Buckingham Sues Fleetwood Mac - Our Thoughts
 

While looking for Youtube songs from the current tour, I happened upon these two dudes giving their take on the latest drama. Aside from looking like stereotypical aging rock star fans at a show, I thought they had some good insight.
I also found the full Buckingham Nicks album as I was going down the Fleetwood Mac rabbit hole last night. It made me sad to hear the album knowing what we know now.
It also made me realize we'll never see these two sing together again.
End of an era -- I wish I had gone to more shows over the last few tours. I sat them out because I knew I'd go this year.

This biggest take away from all of this:
It was a ****ty thing for the band to do to Buckingham. A simple **** You on their part, but it feels like they didn't think about the fan's perspective when they made their decision.
And of course there are two sides to this story, but whatever it was, Lindsey didn't deserve to be hung out to dry in front of the whole world to see.
I've never known of this level of immaturity amongst 70 year olds. But I suppose emotional maturity can't be measured by age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1kHeix-55c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxNwrSArMvE

A lot of great points here. Totally agree. And I don't think Stevie or Lindsey would disagree how great their harmonies sound together. Saddens me we will never hear it again. Most of this situation saddens me actually.

The saddest part is that they're TOO STUPID AND NEAR SIGHTED to see that they completely RUINED the legendary legacy that they were previously leaving.

$tevie's ego be damned. It's all over now. #stupidf*ckers #allofthem

Frozen Love came up on my iPod mix today. I will never get to hear it live in my life. (not that they could probably sing it nowadays vocally anyway, but still).



It may be hard to keep up with me
But I'll always be able to reach you....

And if you go forward
I'll meet you there
And if you climb up
though the cold, freezing air
Look down below you
Search out above
Cry out to life
For a frozen love

Agreed. Honestly though they could have been so much more than they were if they had just had their **** together from the start.

1. If the band stopped getting high and drunk all the time we'd have so much more released live footage of them from all eras. Instead we have drunken and poorly rehearsed footage from the Tusk and Mirage eras and some fake nonsense from 1987.

2. If the band stopped fighting for 8 seconds maybe we'd have some better music videos instead of just Gypsy, Seven Wonders, and..... Big Love?

3. If the band had supported Lindsey after Tusk maybe his Mirage songs wouldn't be so subpar (sorry to the fans, I love Eyes of the World and all but you can't argue it's his strongest material by any means)

4. If the band hadn't been such assholes on the Mirage tour towards each other and caused a hiatus we'd have some truly killer 80s albums.

5. If Stevie stopped partying for 8 seconds and focused on her writing and we'd have some killer material from her instead of nonsense like The Nightmare, random covers like Cry Wolf, or phoned in pop songs like If I Were You.

6. If Stevie had stopped running around the world and getting drunk in the studio Tango in the Night could have been one of the best pop albums of the 80s.

7. If the band just let Billy and Rick do their thing on Behind the Mask we might have had an interesting album instead of them guesting on subpar songs like When it Comes to Love or Love is Dangerous.

8. If Stevie didn't get addicted to benzos her material and live performances after the realse of TOSOTM and BTM would have been infinitely stronger.

9. If Chris had actually tried with her 1984 album it could have been great (The Smile I Live For) as opposed to bland as bread (I'm the One, The Challenge)

10. If the band was more confident in their non-Rumours material their live sets could have been so interesting. Imagine just a recorded show ala "The Dance" playing Tusk from beginning to end. Other bands do stuff like this to celebrate the material!

11. If Lindsey hadn't dominated the Say You Will album and Stevie was more willing to collaborate the production may have been more balanced and the tour less heated.

12. If Chris had more passion for her songs she might have pushed for more interesting material in her live sets

13. If Lindsey and the others hadn't been as dismissive of Stevie's solo career she might not have just gave them her leftover songs (Welcome to the Room Sara, Juliet, Affairs of the Heart?)

14. If they could all get off their egos the 2000s could have been a great decade for all involved.

Sorry if that post was kinda negative, but it just seems like FMAC could have been so much bigger than they were if they just stopped being children for a second.

number 9. Shows what Lindsey did for Chris's songs. Her solo album was good and boy can she write a hook, but imagine if it had a little Lindsey edge to it and she had hired a LB like producer?

YES! She is a very good hooky songwriter. She just needs a good producer to put her songs over the top.

Lindsey was probably always the best producer for both her and Old Goat Breath. He had the feel for both of their songs...he knew how to make them stand out.

Gee, it's a damned shame they f*cked that up.

I'm beginning to wonder if some of the remaining members of Fleetwood Mac are not already in their second childhoods. It is difficult to to ascertain what else could account for such extremely childish and emotionally immature behavior,

I agree with every word of this. The more I read the articles, the stronger I feel about this disgrace.

All of this. Especially the late 80’s/early 90’s Stevie but. TOSOTM concert was a massive snooze fest, with Stevie walking off stage at the end of every song just to come back out to long intros and phone in another one.

Unfortunately that is evident in the exchanges that have been happening on this site as of late.

:rolleyes:Hi there, pot! :wavey:

You must have the wrong person.

That's what pots always say.

LOL. That's true, but only kettles feel the need to point it out.

TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE!!!!:lol:

If Lindsey feels FM owes him financially for this tour he should have been a part of, I wish him the best in winning his case. I do feel when he shared with Rolling Stone magazine a portion of Stevie's list of grievances spoken to him via Irving Azoff, he should have been straight forward with the magazine and said everything that was on the list. There has to be some huge way LB effed up in order to get canned. At least I hope there was something HUGE he did cause that could justify his firing in my mind. I doubt we will ever be told the truth.
When one gets fired from a job in real life the employer is not legally allowed to reveal to anyone else the reason. This is most likely why FM cannot tell us the truth. Also in real life when you get fired from a job it is perfectly normal unfortunately to then receive the cold shoulder by people you worked with who you thought were your friend's. I know that awful feeling from personal experience.
When you have a man and a woman or 2 men or 2 women as a couple and you are friend's with both and they end up getting a divorce, should we have to choose a side or can we be friendly with both? In that aspect I must tell you I was furious with Stevie, Mick and Christine for the way they treated Lindsey. I was also furious how those 3 destroyed MY Fleetwood Mac. It so felt like 1987 all over again. I couldn't even listen to their music for 2 solid months. But then I decided I did not want to revel in my anger and that is when I decided to forgive the 3. It really is none of my business why they chose to do what they did and at this point I am thrilled to see FM on the road and performing the song set they have chosen for this tour.

Fleetwood Mac damaged Lindsey by firing him and not letting him go on a tour that Christine said a year ago "the tour is planned and everyone has signed on the dotted line and will definitely happen."
The cold war between Stevie and Lindsey just eventually exploded. Stevie has enough power to give the ultimatum - its me or him.
IMHO the reason Stevie changed in this cold war and started acting out is because of Buckingham/McVie. When Lindsey and the rest of the band recorded without her and toured together drove her insane. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. This is why something like a smirk led her to officially come out against Lindsey.

If this is the case, then Stevie would be piss#d with Christine for making an album and going on the road with Lindsey & the rest of the band for that matter. As they all played on Buckingham/ McVIE .. :shrug: As far as i know, there's been no bitterness mentioned between the other 3 band members..

Fancy smirking....

Maybe he did it on purpose.
He knows she’s never going to record with him again.
But he enjoys recording, still has artistic needs and they are not fulfilled by touring alone.

So, he doesn’t have to tour, but WILL get a payout...
And great publicity for his Anthology Album...

Just a thought..

Stevie's feelings for Lindsey are much deeper than they are for anyone else in the band. Imagine if you found out your best friend was talking behind your back as opposed to a co-worker? It would probably upset your more. She lashes out at Lindsey more because of this, which is unfair for sure, but I don't think uncommon when it comes to relationships.

Yeah, but $he already hated Lindsey. That's the difference.

Her walls were already flaming:rolleyes: when he smirkingly threw gas on them.

She never had any feelings other than friendship for Christine. :rolleyes:

And I honestly don't think that friendship exists anymore. Not after what Stevie did to Lindsey. :angel:

I am really curious as to the inner workings of the remaining 4 now. Christine's body language and comments during the CBS interview make me think she's less than pleased, although that may have changed? I could see Chris and John just distancing themselves from the whole thing, everyone else, showing up to play and then heading back to the hotel.
Of course it's fun to speculate. We will never know I guess.

well, one of their side players says very clearly what the inner workings are in this article posted by someone in the present band forum. http://m.startribune.com/twin-cities...mac/497968671/

Per him, Stevie is the boss. She and Mick make the decisions, the others are consulted. Read it and weep.



He hasn’t ridden on the private jet yet. But Twin cities keyboardist Ricky Peterson is on quite a ride playing with Fleetwood Mac.

His first gig with the band was for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in September. Then came the iHeart Radio Festival. Now there’s the 50-city tour, arriving Monday in St. Paul.

“This is wonderful, man,” he said recently from his room at Chicago’s posh Ritz-Carlton hotel overlooking Lake Michigan. “The band has never sounded better. I’m having a ball.”

Peterson is just three weeks into the six-month tour where he plays behind Stevie Nicks, complements keyboardist Christine McVie and marvels at Mike Campbell’s guitar playing.

First, an explanation of how Peterson got the gig. He’s played keys for Nicks’ solo tours since 2007. He also happened to know drummer Mick Fleetwood from vacations in Hawaii, where the veteran British rocker lives and operates a blues bar. Peterson got the call when Fleetwood Mac’s longtime sideman keyboardist left the band and started touring with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.


“I didn’t have to audition for this gig,” said Peterson proudly. “They invited me to come and hang. I love it. I sort of grew up on this music.”

He’d jammed before with Fleetwood at the drummer’s blues club in Maui. Plus, he had Nicks’ endorsement.

Peterson was essential enough that when Fleetwood and ex-Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers member Campbell auditioned singers in Hawaii, Peterson was involved. He won’t name names as to who tried out, but Neil Finn of Crowded House got the gig. That makes Finn and Campbell official members of Fleetwood Mac, while Peterson is a handsomely paid hired hand.

Two months of rehearsals

The keyboardist’s next assignment was to learn 38 songs before convening for rehearsal in Los Angeles on Aug. 1. The group practiced five days a week for about four or five hours daily until Sept. 28.

“I didn’t think it would take that long to get it all down, but it actually does, because there’s so much involved,” Peterson observed. “It’s a lot of music, and [learning] the beginnings and endings of songs.”

Who’s in charge? Buckingham used to be. He sued Fleetwood Mac two weeks ago over his dismissal. The band disputes his claims.

“Stevie is running the show,” Peterson said. “But they discuss it. No one is yelling at each other. It’s very, very diplomatic. And the principals are involved. Ultimately, I think Stevie and Mick are the final decisionmakers.”

Personnel drama from the start

There was a Fleetwood Mac long before Buckingham and Nicks came on the scene. The blues-rock band was founded in England in 1967. Personnel changes were a hallmark of the band until the lineup stabilized, and the music soared with the addition in 1975 of Buckingham and Nicks, who were a couple then.


The album “Fleetwood Mac” became a blockbuster, followed in ’77 by the even bigger “Rumours.” One of the bestselling albums of all time, it discussed the various romantic soap operas in the band. Hit albums, including 1979’s “Tusk” and 1982’s “Mirage,” and sold-out tours kept coming. So did bumps in the road.

Nicks and Buckingham launched solo careers and took brief leaves from the band at different times in the ’80s and ’90s. McVie, the third singer, retired in 1998 but returned to the fold four years ago.

With Fleetwood Mac planning to play only three shows a week on this tour, Buckingham wanted to be able to squeeze in solo concerts between Mac dates. The band not only said “no” but decided to proceed without him. The soap opera continues.

Peterson has no access to those feuds and lawyerly negotiations.

“I didn’t hear any heavy feedback from the principals, but nobody’s really talking about it,” he said. “Everybody’s happy and it sounds like it. Everybody’s having a good time onstage.”

Oldies plus a Petty hit

Peterson was there when the band whittled the set list down to 26 tunes for the tour. “That’s why it took two months,” he said.

There is a Tom Petty classic as well as hits Finn sang with Crowded House and Split Enz plus Fleetwood Mac oldies, including “Oh Well,” that predate Buckingham and Nicks.

Peterson gets solos during “Black Magic Woman,” one of the band’s oldies, and “Rhiannon,” one of Nicks’ biggest songs with Fleetwood Mac. And he does background vocals.


Keyboard parts are carefully worked out so Peterson doesn’t overshadow McVie.

“She’s the main keyboard player,” he said. “This is a sideman job. She’s very accommodating. She’s such a sweetheart. This is not a play-a-lot-of-notes gig. This is more of a listening-and-feel gig to figure out where everybody is going with the music. My job is to make them sound as good as they can.”

Peterson has no complaints about traveling by bus while the principals of Fleetwood Mac — and their assistants, spouses/significant others and dogs — journey by jet. Actually two jets. The keyboardist does get to roll in one of the many limousines used to transport the band to and from the hotel and arena.

Peterson, 60, knows the bus routine from his days playing with Bonnie Raitt, John Mayer and Nicks. He’s also toured for three decades with jazz saxophonist David Sanborn as well as recording with a host of stars, including Prince, George Benson, Mavis Staples, Steve Miller, Ben Sidran, Al Jarreau and Les McCann. Peterson has released four solo albums in the United States, with a new one issued in Germany this year.

But playing with Fleetwood Mac is “just a fun hang. There is no animosity. No attitudes. Everybody has their happy-camper vibe on. It’s just a great rock band.”

To avoid taxing Nicks’ voice, Fleetwood Mac never plays two nights in a row. Thus, Peterson gets plenty of free time. He’ll visit tourist sights and hit the gym. Then he mentioned the steak dinners he’s had with other sidemen in the band.

Peterson may not be a rock star, but he’s living in a rock star world, private jet notwithstanding.





What Stevie wants, Stevie gets. Lindsey couldn't do solo shows on all those boring days off, but boy the hired hands sure get to do a lot of sightseeing!!:eek:

They're probably all friendly professionals with each other. I don't think Stevie has a real "friendship" (as in spending lots of time together outside of work) with any of them except for Mick though.

The truth will eventually come out. This is going to dog Mick and Stevie for the rest of their lives.
The music community is small and social media is far-reaching. We'll all find out exactly what went down, and I'm sure it won't be pretty.
There aren't too many degrees of separation between a lot of people and Fleetwood Mac.
I know someone who works with a good friend of one of the Buckinghams - and that's just one example.
When the tour is over and the dust has long settled, I'm sure the true story will eventually become known.

I doubt it. History repeats itself and there are many parallels with what went down with the Eagles. Don Felder was pushed out, lawsuits and namecalling ensued, and in almost no time they were back to being one of the premiere classic rock touring acts... without Felder. They settled for an undisclosed amount, so we still really don't know what happened and why. I suspect that the case of Lindsey vs Fleetwood Mac will play out similarly.

If you're equating Don Felder's contribution to the Eagles as being equal to Lindsey's in Fleetwood Mac you Nicks fans are more deluded than I thought.
One is a primary lead singer, producer, arranger, lead guitarist, and sonic architect of the bands sound; the other was an amazing lead guitarist, one of 2 lead guitarists. That by no means marginalises Don Felder's contribution to the Eagles. Get real.

Just because Christine did BV last year with Lindsey, she's no better than the rest of the band.

They will remain profesional until the end of the tour, but when it's time for the bows, I don't see that camaraderie from last tour. :sorry:

I agree. They are walking ATM cards for each other. And they know it. Kinds of sad actually, but that's show biz folks. Zero passion all paycheck. I saw the Eagles in NYC 2 weeks ago-both nights at MSG. There was genuine camaraderie between them. They all wanted to be there and it resonated. If there is BS going on behind the scenes, we had no idea.
I think FM knew the LB lawsuit was coming (how could you not) and yet LB in a tweet about a week/10 days before said something about he and Christine coming together again. The lawsuit was definitely in the works (for months I am sure) so who knows, maybe we will see these 2 come together again. The only 2 people in the CBS interview that looked remotely uncomfortable were John and Christine, so perhaps they actually have a conscience. If I've learned anything from being a fan of this band of misfits.....never say never.