latest Rolling Stone take on the split
 

Why We Love It When Fleetwood Mac Keep Breaking Up

The band's firing of Lindsey Buckingham might be the most quintessential chapter yet in the band's epic saga of dysfunction

Rob Sheffield reflects on why Fleetwood Mac's firing of Lindsey Buckingham sums up their wild history of dysfunction and drama.

By Rob Sheffield
3 hours ago

Now this is Peak Mac. Could this happen to any other band? Fleetwood Mac, the crew that loves breakup drama more than any other six or seven bands combined, topped their own standards on Monday, with the announcement that they'd fired Lindsey Buckingham. This split is more than one of the year's strangest headlines – it's a new dysfunctional chapter for the fivesome who wrote the book on packing up and shacking up. This is the most quintessential Fleetwood Mac move they've ever made. Any band can explode a time or three, but only these guys could break up continuously for 40 years, putting each other through untold agonies and then always coming back together for more punishment. The Mac is dead; long live the Mac.

If these were any other rock stars, you'd suspect them of staging a split so they can squeeze in one more tearful reunion tour before they hit their eighties – Coachella 2023, here they come. But if there's anything we know for sure about Fleetwood Mac, it's that they have no ability to control the torture they inflict on each other (or on us). They are the band destiny has doomed to suffer for our sins, acting out every couple's messiest secrets in public, reliving every stage of the pain cycle in a ritual repetition, like five Siddharthas of heartbreak. "Lightning strikes, maybe once, maybe twice"? They should be so lucky. Only these five gypsies could keep getting hit with the same lightning bolt over and over, electroshocking each other into eternity.

In the band's most recent appearance on January 26th, to accept the award for MusiCares Person of the Year at New York's Radio City Music Hall, Lindsey Buckingham admitted they thrived on the conflict. "It was much of the attraction and much of the fuel for our material," he told the crowd, "Not very far below that level of dysfunction is what really exists and what we are feeling even more now in our career, which is love. This has always been a group of chemistry." They undermined each other's speeches – Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie all mocked Stevie Nicks as she spoke – before playing a set of five classic breakup songs, ending with (what else?) "Go Your Own Way." You couldn't have scripted a better final scene.

As for all that "love" Lindsey mentioned, well, this is a band of players, and they only love you when they're playing. Barely two months after the MusiCares ceremony, Fleetwood Mac dropped the bombshell that they're hitting the road with two replacement guitarists: Mike Campbell, from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn from Crowded House. "We are thrilled to welcome the musical talents of the caliber of Mike Campbell and Neil Finn into the Mac family," the statement said. "Fleetwood Mac has always been a creative evolution. We look forward to honoring that spirit on this upcoming tour." As Mick Fleetwood elaborated to Rolling Stone, "We know we have something new, yet it's got the unmistakable Mac sound."

Self-sabotage is a key part of the Mac mythos, so this twist is just kind of perfect. As a great woman once sang, rulers make bad lovers, and the classic Fleetwood Mac lineup is four rulers battling for an extra inch or two of control, always threatening to flounce. And as they've documented in their songs, they've shared epic badness as lovers. Even John McVie, who has never shown any visible aspiration to rule anything besides his bass and the occasional ballcap, is tangled in the breakup history. Imagine playing that funk bass line on "You Make Loving Fun" – then imagine you're playing it for a song your ex-wife wrote about her new guy, who is the band's lighting director. During the making of Rumours, Mick Fleetwood called Stevie Nicks into the studio parking lot to tell her they were cutting "Silver Springs" from the album, for no reason except everybody else was mad at how good it was.

That's a key reason why we gravitate to the Mac. Ever since Rumours, this group has symbolized the idea of a broken community forced to keep living and working together, reliving their worst memories. As John once said, "About the only people in the band who haven't had an affair are me and Lindsey." Even at their poppiest, the songs are full of pain, which is why they remain so alive, whether it's Harry Styles covering "The Chain" or Lorde doing "Silver Springs." That mystique will remain even if Harry replaces Lindsey. Or if Lorde replaces Stevie. Or if Selena and Justin replace both of them. Hell, maybe all five band members can get replaced by Fifth Harmony, so Camila Cabello can sing "Never Going Back Again" until they eject her offstage with a cannon, like they did to her body double at the VMAs. But these five Mac lifers will never be able to escape each other. They are cursed to keep picking up the pieces and going home.

Even before Stevie and Lindsey joined in 1974, the band had a long history of changes. (Original leader Peter Green was a guitar god with his own moody beauty in "Underway," "Jumping at Shadows" and "Man of the World," until he sadly disintegrated.) But there was always something especially combustible about the Buckingham/Nicks chemistry – in Stevie's words, "the five original cast members" – as they poured their trauma into Rumours, Tusk and Mirage. When Lindsey quit on the eve of their 1987 tour, they replaced him with little-known sidemen Billy Burnette and Rick Zito. (This line-up actually released a couple of albums, strange as it seems.) He returned for the 1997 reunion The Dance, the album that defined the Mac legend as we know it today, an album that's older now than Rumours was at the time.

It was only four years ago that Christine McVie rejoined, bringing the classic lineup back together. Just last year, she and Buckingham released their surprise duet, Buckingham McVie, featuring four fifths of the Mac – it would have been their big reunion album, except Stevie bowed out to do a solo tour. It had a theme song for their On With the Show tour, two years after it ended. Typical for this crew. As Lindsey recalled to Rolling Stone in 1984, around the time of his brilliant and demented solo album Go Insane, "I can remember during Rumours, saying to Mick, 'Well, things don't seem to be going exactly the way I would like them to go.' And he said, 'Well, maybe you don't want to be in a group.'" (Mick Fleetwood, unlikely voice of reason.) In the same interview, Lindsey claims his bandmates, none of whom he's seen in two years, are plotting to replace him with another guitarist – Pete Townshend. Too bad they didn't call Pete this time.

Lindsey has always been a mystery man – with his eccentric obsessions and solitary work habits, he's been in the odd position of an underrated weirdo cult genius who happens to lead one of the world's biggest bands. His songs on Tusk – "Not That Funny," "What Makes You Think You're the One," the peerless "I Know I'm Not Wrong" – are the core of the Lindsey mystique, homemade solo space-case guitar sketches. Not far off from the music Alex Chilton or Mark E. Smith or the Swell Maps were making at the time, or the music Pavement and Sebadoh made a decade later. (It can barely be overstated how bizarre it is that "Tusk" was a Number One single. I mean, cocaine was popular in the 1970s, but not that popular.) Lindsey seems like the exact opposite personality type to be in any band – least of all this one. It's an ironic fate for the guy who wrote "Never Going Back Again" – a song about a man trapped in a cyclical on-and-off affair, vowing that he'll finally move on this time, until that finger-picking guitar lick loops back around and he's right where he started. Been down one time, been down two times, keeping going back up and down in perpetuity.

In a way, the quintessential Lindsey moment is his "yeeeaaah" at the end of Christine's "Say You Love Me," while the band is chanting the final "falling, falling, falling." What the hell is that "yeeeaaah" doing there? It's a solo Lindsey cameo that's wildly out of place in this song, which isn't by him, or even about him. Yet his acerbic voice adds the dash of salt that makes the song complete. Everybody's songs get improved by Lindsey butting in – the best example would be his sneer in the chorus of another Christine song, "Little Lies." ("Tell me, tell me, tell me liiiies!") He sounds exasperated and pissed, even though he's neither the liar nor the lied-to. But without the authentic spite he adds, "Little Lies" would be a fraction as powerful as it is.

Lindsey and Stevie talked to Rolling Stone's Andy Greene in 2012, in an astounding he-said she-said interview that reads like couples therapy. "Lindsey and I will always be dramatic," Stevie confesses, maybe unnecessarily. Lindsey adds, "We're a group of people who, you could make the argument, don't belong in the same band together. It's the synergy of that that makes it work. It also sort of makes us the anti-Eagles in terms of never, ever being on the same page." Yes, you could make the argument these people don't belong in the same band – but in a way, Fleetwood Mac's music is that argument, which is why they resonate on a level the Eagles never could. Their meltdowns are a crucial part of their artistic statement. Lindsey and the band are permanently mismatched, yet permanently linked. And that's why their latest break-up is just another reason we hear ourselves in their story and their music. May they keep breaking up forever.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/n...ingham-w518935

Except this isn't the 70s, 80s or even the 90s anymore. Time is running out and the band is in its twilight years. That's part of what makes this situation suck even more.

Totally agree. Timing would indicate there won't be enough time for this to come back around again.:(

Surprisingly good read

Exactly. The story is only good if it ends with them together.

Don't say that please, if Willie Nelson can still tour (and outsmoke them) then FM can do it.

Back in 87 it was weird, but they were in their 40,s and had an album to promote, Tango in the Night. I missed Lindsey, but I enjoyed the tours I saw with Billy and Rick. Especially after they did Behind the Mask.

Now, it's 2018 and they are in their 70,s. This was supposed to be the farewell tour. Chris is back. I can't imagine what happened that made Lindsey get fired or leave, but this is bad. I love Mike Campbell and Neil Finn, but this is no longer Fleetwood Mac.

When Lindsey Left in 87, he had been in the band for 12 years. Since 1997 when he returned, he's been a member for over 20 years. This time it feels different and not in a good way. I have been a devoted, faithful fan since 1975. But I think I will pass on this one. No new material, so it will be oldies but goodies once again and I guess some Crowded House material? Tom Petty tunes?

I think maybe this time they should have forgone the tour and if they want to stay together, go into the studio. My personal opinion is that is what drove Lindsey away. No new material.

According to a Variety update the reason was that Lindsey wants to focus on his solo work, while the rest of the band wants to tour.
Even if they had contractual obligations to abide (I suppose the tour was already partly settled legally and economically speaking) they could have handled it better without Lindsey being out from the band.

This tour has been put back and put back and put back some more already. I'm sure it was originally slated for 2017 but it was put back to late 2018 due to Stevie's plans. Would it have hurt to delay it a bit more? For the articles to say Lindsey wanted to focus on his solo work rather than a Fleetwood Mac tour skews things a bit. He's been open for some time about releasing a solo album early this year. Unfortunately he obviously hasn't been able to get it finished and released as early as he would have liked. I don't think he's said he wont do a FM tour- just sounds as if he asked for a short delay.

Well, they just got off the road in 2015 after two back-to-back tours. I think a break was needed especially since it’s not like there was going to be any new material for this next one.

Why on Earth does a band need more than two years off?????
The Beatles would have written, recorded and toured 4 albums in that time....and made a film.

I'm still sorting out my thoughts and feelings on this situation. My heart is barely beating. I posted somewhere on another thread it's as if the Mac brought me to the mountaintop with Christine's return, the tour, BuckVie album and tour.
Then just as I reached the summit I was flung off.

On a mental level tho this article best describes my thoughts. If FM is going to do something they're going to do it in the most FM way. What could be more FM than this latest development/sarc. I keep thinking about the movie Sid and Nancy. Nancy always talked about 'going out in a blaze of glory' but you know how that went. Unglorified!

I don't think this is a matter of time. I don't think Lindsey will come back. Ever. He was poorly treated by Mick and Stevie. IMO, this is sadly the end of Rumors 5 and in my case, of Fleetwood Mac. :(

And that's why they're the most iconic band in the world. No one will ever be better than The Beatles. And I'm not even a Beatles fan.

Very well stated. All the bands craziness has the rest of us feeling rather crazy as well. Like what are we supposed to make of this yet on some level it's almost funny because as stated it is the Mac-iest darn move possible. Like I'm having a weird kind of laugh/cry response. I really just want a final album. Don't care one way or the other about the tour. I think they're all surprisingly at the top of their game just listening to recent work and combinations (and heck, I may be an odd one out but I really love SYW for that matter). So much potential to make incredible new music but nope, gotta get all wrapped up in typical Mac drama. I'm sad/mad and just have to laugh I guess. The article amused me deeply because it was written from the same kind of snarky/bummed place I seem to be stuck in.

It's just Fleetwood Mac being Fleetwood Mac. And somehow all of us diehard fans are sitting here loving them inspire of our frustration. Like they've pulled us all in with them.

[QUOTE]Why on Earth does a band need more than two years off?????
The Beatles would have written, recorded and toured 4 albums in that time....and made a film./QUOTE]
The Beatles broke up after just 10 years.
This was a decent article, but some facts were skewed, such as "Tusk" being a #1 single. It was a top 10 single, but didn't crack the top 5, let alone #1.
Regardless, I think they should simply disband. How can they do a "farewell tour" without Buckingham? I am not going to buy a ticket.
I'll wait until the next solo Stevie Nicks tour.
I know everyone is assuming it's Stevie and Mick's fault. But we really don't know for sure what happened. Oh, to be a fly on the wall!
This is, as I said in another thread, the end of an era without a finale.
It sux.

[QUOTE=TheWildHeart67;1222363]well, can anyone realistically imagine it is due to John or Chris??

Besides, the insider sources who've been quoted have said that Stevie decided she could not work with him anymore and gave the band an ultimatum -- it's me or him.

He could have given them some kind of ultimatum too, but all the other tidbits say it was disagreement related to music for the tour.

Would she have wanted to do Stand Back and he said nope no more solo songs? Like wtf?

Weird laugh/cry response--pseudobulbar affect (pathological laughter and crying, no cure but can be treated with Nuedexta). I'm sure you've seen the commercials. Yep, that's me with this band.

My sig other has been coaching me since the weekend when I first read the rumors online about Lindsey. Here are a few of his talking points:
* Wasn't it great that Chris came back--you never thought it would happen!
* You went to so many shows (FM, BuckVie, Stevie)
* You'll always have BuckVie to listen to
* Lindsey will do a solo album/tour and you'll love it
* You still have Mick, John, Stevie and Chris--they didn't break up
* Mike and Neil are talented people---give it a try, you might be surprised even if it feels awkward at first--you love live music! Buy a cheap ticket and if you don't like it leave

Then he eases into the point he's really trying to make: "Look, you knew the chances of one final album with the Rumors 5 was slim and you already said you wouldn't go broke over the next tour. Wasn't Lindsey's album supposed to be out already? You knew something was off when the SiriusXm FM channel was delayed. I KNOW YOU'RE UPSET BUT LET'S JUST SEE HOW IT GOES....NOBODY DIED"
He's a good guy and has put up with a lot a Mac related crap over the years

[QUOTE]well, can anyone realistically imagine it is due to John or Chris??

Besides, the insider sources who've been quoted have said that Stevie decided she could not work with him anymore and gave the band an ultimatum -- it's me or him.

He could have given them some kind of ultimatum too, but all the other tidbits say it was disagreement related to music for the tour.

Would she have wanted to do Stand Back and he said nope no more solo songs? Like wtf?/QUOTE]
Oh, for sure it's a fight between them both.
But we don't know how he treats her or how she treats him.
Lots of baggage and both have big egos.
I'm not siding with either of them.
But they should have done this after the tour or simply cancelled it.
It must have been a one hell of a blowout.

I’d say they need more than two years off when they’re only doing cash grab hits tours back to back and no longer producing new things. If it were the opposite (as in 1975-1982) I would totally agree.

[QUOTE=TheWildHeart67;1222363]there were stories flying around for the last 2 months. everything that came out, whether leaking or in yesterday's statements, confirmed pieces of what we've been hearing.

they were negotiating the tour and how to do it, specifics, what we've been hearing goes. our 2 known explosive exes kept pushing each others' buttons. Lindsey was gonna tour solo in between Fleetwood Mac dates, the way Pretenders had some dates in between their shows with Stevie. they had entangled negotiations how, when, why, who like maybe how to advertise two tours. Lindsey was counting on Mac tour to help sort out his solo tour logistics. eventually after push and pull it ended up Mick and Stevie vs Lindsey. she told Mick - it's him or me. Mick washed his hands of any guilt and went to promoters to ask whether they'll make more money of Lindsey-less or Stevie'-less tour. case closed of course! there was no option of the whole 5 tour on the table. they should have worked it out. instead they threw Lindsey out and went with the money.

i would see Mike and Neil. and enjoy them, maybe even together. i liked Split Enz and Crowded House past hits. but i would not see them with Mick or Stevie i don't want to see or hear those two. especially Mick. and may his stupid meet&greets never sell on this tour.

i hope to still get a chance to hear Chris somewhere... i still hope she'll leave after all the bs and drama and just do whatever dates they have contracted in the first round and join Linds for BuckVie 2.

There's no earthly reason Lindsey couldn't have played his solo shows on his nights off from the big machine. Every city they play in has a smaller venue for him. This pisses me off so much precisely because it could have been arranged.

This tour isn’t going to do well especially with all the publicity about Lindsey.

I disagree. No way to book 2 consecutive tours. What if there's an illness, cancellation with on or the other members? The re-scheduled date could conflict with a band or solo booking. It's not logistically possible.

[QUOTE=TheWildHeart67;1222363]Great post

OR
Started the tour late summer/early fall. Give Lindsey May and June/early July to tour. They could have done rehearsals late July/August for a Labor Day tour kick off. All this drama because the promoters want summer gigs to make more money. Its insane.

Excellent point, and I would just add two things- I wonder if LB would be more invested in his solo shows. There were discussions here about how he seemed unhappy at the East/West Coast shows, which were smack in the middle of his BuckVie tour.

Also, and more importantly, he would have been competing with his own band- LB superfans would have skipped the FM tour for a chance to pay less money in a smaller setting to see him live solo. That would be like SN saying she wanted to perform some solo dates along with the band tour.

This paragraph really resonates with me, clearly revealing/reminding me why Lindsey is my favorite FM-er. Not only are those moments above my favorite parts of those tunes, but "Lighting strikes, maybe once, maybe twice" is the only part of the otherwise-bland "Gypsy" that makes it memorable to me. Lindsey's backing vocals on Tom Petty's "Walls (Circus)" is also the best part of that song.

Man, LB is gonna be missed. Looking forward to another solo tour, though!

I agree.
This isn't coming on the heels of a hot album, like "TITN" was.
There's been tons of press about this, and I don't think it is wise to tour without Lindsey IMO

[QUOTE=elle;1222400]
I feel silly even getting involved in this speculation, but why would Stevie have a problem with Lindsey doing solo shows? Why would she make it it's either him or me over him wanting to do some solo shows between the Fleetwood Mac tour? I don't understand the thought here. There has to be more.

I'm hoping we hear more when they start promoting the Fleetwood Mac tour. Unless they totally sidestep these obvious questions, we should find out more information within a few months. All this speculating does is spread more hate and anger.

Jamie

Jamie, I agree. Perfectly stated.

IMO it’s up to the band to address this stuff and prevent the spread of hate and anger. And they should do it pronto. If they weren’t ready to go public yet, then whomever told Billy Burnette should have kept their mouth shut. The cats out of the bag now. Attempts to sidestep questions about Lindsey’s departure are going to make it worse.

I’m hoping for a Buckingham tell-all in depth interview. After this I truly can’t see him ever going back again to work in any way with any of them. So I hope the man gets his story out there and helps drive the narrative instead of just letting the other side do it.

Yes, I think the problem now is that Billy leaked it out. It wasn't very mature of him to spill everything in advance of the band, even if he was offended that they didn't call him.
The strange fact is that surely his profile isn't run by him himself so it was premeditated, not a rash decision.

Well, Billy Burnette whether we want to admit it or not did spend many years in Fleetwood Mac when nobody else would. He lasted longer than Peter Green or Bob Welch. I would understand how he would be upset that he wasn't chosen. At least he knows all the usual songs. Do Mike or Neil? If it was just a touring band for the get rich quick tour Billy would actually have been a better choice.

...Billy Burnette never quit Fleetwood Mac. Mick dissolved the Time band when he knew there was a chance he could get Stevie and Lindsey back on board. That made sense for Mick but its a big kick in the butt for a guy who had given a number of years commitment to the band.

From what I read Billy heard about the Lindsey situation from Mick. He only put out his tweet several days after some people had already been discussing it on social media. He probably thought it was out in the open and fair game.

I find it incredible that there is nothing on the Fleetwood Mac FB page except that stupid penguin logo. That has just allowed hundreds of people to vent their spleen without a response from the band. This may have been possible in 1987, pre-Internet; now it is a sign of the very usual ineptitude and cluelessness of the band's managers. By this time they should have had their ducks in a row.

And I don't blame Burnette for talking. If I were in his shoes I would have done the same thing, and probably in more caustic terms.

He should do it as quickly as possible, before the band's lawyers find some nondisclosure clause in his contract with the band and get an injunction order against him.

and more from a year ago. before everything became more clear.

Stop spreading lies... errrrrr speculation... errrrrr hate!! errrrrrrrrrr ... ok they actually admitted it was $tevie...

Thanks for giving us some information we wouldn't otherwise have had early on. :laugh: