When and why was Lindsey Buckingham fired from Fleetwood Mac?

3 October 2024, 14:18

Lindsey Buckingham performing in December 2018. Picture: Winslow Townson/Invision/AP/Alamy

Fleetwood Mac were one of the biggest bands of the 70s thanks to the hit album Rumours. But why was songwriter Buckingham dismissed from the band?

By Radio X

@RadioX

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Together with his songwriting partner Stevie Nicks. Lindsey Buckingham was an integral part of Fleetwood Mac during their heyday in the 1970s and 80s, penning the hits Go Your Own Way, Tusk and Big Love, among many others.

However, Buckingham departed Fleetwood Mac just ahead of a huge tour in 2018 - so why did he leave the band and how does he feel about it now?

When did Lindsey Buckingham leave Fleetwood Mac?

Lindsey Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac in 2018. On 9th April that year, Rolling Stone reported that the guitarist had been fired by his bandmates over a disagreement over the band's upcoming tour. On the CBS This Morning TV show, Mick Fleetwood claimed that the two sides had come to "a huge impasse" but that he wasn't using the word "fired" as "it's ugly".

Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster]

Why was Lindsey Buckingham fired from Fleetwood Mac?

Fleetwood Mac and their ex-guitarist seem to have different versions of the story when it comes to why Lindsey Buckingham was fired. The band said shortly after the news that the band were supposed to go into rehearsal in June, but Buckingham wanted to delay until November as he wanted to do some solo dates.

However in October that year, Buckingham said he got a call from the band's manager Irving Azoff, saying Stevie never wanted to be on stage with him again after a debate on their Rhiannon track being used as their intro music for the charity MusiCares event in January 2018. Another point of content was that Buckingham had "smirked" at Nicks during her acceptance speech.

Fleetwood Mac - Big Love (Official Music Video)

He later explained his side of the story to Rolling Stone. "The irony is that we have this standing joke that Stevie, when she talks, goes on a long time,” Buckingham said. “I may or may not have smirked. But I look over and Christine and Mick are doing the waltz behind her as a joke.”

Buckingham was philosophical about being "ousted" from Fleetwood Mac, adding: "Our relationship has always been volatile. We were never married, but we might as well have been. Some couples get divorced after 40 years. They break their kids’ hearts and destroy everyone around them because it’s just hard.”

In happier times - Fleetwood Mac in 1975: Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie. Picture: GAB Archive/Redferns/Getty

Who replaced Lindsey Buckingham?

Lindsey Buckingham was replaced by Crowded House’s Neil Finn and former lead guitarist of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Mike Campbell.

Are Fleetwood Mac still together?

The death of long-term member Christine McVie in November 2022 seemed to call time on the band, with both Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks claiming that continuing as Fleetwood Mac without her was not an option. Fleetwood told the LA Times at the Grammys in February 2023: "I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris.I’d say we’re done, but then we’ve all said that before. It’s sort of unthinkable right now.”

In October 2023, Nicks told Vulture: "When Christine died, I felt like you can’t replace her. You just can’t. Without her, what is it? When she died, I figured we really can’t go any further with this. There’s no reason to."