See you in court! Fleetwood Mac tell Lindsey Buckingham

Fleetwood Mac have responded to guitarist and songwriter Lindsey Buckingham’s lawsuit.

A statement issued overnight through spokesperson Kristen Foster said: “Fleetwood Mac looks forward to their day in court.”

Buckingham sued for US$12 million in lost income after the band told him in January that they were going on the road without him.

They’ve replaced him on their current 50-date tour (which began in the US on October 3) with Neil Finn, and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

Buckingham’s argument is that he still wants to perform with Fleetwood Mac, and is able to.

Named in the suit are Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and John McVie.

Fleetwood told the April issue of Rolling Stone, “We arrived at the impasse of hitting a brick wall”.

He added: “This was not a happy situation for us in terms of the logistics of a functioning band.

“To that purpose, we made a decision that we could not go on with him.

“Majority rules in term of what we need to do as a band and go forward.”

Buckingham for his part told Rolling Stone he was informed by the band’s manager that “Stevie never wants to be on a stage with you again”.

He added: “Am I heartbroken about not doing another tour with Fleetwood Mac?

“No, because I can see that there are many other areas to look into.

“The one thing that does bother me and breaks my heart is we spent 43 years always finding a way to rise above our personal differences and our difficulties to pursue and articulate a higher truth.

“That is our legacy. That is what the songs are about. This is not the way you end something like this.”

Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974 with his then-musical and romantic partner Nicks.

Mick Fleetwood was impressed with his guitar work on the track Frozen Love from the Buckingham Nicks album.

Mac had long had a reputation of in-fighting and love triangles but they went on to become one of the biggest bands in the world.

The self-taught Buckingham wrote and produced many of their hits, including Go Your Own Way and Big Love.

Rumours in 1977 went on to become one of the biggest selling albums of all time, shifting 40 million units worldwide.

It reached #1 in Australia, while Tusk and Mirage both reached #2, and Tango In The Night made it up to #5.

Buckingham left Mac in 1987 to concentrate on making solo records, before returning in 1997after what was to be a one-off reunion in 1993 at the personal invitation of President Bill Clinton to play their hit Don’t Stop.

In the last few years, there was an uncertainty about the release of a new Mac album, apparently due to Nicks’ refusal to commit.