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Fakewood Mac? Depends on whom you ask as Fleetwood Mac comes to Chicago without Lindsey Buckingham
Fleetwood Mac — Christine McVie, from left, Neil Finn, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Mike Campbell and John McVie — is on the band's first tour without Lindsey Buckingham. (Fleetwood Mac)
Allison Stewart
Chicago Tribune
Even in the tumultuous, revolving door history of Fleetwood Mac, it was a big deal: Guitarist and singer Lindsey Buckingham was reportedly fired from the group earlier this year, after a dispute about the timing of the band’s upcoming tour. He was replaced by Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and Mike Campbell, former guitarist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
In a recent phone interview in advance of their United Center concert Saturday, drummer Mick Fleetwood was vague about the split, and bullish about the band’s future. He spoke about Buckingham’s exit, the arrival of Campbell and Finn (who are permanent members, as far as Fleetwood is concerned), and the eternally shape-shifting nature of life in Fleetwood Mac.
The following is an edited transcript of that conversation:
Q: Many musicians say they get butterflies before they go on the road, that it’s like the first day of school. Does that happen to you still?
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A: Yeah, and I thank God that that’s the case, because I think it would be awful if you’re sitting there all complacent, like, “Whatever.” There’s a huge sense of that. We’re going forward into a whole other chapter in many ways. We’ve gone through a lot of changes; we’re being reminded of getting back in the trenches. One of the main things is getting in touch with a type of creativity that comes from change. We’re really enjoying the process, and yes, it’s exciting or nerve-wracking or all of the above, but it’s not an unfamiliar feeling, at least not for me. I get very childlike.
Q: How is the chemistry between you and the new guys?
A: It’s incredibly great. Certainly Mike, Stevie (Nicks) had worked with and written with, and I knew him not terribly well, but I knew him to be hugely talented and a fantastic chap. Neil Finn is someone that I’ve been a huge fan … for a long time, and we’re very, very, close friends. We were sort of ahead of the game being blessed with that, and it’s going really, really, really well. There are no parts of this conversation that would be problematic. It’s been incredibly natural.
Q: Did you go to them, hat in hand? Like, “Would you like to join my band?”
A: We took a huge breath when it came to Lindsey and the band parting company. This is not a small event. It’s something that needed to happen, and all of those things I’ve addressed before. It was not, quote, “a happy situation.” The four of us (remaining members), we took a breath, understanding what we needed to feel to go forward. And once the forward motion was definitely voted in terms of our enthusiasm to do that, then this all fell into place. It wasn’t approached in a flippant way, it was approached with realism involved. Both these gentlemen are incredibly talented and had the proper pedigree, if you like, to have this feel natural in terms of the huge change that it is. We’re really happy with it.
Q: It’s probably strange for Mike Campbell to look over and see you after all those years of being with Tom Petty. And it’s probably weird for you to look over and see him. Or are you past that initial weirdness?
A: Well, no, the reality is it’s not. All of that dynamic has been not like that, where it just feels very right. Having said that, there’s no doubt for Mike Campbell, having spent his whole career playing with the Heartbreakers and his partner Tom Petty, the fairly recent occurrence of the loss of Tom was a huge event. Mike has mentioned to me that, had he been asked to do this a little sooner, I don’t think he would have been ready, understandably, to do it. He was just in the mode of healing. He was able to say, “You know what, this is so unbelievable, and it just feels so right, that I can do this now.” I look at him playing and I go, “This is a huge deal.” Especially having him come out of losing that situation not that long ago, and really feeling it’s been an incredibly healthy step. I know it is, because he’s told me.
Q: Is it a tribute to the elastic nature of Fleetwood Mac that the band can absorb these changes and keep going?
A: Any changes that’ve happened, including the change with Lindsey and the band parting company, it’s not just a flip thing. But in terms of this crazy band, if you look at the history, it’s all about change. Going back to the band forming in 1967, it’s quite a collage of somewhat unbelievable survivalist instincts that we seem to have inherited, and we’re certainly in that mode going forward. You can’t look back. We’ve decided to go forward, and that’s what we’re doing in great spirit.
Q: Christine McVie gave you a lot of credit for being the cheerleader in the band, the one who held it all together.
A: Is that my mantle to bear (laughs)? I’m not out in front singing songs or writing them. Really, I take that as a compliment, that that’s one of my things that I can look back on. Being a cheerleader is a fair enough title.
Q: She meant it as a compliment.
A: I take it as that. It’s really one big giant song, and this is the nearest to something I’ve had something to do with writing, that we are sitting here, about to embark on a massive world tour, going forward as we’ve always done.
Allison Stewart is a freelance writer.
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