They might be well-known for their strained relationships and in-fighting, but Lindsey Buckingham has now added another chapter to the Fleetwood Mac story, reportedly suing the group for firing him earlier this year.
Back in April, it was revealed that after a total of 35 years in the group, Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham had been fired from the band, with Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Crowded House’s Neil Finn joining the lineup in his absence.
While Buckingham remained silent at the time, he eventually addressed his firing, noting that it “was not something that was really my doing or my choice.”
Then, just last week, Buckingham noted that it was Stevie Nicks who is responsible for his firing from the group, receiving the news via a phone call from band manager Irving Azoff.
“I called Irving and said, ‘This feels funny. Is Stevie leaving the band, or am I getting kicked out?’” Buckingham recalled, only to be told that Nicks had given the band “an ultimatum: Either you go or she’s gonna go.”
Now, it appears that Lindsey Buckingham is bringing legal action against his old group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDG2m5hN1vo
As Rolling Stone reports, Lindsey Buckingham filed a lawsuit against his old band in the Los Angeles Superior Court last Tuesday, claiming that he lost an estimated $12 million in upcoming tour proceeds, and alleging that his bandmates broke an oral contract by firing him.
Apparently, Buckingham had asked his former bandmates to postpone their world tour so that he could perform a series of solo shows with his band. After reluctantly agreeing to postponing his own plans in order to perform with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham claims that he was fired from the group anyway.
“By excluding Buckingham from participating in the 2018-2019 Fleetwood Mac tour in breach of their fiduciary duties of loyalty and good faith and fair dealing,” the lawsuit explains. “The Defendants intentionally acted to interfere with Buckingham’s relationship with Live Nation and the prospective economic benefit he was to receive as a result of his participation in the tour.”
The lawsuit notes that were never a written agreement between the members of Fleetwood Mac, but notes that a piece of Californian law explains that, “absent a written partnership agreement, no partner in Fleetwood Mac may be terminated from the Partnership without cause.”
“Last January, Fleetwood Mac made the decision to continue to tour without me,” Lindsey Buckingham explained to Rolling Stone in regards to the lawsuit. “I remain deeply surprised and saddened, as this decision ends the beautiful 43-year legacy we built together.”
“Over the last eight months, our many efforts to come to an agreement have unfortunately proved elusive. I’m looking forward to closure, and will always remain proud of all that we created, and what that legacy represents.”
Likewise, a representative for the remaining members of Fleetwood Mac has issued a statement, explaining that they “strongly dispute” Buckingham’s claims.
Check out Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’:
