Fleetwood Mac was initially founded by guitarists and vocalists Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, and Mick Fleetwood in 1967. Over time, the band underwent several changes, including adding keyboardist and vocalist Christine Perfect, who became a full member in 1970.
The addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in the mid-1970s brought a more pop-rock sound to the band and resulted in their best-selling album, Rumours, which won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978.
Fleetwood Mac's self-titled album reached the top of the charts in countries worldwide and has sold over 40 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums ever.
Despite the band's success, members were coming and going, including Lindsey Buckingham, who was fired.
Lindsey Buckingham on Why He Was Fired and How He Feels About It
Lindsey Buckingham expressed his disappointment that his firing from Fleetwood Mac "harmed the legacy" of the band. While on the WTF With Marc Maron Podcast, the guitarist spoke of the issues between himself and the band.
Buckingham was fired from the legendary group back in 2018 and was replaced by the Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell and Crowded House's Neil Finn.
Buckingham denied that he was kicked out because he wanted too much time off to concentrate on his solo career, as Nicks had claimed. He claimed the band's manager, Irving Azoff, called him at home in LA to pass on a message from Nicks.
"Stevie never wants to be on a stage with you again," he was reportedly told.
Buckingham said he'd asked the band for "an extra three months" to put out a solo album and take it on tour in the US before resuming his duties with Fleetwood Mac. He said that Nicks was the one person who did not want to bestow that on him.
"To be fair, everyone was anxious to get on the road, but we've all made time for each other's [side-projects]. I've been in the band for 43 years, for God's sake… Jesus!" he said.
He continued, "That sort of led to other things that kind of built up around that. And then it just got to the point where someone [Nicks] just didn't want to work with me anymore. And other people [in the group] were perhaps not feeling empowered enough to stand up for me when possibly they should have or could have."
Buckingham added that he's not saying that he can't be hard to get along with sometimes, but "we spent 43 years building this legacy which was about rising above things – it stood for more than the music. And by allowing this to happen through some levels of weakness – my own weakness included – I think we did some harm to that legacy. And that's a shame."
Buckingham has not been in contact with Nicks since his departure, except when she sent him a letter following his heart attack in 2019. He said that he is still in touch with Mick Fleetwood, who he spoke to following the death of Peter Green last summer.
What Mick Fleetwood Has to Say About Lindsey Buckingham Being Fired
While speaking to Louder, Mick Fleetwood was asked if he felt like he could've handled Lindsey Buckingham being fired better. Fleetwood said:
"No, I really don't. I'm in touch with Lindsey, and we had a great conversation, and it was understood that, basically, the dynamic for both Stevie and himself had really worn its way so thin… it was just really not a happy situation, and it's not good for either of them. We couldn't endure going on."
He continued, "And at that point, in many ways, believe me, even I'm going: 'We're done.' And that's the best way to describe it. There was just so much unhealed emotional content."
Fleetwood said it was getting to be too much if the band continued, "Again, no one was equipped to keep it going. It was just too much. So that was that. One thing for sure is that Lindsey's work with Fleetwood Mac is faultless and such a major part."
Stevie Nicks on Lindsey Buckingham's Firing
Over three years after Buckingham's firing, Stevie Nicks addressed the situation publicly, stating that Buckingham's "version of events is factually inaccurate."
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Nicks clarified that she had decided that she was no longer willing to work with Buckingham following an "exceedingly difficult time" at an event in 2018. Buckingham had complained that the band was introduced at the event with the Nicks-penned song "Rhiannon."
Nicks said, "It's unfortunate that Lindsey has chosen to tell a revisionist history of what transpired in 2018 with Fleetwood Mac. His version of events is factually inaccurate, and while I've never spoken publicly on the matter, preferring to not air dirty laundry, certainly, it feels the time has come to shine a light on the truth."
Buckingham claimed he was fired after asking Fleetwood Mac to delay a three-month tour, so he could release and tour his next solo album. He stated that he was fired amid conversations on the subject. Buckingham has previously alleged that Nicks was why he was fired from the band.
In the same interview, Buckingham claimed that Nicks "wanted to shape the band in her own image" and that his emails and calls to the rest of the band were never answered following his dismissal.
Following the initial controversy, Buckingham filed a lawsuit against Fleetwood Mac for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of oral contract, and more over the firing. The case was settled two months later.
