Neil Finn on Fleetwood Mac internal politics
 

From a new interview in Mojo magazine with Neil Finn:

Did joining Fleetwood Mac surprise you?
I was gobsmacked. I was 60 and I’d had a wonderfully diverse musical life when Mick called and said, “We’ve got rid of Lindsey, would you play with us?” I’d just done Lightsleeper with Liam so he had a vested interest in me not doing it, but he said, “Give it a shot,” so I auditioned.

What? Neil Finn auditioned?
It’s the only audition I’ve ever done. I went to Hawaii and Mick spent an hour telling me it wasn’t an audition, but it was. I was auditioning them too: I wasn’t sure it was the right thing, I was quite conflicted, but I liked the people and the welcome was universal.

What did you bring?
The naysayers said, “No Lindsey Buckingham, no Fleetwood Mac,” but I brought personality and the ability to sing with Stevie and Christine. I could never be capable of sounding like Lindsey but I put a similar intensity into his songs.

Any contact with Lindsey?
No, but I’d really like to have a dinner with him. There’s a lot of ill-will, but I don’t think he bears any towards me and I do think he had prior appreciation of the music I‘d made. Hopefully, once he got over the massive disappointment, he’d have thought, “At least someone with something going for them is singing my songs.”

Who’s running Fleetwood Mac these days?
It doesn’t currently exist, but when I was there Mick carried the flag. He always has and he’s the heart and soul. Yet Stevie’s the leader in many ways, because Stevie wants it the way Stevie wants it and that’s the way it’ll be. She couldn’t bear to be in a band with Lindsey any more, but she still wanted to do it exactly the way he would have. It was more difficult for Mike Campbell: she was really happy with the way it sounded between me and her, but she put a lot of pressure on Mike to be more like Lindsey. Sometimes Mike’s solos would go on and Stevie would get exhausted playing tambourine. She’d be, “F***ing hell, Lindsey only did 12 bars!”

Notable parts for me: Mick saying 'We've got rid of Lindsey' (sounds awfully like a firing to me...), and 'She couldn’t bear to be in a band with Lindsey any more, but she still wanted to do it exactly the way he would have.' - I call that having your cake and eating it...



https://www.mojo4music.com/magazine/...024-kate-bush/ (Great article on Kate Bush too, for those of you who have taste.)

And I'd heard RUMOURS that she was giving Mike a hard time. I didn't really believe my source, at the time. I didn't believe Stevie was that much of a moron... :lol:

-Got rid of Lindsey... that phrase always makes me quite upset

-He auditioned. Interesting, Mick used to say Nobody ever auditioned for Fleetwood Mac, and that's one of the reasons nothing ordinary ever happened to this band. Well he may be right cause I think nothing extraordinary happened in that tour.

-So she still wanted to do it exactly the way Lindsey would have. Now quite upset is an expression that falls short of what it makes me feel.

Well Fleetwood Mac not only doesn’t currently exist, it doesn't exist since 2018, or maybe before.

If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

And yes, she's a complete moron.

Please don't let FM ever reunite. Ever.

I’m a huge Neil Finn and Crowded House fan. I have all their music. Neil does some great studio work that always reminded me a bit of Lindsey. However, my two worlds collided and I could not bring myself to going to that tour.

Oh my goodness. This answered everything.
I like Neil saying he’d like to meet Lindsey. Lindsey plays Neil’s music on the speakers at his shows.
And it’s true Stevie told Mike to play like Lindsey. And Neil confirmed I’m Not The Boss is The Boss even if Mick carries the flag.

Isn’t worlds colliding a Crowded House? Seven Worlds Collide… maybe it’s Distant Sun?

Yes lyrics from Distant Sun….one of my favorite CH tracks.

Are people new here? People commenting with surprise that Mick said they got rid of Lindsey. Is that not what he always said?

Nothing new here. Even the part that Stevie is the leader "in many ways' is not really new. She controlled this band post Dance and when Christine came back went for the jugular and became a female version of Saddam Hussein.

Not surprised at all. That's why I said that phrase always makes me quite upset.

But it's interesting to read Finn's perceptions of being there and the band was managed.

I think Neil’s going to be forced to walk back his comments with a statement saying how amazing Stevie was and such a team player who thought Mike was the best guitar player to be in Fleetwood Mac with her.

Mick always said we had to part ways but I think he said that “out of respect for Lindsey.”
It seems the band was reading social media to see “No LB, No FM” but the answer to that is “highest grossing tour”…. Since On With The Show

Nah, Neil knows Fleetwood Mac is toast and he wont be working with them again.

Can I just say (again) what a joke it was when Mick said Neil and Mike were not "replacement" guitarists and were permanent members of the band to tour and make new music with.
I think Mick was trying out his new standup routine with that one :lol:

What a sad ending.
But they all made big money because $tevie stayed and toured. THAT'S what matters!

These statements dont mean anything to me. I want the juicy stuff like WHO Fleetwood Mac auditioned but did not make the cut. How did Billy know about Lindsey's firing before it was public?
Its just my opinion but I believe the Mac would not hire Billy without Rick. That would be such an odd thing to do. Stevie already hired Mike so that only left room for 1 replacement. Billy knew the songs so I want details!!!!

I'd be amazed if there was anyone 'new' here, we're all ancient.

Not surprised, just commenting with wry amusement. As I recall, Mick was embarrassingly mealy-mouthed about Lindsey leaving, talking about how they didn't use the word 'fired', when it was plain for all to see that was precisely what had happened.

And it's hilarious that Stevie wanted Lindsey out, while trying to keep the show exactly the same as it was when he was still in.

"We got rid of Lindsey". Nice Mick. You weiner. I was thinking today actually about Mike's playing on the 2018-19 tour. I was listening to Tom Petty radio and marveling over how good a guitar player Mike is. But on the FM tour he sounded so bland. He didn't even come close to Lindsey's playing. I bet it was a tough go for him. It feels like he was stifled. And of course it was all Stevie's doing and turd Mick went right along with her. No loyalty at all. She did wrong on so many levels.

Yeah...IMO, this is the only tidbit that's sorta revealing at this point. There were a LOT of fans who had this attitude of "oh with stubborn Lindsey out of the picture, the band can finally do whatever they want" That theory turned out to be crap...as expected.

I think the Mike situation totally backfired on Stevie. I think she thought he would be an absolute shoe-in and would come in having learned Lindsey's parts verbatim. Turns out he had no interest in that approach from the get-go. Early on he spoke about not even trying to replicate his style.

As I've said a million times, I'll never understand all the drama over timing/logistics for a tour that was really just another repeat of the 2014 tour. They didn't have a new album out, putting them under the gun to hit the road by a drop-dead date. They still started the tour well after the brief delay Lindsey had asked for, so It didn't get them on the road any sooner. So dumb.