1987, so they just beat him to the punch. The fact that he asked for a few months extension or whatever will likely lend credence to their defense.

[FuzzyPlum]

It's hard to imagine them being bigger b******s than they are now, but if they'd sued him in 87 it would have been really sh!tty. Lindsey had just spent a couple of years crafting an album for them. This dragged Mick out of a financial mess. He endured a bunch of drugged up a$$holes and with Stevie's contributions literally polished a turd. I can imagine them being annoyed but I'd like to think they owed him a lot and deep down respected what he'd done for them.

[dreamsunwind]

Because they were all too drunk/high/stoned/bankrupt to pull themselves together enough to sue someone?

[rhiannondontgo]

Because they preferred to just be productive and move on with their careers rather than get tied up in pointless legal drama. Maybe LB should take notes.

[dontlookdown]

Originally Posted by Feather Blade

Yes, but breach of contract on a tour would still be an issue. I believe that is the point bwboy is making.

He quit the band before tour plans were made. There were no dates set when he left in ‘87.

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by dontlookdown

He quit the band before tour plans were made. There were no dates set when he left in ‘87.

I'm not sure that can be the case. Didn't Stevie say something along the lines of 'That's so unprofessional. You just don't do that to promoters'
or something along those lines. Wouldn't that have suggested dates had already been lined up?

[paleshadow]

Originally Posted by dontlookdown

He quit the band before tour plans were made. There were no dates set when he left in ‘87.

I'm not positive since it was so long ago and I was only 16, but I think I already had tickets for a show in Boston when they had the press conference announcing he had left. I kind of remember freaking out that the tour would be cancelled. Again, can't rely on my memory anymore.

[NotonRodeo]

I may be mistaken, but didn't Mick emphatically write in one of his books that Lindsey did not leave voluntarily in 1987, he was fired? (That was the same book in which I read Lindsey called the Goat Queen a "schizophrenic bitch", and things got ugly from there. Truth hurts ) I also recall a joke that John told Lindsey to leave, and Lindsey took it to mean he was being told to leave the band, whereas John was merely asking him to leave the house. Of course Mick may have been his mendacious self, and everyone seems to have revised history to say that Lindsey voluntarily left in 1987, but who knows with this band.

So if he was fired, he could not be sued for not participating in the tour, since he was unable to perform his obligations because he was no longer in the band. Again, I may be mistaken, but these things stick in my mind, though don't ask me what I had for dinner two days ago

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by NotonRodeo

I may be mistaken, but didn't Mick emphatically write in one of his books that Lindsey did not leave voluntarily in 1987, he was fired? (That was the same book in which I read Lindsey called the Goat Queen a "schizophrenic bitch", and things got ugly from there. Truth hurts ) I also recall a joke that John told Lindsey to leave, and Lindsey took it to mean he was being told to leave the band, whereas John was merely asking him to leave the house. Of course Mick may have been his mendacious self, and everyone seems to have revised history to say that Lindsey voluntarily left in 1987, but who knows with this band.

So if he was fired, he could not be sued for not participating in the tour, since he was unable to perform his obligations because he was no longer in the band. Again, I may be mistaken, but these things stick in my mind, though don't ask me what I had for dinner two days ago

The blowout in 1987 at Christine’s house started because Lindsey told them he wasn’t going to do the tour. But, it was pretty clear from his interviews at the time that he was leaving.

[David]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

The blowout in 1987 at Christine’s house started because Lindsey told them he wasn’t going to do the tour. But, it was pretty clear from his interviews at the time that he was leaving.

I agree with the reason you give for the blowout, but I disagree that Lindsey's departure was "clear." (If his imminent departure was clear, there wouldn't have been a blowout.) I was a Machead in 1987, very avidly following the band's every reported move and very tuned in to the Fleetwood Mac zeitgeist. In the media, Lindsey was coming across as torn—emotionally ambivalent. You knew there was something wrong, but some of it seemed very similar to the stretch of time after Mirage, too, with everyone in the group retreating to separate corners. At the Get Tough on Toxics concert the previous August, it was already obvious there was trouble in paradise—a Lindsey set and a Stevie set (with Mick) that were totally separated in time, space, and spirit, allayed somewhat by Lindsey's own words about the album being almost finished and a "healing" thing for the group. I was there that night. Everybody thought it odd that Mick Fleetwood (for God's sake) wasn't playing drums for I'm So Afraid.

The night Lindsey's departure was publicized on MTV—sometime in August 1987—the channel premiered the Little Lies video. ALL the fans thought the video symbolized or foreshadowed the break.

That summer, Lindsey never told the press flat out, "I'm leaving." He told the press, "Who knows? I may leave. I have solo recording plans and that's where my focus is now. I'm not really concerned about Fleetwood Mac's plans." It was just like what we'd been hearing from various band members after the 1980 tour and again after the 1982 album. The first half of the Eighties were spent wondering whether the band was still a band. That sensation never diminished. I distinctly recall it.

[Macfan4life]

Lindsey never fully committed to tour in 1987. Some of the promoters were busy planning and expecting a tour. You cant set up a tour at the last minute. I clearly remember listening to a Fleetwood Mac radio Tango in the Night promotion. It was a 2 hour promo with interview with all the band members. Big Love was just released as a single. Lindsey was asked directly about a tour and he said something like "there are no plans yet but there is silence on this issue. Then he laughingly said I don't know what that silence means so its possible."
To sue someone civilly you must claim damages. What would be Fleetwood Mac's damages? Lets be real, the band did not pay Rick and Billy as much as they would Lindsey. In addition, the "Shake the Cage Tour" was quite extensive. I don't think Lindsey would have agreed to such a long world tour. Long story short, the band made more money than if Lindsey stayed. Lindsey would have responded to their complaint with plenty of ammo. Mick bought drugs in his driveway while recording Tango. Stevie was such a mess. He did not want to be around the substance abusers.
I really doubt the band wanted this openly discussed in the public. Most important. Its really hard if not impossible to keep someone in a band they no longer want to be a part of. Even Mick admits that one reason Lindsey did Tango was to help Mick get out of bankruptcy and legacy for the band. He sacrificed his own solo album for Fleetwood Mac. Lindsey lost millions of dollars for not touring in 1987-1988. His sanity was worth more than money.
There was no contract to tour. The band had no damages. The band was grateful for Lindsey turning his solo album into a hit Mac album.
Tango In the Night recordings: Hadn't Lindsey suffered enough

[David]

Originally Posted by NotonRodeo

I may be mistaken, but didn't Mick emphatically write in one of his books that Lindsey did not leave voluntarily in 1987, he was fired? (That was the same book in which I read Lindsey called the Goat Queen a "schizophrenic bitch", and things got ugly from there. Truth hurts ) I also recall a joke that John told Lindsey to leave, and Lindsey took it to mean he was being told to leave the band, whereas John was merely asking him to leave the house. Of course Mick may have been his mendacious self, and everyone seems to have revised history to say that Lindsey voluntarily left in 1987, but who knows with this band.

Lots of different takes floating around on that one. Mick's book (My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac) wasn't published until 1990. But tons of articles from 1987 to 1989 painted a varying picture. Remember the Musician cover story by Timothy White in 1989? When Lindsey left the band in 1987, he specifically left because he finally decided he didn't want to tour. Unfortunately for everybody, he made that final decision after dates had been booked and the whole machine set into motion. Did Lindsey believe that the band would cancel the tour or find new blood and do the tour? I think it was the former. He was not expecting the addition of replacement members (replacements for him) until it happened. Earlier in the year, he knew that Burnette might join the touring band, but not as Lindsey's own replacement. In those days, you could say "I'm done with Fleetwood Mac," but not really mean it permanently.