Lindsey Buckingham has settled a lawsuit he brought against Fleetwood Mac over his dismissal from the band earlier this year.
The guitarist filed legal action in October against his former group for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of oral contract and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, among other charges, while seeking compensation for $12 million in lost revenue from Fleetwood Mac’s current 2018/19 tour.
“We’ve all signed off on something. I'm happy enough with it," Buckingham tells CBS This Morning. "I'm not out there trying to twist the knife at all. I'm trying to look at this with some level of compassion, some level of wisdom."
As for the split, the rocker admits "It hurt for a while. I did walk around for a few months with a visceral reaction to that."
Buckingham 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. The guitarist claims 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 solo compilation (the recently-released package, “Solo Anthology – The Best of Lindsey Buckingham”); he later agreed to postpone his solo series to join the group on the road, but it may have been too late at that point.
Things came to a head in late January when Buckingham was informed of his firing by manager Irving Azoff over alleged issues brought forward by Stevie Nicks following a music industry charity event where the group was being honored, with claims the guitarist had smirked behind her when she gave her acceptance speech – even though video from the evening clearly shows multiple members joking around at the time.
"It appeared to me that she was looking for something to hang on me, in order to instigate some kind of coup,” Buckingham explains. “Irving told me a couple of days later that she'd given the band an ultimatum and either I had to go or she was going to go. None of it makes sense to me, you know? Fleetwood Mac, the five of us together is in my mind, is a very sacred thing."
In Buckingham’s place, Fleetwood Mac brought in Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Neil Finn of Crowded House to handle guitar duties for the extensive North American tour, with shows booked into next spring.
Buckingham – who recently received an email of support from keyboardist Christine McVie but has not heard from other members – tells CBS This Morning that he's open to getting back with Fleetwood Mac but isn't expecting a reunion.
"I'm pretty much figuring that I won't,” he says, “because a lot of people who know how convoluted Fleetwood Mac's politics have been will say two years from now they're gonna … and I'm like, 'I'm not so sure.' You know, it's something is a little different this time.
"I'm not someone who necessarily likes to look back. I like to look forward. And that certainly served me well this year. But I was quite taken by curating a 35-year plus body of work … to be able to go out and celebrate that has been really very cathartic. Yeah. So I am having a great time."
See also:
Fleetwood Mac 50th anniversary collection debuts on UK charts
Fleetwood Mac: Stevie Nicks illness postpones pair of Canadian concerts
Fleetwood Mac stream 1969 classic from 50th anniversary collection
Fleetwood Mac expand North American tour
Search Stevie Nicks at hennemusic
