Brett Tuggle, longtime musician and keyboardist for the legendary Fleetwood Mac, has died at the age of 70. Tuggle’s son Matt confirmed the news to Rolling Stone, telling the outlet that his father died of complications related to cancer. “He was loved by his family so much,” Matt stated. “His family was with him throughout the entire time of his illness. He was a lovely father. He gave me music in my life.”
Originally from Denver, Colorado, Tuggle discovered his love for music at a young age and eventually began playing gigs. His career began to take off in the early ’80s when he began playing with artists such as John Kay & Steppenwolf, Rick Springfield, and former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth. In 1997, Tuggle became a touring member of Fleetwood Mac. He played with the band until 2017 but was let go in 2018. He later told Rolling Stone that he suspected his firing was due to his close relationship with Lindsey Buckingham, who had also been fired from the band that same year.
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“It came to a point where Stevie [Nicks] said, ‘You’re going to have to decide,’” Tuggle told the outlet in 2020. “I said, ‘You know, Stevie, I love playing with you. I support you. But Lindsey doesn’t have a band.’ She said, ‘I know he needs good people.’ She seemed to be OK with it when I went off to do Lindsey’s thing. But think in the end, she looked at me a little as abandoning her and going over to Lindsey’s camp.”
The musician went on to say that he was “really shocked” to learn he’d been fired from Fleetwood Mac. “I also realized that I was in the middle of the politics of Lindsey and Stevie and this band, and there was nothing I was going to be able to do about it,” he explained. “I had become Lindsey’s guy and that was it, and I had to accept it.”
Tuggle did go on to play with Buckingham, but had to sit out touring this year due to “a health problem,” per PEOPLE. At this time, Neither Fleetwood Mac nor Buckingham appear to have issued a statement on the sad news. Springfield did comment on Tuggle’s death, taking to Twitter to share some photos and writing, “Our sweet Brett Tuggle made it home tonight. God bless his beautiful spirit.” Tuggle is survived by his son Matt and daughter Michelle.
