Fleetwood Mac have issued their first public response to a lawsuit brought by former guitarist Lindsey Buckingham over his firing from the group earlier this year.
“Fleetwood Mac looks forward to their day in court,” says band spokesperson Kristen Foster, reports Billboard.
Buckingham filed legal action last week against Fleetwood Mac seeking $12 million from lost tour revenue over charges of breach of fiduciary duty, breach of oral contract and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, among others, according to legal documents obtained by Rolling Stone.
The guitarist first sensed friction within the lineup during a band meeting in late 2017, as Fleetwood Mac were discussing plans for an extensive North American tour that would start in October 2018; Buckingham says he was met with “stonewalling” when he asked for “three or four months extra” ahead of the trek’s launch to do a series of solo dates in support of a compilation (the recently-released package, “Solo Anthology – The Best of Lindsey Buckingham”).
Things came to a head in late January when manger Irving Azoff advised Buckingham that Stevie Nicks had threatened to leave the band if the guitarist wouldn’t, after he detailed the singer’s unhappiness with the way the rocker allegedly handled himself at charity event and award ceremony in January.
Buckingham claims plans were already in place for the “Rumours”-era lineup to play 60 shows across the continent, which the group announced in April while revealing the guitarist’s exit and new lineup additions Mike Campbell of Tom Petty’s band and Neil Finn of Crowded House/Split Enz fame.
The same month saw Nicks offer a different version of the band meeting, saying “We were supposed to go into rehearsal in June and he wanted to put it off until November [2019].”
Both acts are on the road this fall: Fleetwood Mac kicked off their 2018 dates in Tulsa, OK on October 3, while Buckingham performed in San Francisco on October 5 ahead of his tour launch in Portland, OR on October 7.
See also:
Lindsey Buckingham sues Fleetwood Mac over firing
Lindsey Buckingham reveals Stevie Nicks drama in Fleetwood Mac exit
VIDEO: Lindsey Buckingham performs Fleetwood Mac classics in San Francisco
VIDEO: Fleetwood Mac launch 2018 tour with new lineup in Tulsa
Search Stevie Nicks at hennemusic
