Read Lindsey Buckingham’s Emotional Email to Fleetwood Mac
Lindsey Buckingham didn't leave Fleetwood Mac without a fight. In fact, more than seven months before he filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates over his firing, he tried in vain to settle their differences directly.
When his initial phone calls to bandmates regarding his dismissal went unanswered, Buckingham turned to email. Exhibit A? Literally, the suit offers into evidence an email dated Feb. 26 — about a month after his firing. He sent the iPhone correspondence to the band's cofounder, Mick Fleetwood, in a last-ditch effort to reconcile the issues that led to his dismissal.
In it, Buckingham calls the silent treatment he's received since his final performance with the band at the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year benefit heartbreaking, and suggests they owe it to the "beautiful legacy we've built together" to settle their differences.
"In the month since MusiCares, I’ve tried to speak to both you and Stevie (Nicks), to no avail. I’ve only gotten radio silence this whole time. (I haven’t tried Chris (tine McVie) as I thought she might be feeling a bit fragile.) I even emailed John (McVie), who responded that he couldn’t have contact with me… All of this breaks my heart," Buckingham wrote to Fleetwood. "After forty-three years and (with) the finish line clearly in sight, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that for the five of us to splinter apart now would be doing the wrong thing. Wrong for the beautiful legacy we’ve built together. Wrong for our legions of loyal fans who would hate to see the final act be a breakup. Wrong for ourselves, and all that we’ve accomplished and shared together…"
Buckingham concludes that "If there is a way to work this through, I believe we must try. I love you all no matter what." However, it seems the email wasn't persuasive, and months later he filed the suit this month seeking to recoup the estimated $12 million he would have received on the band's current tour.
Fleetwood Mac claimed his dismissal was due to scheduling conflicts, with Buckingham wanting to release and tour behind a solo album before embarking on a tour with the band. Buckingham, however, refutes this claim, saying he acquiesced and it was Nicks' him-or-me ultimatum to the band over alleged behavior at his final performance that brought him down.
In the aftermath, Buckingham has launched that solo tour, and Heartbreaker Mike Campbell and Crowded House's Neil Finn have replaced the longtime singer, songwriter and guitarist on Fleetwood Mac's current tour.