Lindsey Buckingham Leaves Fleetwood Mac (Again)

Been doing a lot of rereading to put this together...

The book by Carol Ann Harris is quite damning. It appears to be backed up by Ken Caillat's own story which came after Carol's. The way it is told, there would've been other witnesses to these incidents, including in the band. If it's not true - they should've been able to deny it. Medical records probably also exist for some of it. She tells of several occasions where he was a bully, would hit her, or try to choke her.

The main reason for people keeping silence appears to be - they were trying to protect the band at all costs. And half the band come from the UK and the English sense of reserve can be hard to break through. (I believe there was also some concern about Mick because without the band, he didn't seem to have any sense of purpose and would really decline.)

I've wanted to believe that perhaps he had some sort of medical condition so he didn't really know what he was doing. But on examination it all appears to reflect a pattern/cycle that is typical of abusive relationships.

Problems in the band would not be addressed or spoken about, instead they would simmer until somebody cracked. Carol claimed that after awhile some of the band members actually seemed to 'thrive' on this atmosphere of constant tension and drama - while she ended up on the receiving end of it. Lindsey already had a tendency of being abusive during Rumours but things seemed to escalate during Tusk and when Stevie's first solo record was very successful. Lindsey took the anger and frustration out on her.

She had to be sent home on one tour because he was getting so out of control. Then a few days later, he kicked Stevie onstage in front of a large audience, disrupting the whole show. All that has been documented as well.

After an episode like that, things would be calm for awhile, but gradually build up again.

As a fan it's tough information to deal with. We know this band has been messed up but some of it has become the subject of mythmaking and being 'romanticised'.

Still a lot of rage from fans online. Much as I like this band, I think it's kinda OTT at this point.

People say this is different from the first time he left the band, because on that occasion, it was his own decision. Mick Fleetwood later said on that occasion, the band had recorded an album and Lindsey had initially agreed to go on tour with them. It had all been set up. Then he suddenly said he couldn't do it, which upset the rest of them a lot. Stevie and Lindsey got into a fierce argument, which John McVie says got 'physically ugly' while indicating that Lindsey tried to choke Stevie. She later said, she thought he was going to kill her, and it had to be broken up.

John McVie later recalled 'I said to Lindsey "Why don't you just leave?" He left, but what I meant was why don't you just leave the room?' LB ended up not returning to the band again for another nine years. The tour he was supposed to be on had already been organised so it had to go on, or else the band would've been sued, so they were forced to replace him.

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