not sure if this was posted already?
https://medium.com/@bechdel_65793/fl...d-7e98ccd5e7ff
Jeff Bechdel
Apr 11
Fleetwood Mac is Officially Dead.
Fleetwood Mac performing live in 2013.
The blues-turned-rock/pop group Fleetwood Mac is hitting the road this summer, with tour dates expected to start in June. The band is celebrating more than 50 years in music, and to commemorate the occasion, it committed suicide this week.
According to a statement released by Fleetwood Mac’s management, the band made the incomprehensible decision to fire its front man, guitarist, and producer Lindsey Buckingham, and replace him with, wait for it, two (2) other guitar players — Mike Campbell, formerly of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn of Crowded House. (I’ll admit to having great respect for the former and no idea who the latter is.)
The History
Buckingham, who joined the band on New Year’s Eve 1974 alongside then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks, served as one of the band’s three main songwriters, its lead guitarist, and its creative muse both in the studio and on tour. His tenure lasted from ’74 to 1987, when after recording the hit album “Tango in the Night,” he decided against joining his bandmates on tour. That decision ultimately led to a physical altercation between Buckingham and Nicks (according to Fleetwood’s 1990 tell-all biography) at the home of songwriter, vocalist, and keyboard player Christine McVie. Soon thereafter, Fleetwood Mac announced they were hitting the road with, you guessed it, two new guitar players — Rick Vito and Billy Burnette.
Then in the spring of 1997, Buckingham rejoined Nicks, McVie, and founding members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie (ex-husband of Christine), for a reunion concert and tour. “The Dance,” a 17-track mix of new songs and old hits, earned the band Grammy nominations and critical acclaim. The Mac was back.
The band soldiered on (albeit without Christine McVie) with a new album in 2003 and tours in 2003, 2004, 2009, and 2013. Then in 2014, McVie rejoined the band for tour dates in ’14–15.
Fleetwood Mac Fires Lindsey Buckingham
Fleetwood Mac was expected to hit the road in 2018 for what some speculated would be a farewell tour, but that all came to a screeching halt on Monday, when news broke that the band had fired Buckingham.
Rolling Stone confirmed Buckingham was fired “after a disagreement over the band’s upcoming tour.” Both Fleetwood, the band’s drummer, and the band collectively released statements:
Fleetwood Mac issued a collective statement about the news, saying: “We are thrilled to welcome the musical talents of the caliber of Mike Campbell and Neil Finn into the Mac family. With Mike and Neil, we’ll be performing all the hits that the fans love, plus we’ll be surprising our audiences with some tracks from our historic catalogue of songs. Fleetwood Mac has always been a creative evolution. We look forward to honoring that spirit on this upcoming tour.”
Mick Fleetwood added, “Fleetwood Mac has always been about an amazing collection of songs that are performed with a unique blend of talents … We jammed with Mike and Neil and the chemistry really worked and let the band realize that this is the right combination to go forward with in Fleetwood Mac style. We know we have something new, yet it’s got the unmistakable Mac sound.”
They also issued this rather cold statement: “Lindsey Buckingham will not be performing with the band on this tour. The band wishes Lindsey all the best.”
Nickswood Mac?
Fleetwood Mac, as a band, is often described as a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Despite being the musical genius behind the band’s sound, Buckingham has never recreated the Mac magic in his solo career. The same is true for Nicks, who, despite some commercial success, could never reach the echelons that she could with her band. Similarly, Fleetwood Mac was unable to achieve any real success in the 1990s without Buckingham.
So what could have possibly driven the members of this successful, albeit quarrelsome, band to cast out one of their own like this?
On numerous occasions, Nicks has stated she has no desire to record new music with Fleetwood Mac. The reason? Money.
Speaking to London’s Evening Standard, Nicks commented: “I don’t write as many songs anymore because with the Internet, the way that kids listen to music, all the streaming, and the fact that if they’re very savvy, if they want to get it and not pay for it, they can.”
Later at that same January 2017 event, Nicks claimed to speak for Fleetwood Mac when she said, “Would you rather spend a year in the studio or get back on the road? I think that the band would choose to tour.”
The irony of that statement is that the band’s two other songwriters, Buckingham and Christine McVie, released an album as a duo (with the backing of fellow Mac members Fleetwood and John McVie!) just a few months later in 2017. The only band member not involved in the project was Nicks, who hasn’t released an album with new material since 2011.
Despite claims to the contrary, 2017’s “Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie” was intended to be a Fleetwood Mac album, but when Nicks wouldn’t budge on recording, became a duo album with Fleetwood and McVie as the rhythm section.
Money Trumps Creativity?
Did Buckingham, ever the creative driving force behind the band’s music, push a little too hard for a new record, resulting in the decision to ultimately fire him? Right now, no one knows for sure, and given the nature of how Fleetwood Mac operates, the public may never know exactly what happened.
In January, Fleetwood Mac became the first band to be named MusiCares Person of the Year. Artists including John Legend, Keith Urban, and Lorde paid tribute to the band’s music. Then later, Fleetwood Mac took the stage for what was, in all likelihood, its final performance as a band.
No carefully worded press statement can clean up the fact that Fleetwood Mac fired one of their own. And despite their hopes that this weren’t true, a stage filled with 15 guitarists couldn’t replace Lindsey Buckingham.
Fleetwood Mac played their last set in January 2018, and now Fleetwood Mac is dead.