[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by justcrazylove

This really is the hill you're prepared to die on, isn't it... I mean c'mon you're going to use a comment from Mick!! Mick, of all people to justify your point?

Why would Mick lie about who he considers to still be in a band he just got done saying is probably over in wake of Christine’s death?

Also, Mike Campbell didn’t just say “that ship has sailed.” That was a clickbait headline for something that was all of a minute late into a twenty minute interview. Mike provided much more nuance to his answer and left the door open to working with Fleetwood Mac again. If a point is going to be referenced, it should be done so accurately.

Regardless, I still don’t see why it matters whether Neil and Mike were signatories or contracted players. They were trotted out as Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, the band played “I Got You,” “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” and “Free Fallin’,” and they were featured on merch.

Furthermore, since it’s usually the next talking point, I also don’t see why it matters that they didn’t make an album. Even if they had and it was a major critical and commercial success, the primary relevance of Neil and Mike as it pertains to the Fleetwood Mac story would be as the guys who replaced Lindsey Buckingham in the band’s twilight. To put it a different way, Billy Burnette and Rick Vito made an album with Fleetwood Mac and are only remembered for replacing Lindsey Buckingham in the late ‘80s.

Now I'm imagining you are going to respond with something along the lines of... "The band has always had revolving line-up" "Lindsey sealed his fate with his comments about the Classic East/West shows." yada yada yada. BORING!

That would have nothing to do with this discussion.

The facts are evident, Lindsey was and has always been, since 1975, the musical director of this band. In the studio and on stage. Stevie and Mick took away his legacy and his contribution from the band he has poured his life's work into. The band's fans and Lindsey's fans have every bloody right to feel pissed off to this day.

The one hill I WILL die on is that the Fleetwood Mac story is that of Mick, John, and Christine. Peter, Lindsey, Stevie, etc. were characters in that story, some way more important than others, but Mick, John, and Christine were the protagonists. They were there at the beginning (albeit not in the band together) and they were able to finish the story together.

I didn’t like how it ended with Lindsey. I always said I was disappointed that the classic lineup wasn’t going to ride off into the sunset together. That said, I wasn’t going to lose my objectivity about him or them. They lied, kind of like when he said “it felt like a duet album.” Those BS answers came from some pinhead in legal and/or management telling them what to say. And, while I feel for Lindsey, something that was a cash grab tour from the outset wasn’t going to define or change his legacy with the band.

Dysfunctional band has dysfunctional ending. Sounds about right. Life goes on.