Jeremy Spencer's US Tour cancelled

[Jimi Mac]

There's alot of controversy and some mystery still surrounding Jeremy Spencer and his sudden disappearance from the band in 1971 where he literally walked off a tour bus and into The Children Of God cult. Allegations of child abuse including child sexual abuse have been alleged throughout his history after being a member of the cult for decades before leaving...

 

I simply don't know all the details or what's true and what isn't, but I just found this on "The Ledge" Fleetwood Mac forum"

 

U-T San Diego, 2/14/2014 by George Varga

 

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/...-cancels-tour/

 

Sour note: Did ties to cult kill the tour?

 

Abruptly cancelled U.S. concert tour by Fleetwood Mac alum Jeremy Spencer was to include a Valentine's Day show in San Diego at Lestat's

 

An air of controversy and mystery surrounds former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer's sudden cancellation of his entire U.S. tour, including his Valentine's Day show in San Diego tonight at Lestat's.

 

The English-born Spencer was a charter member of Fleetwood Mac, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. He performed on all of the band's early hits, including "Oh Well" and "Black Magic Woman" (which was written by Mac's then-leader, Peter Green, and soon became an international hit for the band led by former Tijuana guitarist Carlos Santana).

 

This would have been his first U.S. tour since he abruptly left Fleetwood Mac in 1971 in Los Angeles to join the Children of God (later known as The Family International). That controversial, quasi-religious group, which sprouted in the late 1960s, combined scripture and free sex. It did so in a manner that went beyond the norms of the almost-anything-goes, peace-and-love hippie ethos of the time, including -- critics and former members have charged -- pedophilia. In 1986, following lawsuits and a series of official investigations, The Family International officially renounced sexual contact between children and adults.

 

Spencer's tour was scheduled to start Thursday in Los Angeles and conclude March 31 in New York. (Ironically, Spencer was also scheduled to perform here at Lestat's in May, 2012, with San Diego singer-songwriter Jack Tempchin, but that show was also mysteriously cancelled at the last minute.)

 

This week saw a rapid-fire sequence of events related to the now-aborted tour. At 1:06 p.m. Wednesday, Spencer's U.S. record company, Blind Pig, belatedly sent out a a national email press release, with the headline: JEREMY SPENCER LAUNCHES U.S. TOUR Fleetwood Mac Guitarist To Make Rare American Appearances

 

Twenty-four minutes later, at 1:30 p.m., Blind Pig sent out a second press release. It contained a single sentence: The previously announced U.S. tour by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer has just been cancelled. No reason or explanation was offered.

 

U-T San Diego immediately contacted Blind Pig Wednesday to ask why the tour had fallen through. No response came until Thursday, when a spokesman for the record label wrote: "Apparently he (Spencer) was getting threats, so decided for his own safety to return to his home in Ireland." Blind Pig has yet to respond to our request to elaborate on the nature of those threats.

 

Meanwhile, the Safe Passage Foundation is crediting its online petition to get change.org Spencer's tour canceled.

 

The foundation describes itself on its website as: "a not-for-profit 501©3 tax-exempt organization that provides resources, support and advocacy for youth raised in restrictive, isolated or high-demand communities, often referred to as 'cults' by society at large." Its petition appeared under the heading: Jeremy Spencer: a child-abuser unworthy of your support -- STOP the Jeremy Spencer USA tour

 

On Wednesday, Safe Passage issued a statement that began: "We are pleased to report that both the Jeremy Spencer tour and the Kickstarter fundraiser have been cancelled! We would like to thank everyone who signed our petition for their support as well as organizers and supporters of the Jeremy Spencer tour for heeding our call to take a stand against child abuse."

 

None of this was mentioned in the email Lestat's music honcho Louis Brazier received Wednesday afternoon from Spencer's booking agent. That email consisted of a personal statement from Spencer himself. It read:

 

I have very difficult news to convey to you. I have recently been under considerable stress due to unrelenting demands on my life and time. It has now resulted in potentially serious health problems for which I am compelled to return to Ireland for treatment. I am distraught over having to postpone what was to be a memorable tour. Fans of my music were keen on the opportunity to enjoy it live, so many venues put their hearts and souls in to promotion and preparation, band mates have put their other projects on hold to prepare and there was great excitement over the release of (my album) 'Coventry Blue.' Unfortunately, here I am forced to let everyone down who was counting on me. I cannot do the subject justice. Please convey to the venues my deepest apologies, and gratitude for their consideration of my situation. I am truly sorry over such an untimely delay. Thank you for your understanding. I value your support.

 

Regretfully,

 

Jeremy

 

There is another facet to the tour's cancellation that neither Spencer or Blind Pig have yet mentioned.

 

Spencer was underwriting his tour through an online Kickstarter campaign, in which his fans were asked to help underwrite his U.S. concert trek. As of this morning, his Kickstarter page indicates Spencer has raised $10,416. The page, like his website, makes no mention as yet of the tour's cancellation.

 

Those who pledged $200 or more were promised an autographed drawing Spencer did of Fleetwood Mac's original members. Any fan who pledged $1,500 or more was promised dinner with him and his band, if logistically feasible. For $2,000, he would do a private show. (According to his Kickstarter page, one fan pledged $2,000.)

 

There is no word yet on the status of Spencer's Kickstarter campaign or whether refunds will be made.

 

Out of the 3 Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac guitarists, I thought Jeremy Spencer was the most "together" still of the bunch. He seems to be the most unaffected by either mental health or drug abuse related issues. His voice is literally almost exactly the same some 45+ years later...

 

If he really was/is a pedophile, I don't care and he can go to hell! But if it was a case of self-survival due to the cult hierarchy employing such abuse, that he may or may not have participated in as I just don't have the details, then he's a victim too and that would be a different story to me...

 

It's hard to know what's what in this whole mess, but it doesn't look good.

 

Before I had heard that he and his family were abused by the cult for decades, and I just don't know enough about these pedophile allegations to make an informed decision on him/his legacy for myself at the moment...

 

Who knows, maybe this is the damage done to him by the drugs and it perverted him to be a pedophile like it drove Peter and Danny insane. (exacerbated and brought their probably already brewing mental illness to the forefront catastrophically; which without the drugs they may quite possibly been able to maintain their careers and public social control)

 

I just don't know...