Lindsey Buckingham Speaks Publicly About Fleetwood Mac Departure

Lindsey for the first time publicly addressing his departure from Fleetwood Mac during a Mike Levin Fundraising event last night (May 11th) in Los Feliz, CA.

“It’s been an interesting time on a lot of levels,” said Buckingham “For me, personally, probably some of you know that for the last three months I have sadly taken leave of my band of 43 years, Fleetwood Mac. This was not something that was really my doing or my choice.

"I think what you would say is that there were factions within the band that had lost their perspective"

(**** Stevie Nicks! someone shouted). Well, it doesn’t really matter. The point is that they’d lost their perspective and what that did was to harm... and this is the only thing I’m really sad about, the rest of it becomes an opportunity, but it harmed the 43-year legacy that we had worked so hard to build. And that legacy was really about rising above difficulties in order to fulfill one’s higher truth and one’s higher destiny".

Well said Lindsey!!  Classy man!

Thanks to Brian Larsen for capturing the video

MEET FLEETWOOD MAC IN CHICAGO!

To celebrate SiriusXM’s The Fleetwood Mac Channel, we’re giving you the chance to win a trip to Chicago to see them in concert from the FRONT ROW... plus meet the band!

The legendary, GRAMMY-award winning band recently announced a North American tour that will kick off in October and travel through 50+ cities ending in Spring of 2019. Produced by Live Nation, the tour will feature the newly announced line-up of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie along with newcomers Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and Neil Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House).

One Grand Prize Winner will receive a trip for two to Chicago including airfare, hotel stay, two front row tickets to see Fleetwood Mac at United Center on Saturday, October 6 and a meet and greet with the band!

Plus, the winner will take home 5 deluxe Fleetwood Mac CD + DVD + LP box sets:

• Fleetwood Mac Deluxe
• Mirage Deluxe
• Rumours Deluxe
• Tango In The Night Deluxe
• Tusk Deluxe

SiriusXM’s The Fleetwood Mac Channel runs through May via satellite on channel 30, and through the SiriusXM app on smartphones and other connected devices, as well as online at siriusxm.com.

For Fleetwood Mac tour dates and tickets, visit fleetwoodmac.com

OPEN ONLY to active SiriusXM subscribers (self-paid or an introductory trial) since April 19, 2018 while meeting other geographical Conditions of Entry as provided in the Official Rules, and are at least 18 years of age at time of entry. See Official Rules for details and eligibility requirements.

ENTER HERE

Fleetwood Mac's Messy Divorce

Taken From the May 17-30, 2018 edition of Rollingstone. Full interview here in case you missed it. Or the full audio interview here.

Photo: Randee St Nicholas

A Conversation with Fleetwood Mac

Listen to Andy Greene's audio interview with all the members of Fleetwood Mac the formed the basis of his Rollingstone interview piece from last week.

Where did Lindsey Buckingham go? As they prep for a new tour, the members of Fleetwood Mac explain it all to Andy Greene.

Click the image

WIN Fleetwood Mac Tickets

Click on your city... Some have multiple contests starting this week ahead of tickets going on sale.

Rollingstone - Fleetwood Mac Detail New Tour and Talk Life After Lindsey Buckingham

Fleetwood Mac Detail New Tour and Talk Life After Lindsey Buckingham

In their first interview since firing their longtime guitarist, the group discusses balancing lingering tensions with an expanded live palette

A little over a month ago, the majority of Fleetwood Mac – Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood – quietly gathered at a little theater in Maui with their future in doubt. The band had secretly parted ways with Lindsey Buckingham, the longtime guitarist and voice behind many of their most enduring songs. According to the group, the split came down to a scheduling conflict surrounding a world tour. “We were supposed to go into rehearsal in June and he wanted to put it off until November [2019],” says Nicks. “That’s a long time. I just did 70 shows [on a solo tour]. As soon as I finish one thing, I dive back into another. Why would we stop? We don’t want to stop playing music. We don’t have anything else to do. This is what we do.”

So instead, they invited Mike Campbell, the former guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and spent a few days workshopping tunes from their vast catalog to see if this new lineup had the right chemistry. “I immediately felt like I’d known them for years,” says Christine McVie, “even though we’d only just met.”

The new lineup will embark on a massive 52-date tour beginning October 3rd in Tulsa and criss-crossing the country before wrapping up in Phladelphia in April 2019. Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, May 4th at 10 a.m. local time.  The group also announced the launch of a SiriusXM channel devoted to the band beginning Tuesday, May 1st.

Nobody in the group is quite willing to say Buckingham was “fired,” but they don’t completely object to the term. “Words like ‘fired’ are ugly references as far as I’m concerned,” says Fleetwood. “Not to hedge around, but we arrived at the impasse of hitting a brick wall. This was not a happy situation for us in terms of the logistics of a functioning band. To that purpose, we made a decision that we could not go on with him. Majority rules in term of what we need to do as a band and go forward.” Buckingham did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.

FLEETWOOD MAC LAUNCH EXCLUSIVE SIRIUSXM CHANNEL MAY 1ST

Fleetwood Mac to Launch Exclusive SiriusXM Channel as Iconic Band Announces North American Tour

The Fleetwood Mac Channel to launch on Tuesday, May 1^st

NEW YORK – April 25, 2018 – SiriusXM announced today that GRAMMY Award-winning rock band Fleetwood Mac will launch an exclusive, limited-runSiriusXM channel, The Fleetwood Mac Channel, on Tuesday, May 1^st.

The Fleetwood Mac Channel will showcase music from Fleetwood Mac’s extensive Rock & Roll Hall of Fame career including their indelible hits, solo material, live songs, rare demo tracks and musical influences.

The channel will also include exclusive stories and hosted shows from Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks, as well as insight and perspective from Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and Neil Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House) who recently joined Fleetwood Mac.

SiriusXM’s The Fleetwood Mac Channel begins on Tuesday, May 1^st at 5:00 pm ET and runs through May, via satellite on channel 30, and through theSiriusXM app on smartphones and other connected devices, as well as online at siriusxm.com.

SiriusXM subscribers will be able to tune into The Fleetwood Mac Channel (channel 30) beginning on Tuesday, May 1 on SiriusXM radios, and those with streaming access can listen online, on-the-go with the SiriusXM mobile app and at home on a wide variety of connected devices including smart TVs, Amazon Alexa devices, Apple TV, PlayStation, Roku, Sonos speakers and more. Go to www.SiriusXM.com/streaming to learn more.

Fleetwood Mac reveals why Lindsey Buckingham was ousted

Fleetwood Mac reveals why Lindsey Buckingham was ousted

Fleetwood Mac, which has sold more than 100 million records, is announcing a new tour today that kicks off in October. But lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham won't be on it. 
In its more than 50 years as a band, Fleetwood Mac has become famous for its dysfunction and turmoil. But the announcement this month that Buckingham was ousted from the band still came as a shock.
For the first time, band members tell CBS News what happened. This week the new lineup was still getting to know each other, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason. See the full video at the link below

CBS This Morning

Lindsey Buckingham to perform at Mike Levin Event

Lindsey will be the musical guest at an event in Los, Feliz, CA in support of Mike Levin, Democrat for California's 49th District on Friday, May 11, 2018.

For more information visit MikeLevin.org

Coming Up on CBS THIS MORNING - Fleetwood Mac April 25, 2018 with Anthony Mason

Hopefully Anthony Mason can shed some light on what broke the chain when he sits down with Fleetwood Mac on CBS This Morning Wednesday, April 25, 2018.

Check local listings.
Broadway World

A band is more than the sum of its members

by Neil McCormick
The Sunday Telegraph

‘It is impossible to imagine the Beatles with any other configuration than John, Paul, George and Ringo’

Fleetwood Mac have changed their line-up. Again. The vintage rock band have had 18 members over 51 years, so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised at their willingness to swap things about even at this late stage. Indeed, the latest twist in their convoluted saga has something of a superstar transfer about it. Last week, it was announced that vocalist and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham had left, with a source close to the band alleging the split was a result of “musical differences regarding the tour”. Two new members, singer songwriter Neil Finn, of Crowded House, and lead guitarist Mike Campbell, of the late Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, have been brought in to replace his copious talents.

The question fans will be asking is what impact this latest rejig will have on the integrity of the band. The rest of Fleetwood Mac remains familiar, although the rhythm section of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie are the only members who have been there since the beginning (lending the band their name). Vocalist Stevie Nicks joined in 1974, left in 1991 and rejoined in 1996, while singing keyboard player Christine McVie joined in 1970, left in 1998 and rejoined 2014. And who now remembers Dave Walker, vocalist for the Mac in 1972-73, who subsequently replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath for a year in 1977-78? It’s hard to imagine Sabbath and the Mac existing in the same musical universe, let alone sharing members. Perhaps given their revolving door policy, they should form a supergroup: Black Mac. Did you know that Sabbath have had eight singers and 25 members over their own 50-year career?

Finnishing touch to Mac’s next chapter

Finnishing touch to Mac’s next chapter
by Cameron Adams
Courier Mail - Australia

The music industry is wondering whether Crowded House founder Neil Finn can bring some stability to one of rock’s rockiest bands – Fleetwood Mac

WHEN news that Fleetwood Mac had sacked Lindsey Buckingham and replaced him with Neil Finn broke this week, many music fans thought it was a tardy April fool’s joke.

It was only in January that Buckingham and his bandmates put on a united front in New York at an awards show. Buckingham even told the crowd: “What we are feeling even more now in our career is love. This has always been a group of chemistry.”

Once Buckingham’s surprise exit was confirmed, it became merely the latest chapter for the most dysfunctional band in rock history – it’s not even the first time Buckingham has left, jumping ship in 1987 before rejoining a decade later.

“Fleetwood Mac is rock’s greatest soap opera,” music journalist Jeff Jenkins says. “It’s the Little River Band – with sexual tension.”

The band’s biggest album, 1977’s Rumours, is literally the soundtrack to an on and off workplace romance between hard-living and hard-loving members Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood, as well as Christine and John McVie.

Buckingham and Nicks joined the already-established band in 1974 as a couple, and by the time of Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 album (home to Landslide,

Rhiannon and Say You Love Me), they had split and the McVies’ marriage was ending. Nicks would go on to briefly date Fleetwood, whose marriage also finished.

That Rumours line-up is the most successful, but the band’s revolving door means it has had 12 official former members, including the freshly booted Buckingham. That’s more than AC/DC, but not quite as many as Guns N’ Roses or Iron Maiden. When McVie rejoined the band in 2014, the iconic line-up was back on stage for the 2014-15 “On With the Show” tour, which netted them more than $250 million.

McVie knew it was what fans had been waiting for.

“It’s utter joy,” she said at the time. “You make eye contact with people who are almost crying because they can’t believe they’re seeing the Rumours five back again – they can’t believe their eyes.

“It’s almost like a family reunion on stage, there’s no angst, there’s no animosity, there’s just a tremendous amount of friendship.

“First and foremost, we are a family. Dysfunctional though we might have been, we’re not now. We genuinely enjoy each other’s company.”

Once McVie was back in the band, Nicks gave her friend a silver chain, a metaphorical gift that McVie said represented the fact “the chain of the band will never be broken”, then added “not by me anyway. Not again by me.” It wasn’t McVie who had broken ranks. She took one for the team with last year’s Lindsey Buckingham/ Christine McVie album. It was originally meant to be a Fleetwood Mac album – Mick Fleetwood and John McVie play on the record – but Nicks was notable by her absence.

Rather than work with Fleetwood Mac, Nicks launched an album of unreleased material and went on a solo tour that highlighted her friendship with Tom Petty and Prince, as well as her lengthy history with Buckingham.

Inside the soap opera life of Fleetwood Mac

WORSE THAN RUMOURS Sex cults, the guitarists’ curse and a line of cocaine seven miles long: inside the soap opera life of Fleetwood Mac

Guitarist and singer Lindsey Buckingham's dramatic departure from the band this week is just another chapter to Fleetwood Mac's scandalous story of entangled love lives, debauchery, drugs and ever-changing line-ups

By Jacqui Swift
The Sun - UK

Their entangled love lives, debauchery, drugs and ever changing line-ups would fill the plot lines of any drama... there has never been a band more like a soap opera than Fleetwood Mac.

So when guitarist and singer Lindsey Buckingham was dramatically fired and told to go his own way this week, it was just another chapter to their scandalous story.

Lindsey leaving the band is nothing new

It’s not the first time Lindsey, now 68, has left the band - he quit in 1987, but returned to the fold a decade later.

When Lindsey quit in the 80s, after producing their second-biggest selling album, 1987’s Tango In The Night, it was because of his refusal to go out on tour and following a physical altercation – according to Mick Fleetwood’s 2014 memoir, Play On.

When the band announced last spring that a tour this year was planned, Lindsey was reluctant and wanted to focus on his solo work.

And so now, as in 1987 when was replaced by Billy Burnette and Rick Vito, Lindsey finds himself replaced by two new members with Crowded House’s Neil Finn and former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell joining Fleetwood Mac for their upcoming tour.

Interviewing the band separately before their gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2013 it was clear that Lindsey was the outsider who wanted to do things his way.

First he stopped journalists watching the band sound-check after Mick had invited them into the arena.

Later, he dismissed the rumour that Stevie’s good friend Sheryl Crow might take the place of Christine McVie who had “retired” in 1998.

Lindsey said snarkily: “There aren’t too many people who would be able to fill that bill. With Sheryl I thought it was pretty funny.”

Continue at The Sun

Fleetwood Mac is waging a dicey bet that its beloved hit songs are more popular than its most vital member.

Fleetwood Mac's split with Lindsey Buckingham could be band's most damaging

By Timothy Finn
The Kansas City Star

Fleetwood Mac is waging a dicey bet that its beloved hit songs are more popular than its most vital member.

When the band hits the road later this year, Lindsey Buckingham will not be present. On Monday, Fleetwood Mac bomb-shelled the music world by announcing it had parted ways with Buckingham, arguably the band’s centerpiece for the past 40-plus years. It wasn’t explicitly clear if Buckingham quit or was fired (although the consensus was that Buckingham was given his walking papers).

In his place, the band hired Mike Campbell, guitarist for Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn, instrumentalist and vocalist for Crowded House, Split Enz and the Finn Brothers.

We’ve witnessed this scenario before with Fleetwood Mac. In 1987, Buckingham left the band (creative differences) and was replaced by sidemen Billy Burnette and Rick Vito. He returned 10 years later, for a reunion tour, and remained with the band until this week.

And even before Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the band in 1975, Fleetwood Mac went through several significant departures, including Jeremy Spencer, Peter Green and Bob Welch.

This puts Fleetwood Mac among a growing group of classic-rock bands touring with replacement members. The Eagles just visited the Sprint Center with their latest lineup, which includes only one founding member, Don Henley.

Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks might be the most famous star-crossed lovers since Romeo and Juliet

Lindsey Buckingham, formerly of Fleetwood Mac: Rock’s biggest jerk or misunderstood genius?

By Travis M. Andrews
The Washington Post

It’s rare for Fleetwood Mac — a rock band formed in 1967 — to garner headlines in 2018. Still, the band was in the news not once but twice in as many weeks. Monday’s news that Lindsey Buckingham reportedly has been fired shook the rock community, earning eulogies and angry quips on Twitter.

There’s little question that the iconic band is losing a visionary musician (again) in Buckingham. But during a time when pop culture is reexamining its heroes, it’s important to remember that the guitarist and songwriter’s personal reputation is littered with allegations of controlling, belittling and even abusive behavior.

Rock-and-roll is often steeped in mythology, so, like any stories about the genre, it comes down to whom you choose to believe: the camp that believes he’s a misunderstood genius or the camp that believes he’s rock-and-roll’s premier jerk.

Many of the stories concerning Buckingham come from former romantic partners.

Full article at The Washington Post

Mike Campbell Statement on Joining Fleetwood Mac

Embed from Getty Images

"Though I was sad to hear Lindsey Buckingham is no longer with Fleetwood Mac, I am honored and excited to join the band. Lindsey is one of my favorite musical artists. A true genius at songwriting and guitar playing. I intend to honor his songs while at the same time bring my musicality to the band. After one rehearsal I can tell it’s going to be an amazing collaboration. I am also very happy to have an opportunity to play with Neil Finn, who I greatly admire. Fleetwood Mac not only has one of the greatest rhythm sections in rock history, it also has two of the finest voices and songwriters in Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie. I am looking forward to the tour with great anticipation."

Fleetwood Mac Fires Lindsey Buckingham over a disagreement with upcoming tour

Fleetwood Mac Fires Lindsey Buckingham
Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers and Neil Finn of Crowded House to replace departing guitarist
By Andy Greene
Rollingstone

Fleetwood Mac has fired Lindsey Buckingham after a disagreement over the band's upcoming tour, Rolling Stone has confirmed. The band announced Monday that Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Neil Finn of Crowded House will replace him.

News of Buckingham's departure initially broke when former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Billy Burnette shared an April 4th tweet that has since been deleted, saying: "Breaking news: Lindsey Buckingham is out but I'm not in." Rolling Stone has confirmed Buckingham's departure, though no specific tour dates have been announced.

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."

"Two weeks ago, I received a wonderful invitation to be a part of a truly great band," Finn tells Rolling Stone in a statement. "A few days later, I was standing in a room playing music with Fleetwood Mac. It felt fresh and exciting, so many great songs, a spectacular rhythm section and two of the greatest voices ever. Best of all, we sounded good together. It was a natural fit. I can’t wait to play."

Was Lindsey Buckingham Fired From Fleetwood Mac or Not?

Was Lindsey Buckingham Fired From Fleetwood Mac or Not? A Source Weighs In
by Jem Aswad
Variety

Lindsey Buckingham’s latest departure from Fleetwood Mac certainly upheld the group’s longstanding penchant for drama.

No sooner had Variety confirmed that he’d left the band than word came, literally minutes later, that they’d already replaced him — with longtime Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn. The confirmation sealed several days of speculation after Billy Burnette — one of two guitarists hired to replace Buckingham last time he left the band 31 years ago — wrote in a hastily deleted tweet on April 4: “Breaking news: Lindsey Buckingham is out but I’m not in. A little pissed off but I’ll get over it.”

While sources told both Variety and Rolling Stone that Buckingham was fired, a source close to the situation says it’s a matter of semantics that requires some backstory.

Full article at Variety

5 Lingering Questions From Fleetwood Mac's Split With Lindsey Buckingham

by Melinda Newman

Billboard

When Fleetwood Mac announced Monday (April 9) that the legendary band had replaced guitarist Lindsey Buckingham with Crowded House’s Neil Finn and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell for its upcoming tour, its statement brought up more questions than it answered.

Here are a few of those lingering questions:

What went south? 

Why Mike Campbell and Neil Finn? 

When did this all go down?

What does this mean for the setlist?

What’s next?

Check out Billboard Magazine

Broken Chain: A History of Fleetwood Mac Firings and Departures
Lindsey Buckingham's firing is just the latest in a decades-long game of musical chairs for the Hall of Fame band
By Andy Greene
Rollingstone

Over its 50-year history, Fleetwood Mac has seen just about as many people come and go as the Harlem Globetrotters. Drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie have been there from the start – the group's moniker is a combination of their last names – but they've had a hell of a time holding onto guitarists and singers. The latest stunning development is the firing of Lindsey Buckingham and the addition of Mike Campbell and Neil Finn as touring members. Here's a guide to the rotating crew of musicians have been come and gone from Fleetwood Mac over the decades (though we're skipping some fringe members so this doesn't become longer than Tusk).

Full article at Rollingstone

Neil Finn and Mike Campbell Replace Lindsey Buckingham

Fleetwood Mac to Tour With Neil Finn, Mike Campbell as Lindsey Buckingham’s Replacements
by Jem Aswad
Variety

Shortly after Variety confirmed that Lindsey Buckingham has been fired by Fleetwood Mac, the group announced plans to tour this Fall with two new members: Mike Campbell longtime lead guitarist for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn will be joining the Mac for their upcoming tour, with final dates being confirmed shortly.

“Fleetwood Mac has always been about an amazing collection of songs that are performed with a unique blend of talents,” Mick Fleetwood said. “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.”

“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,” said the group collectively. “Fleetwood Mac has always been a creative evolution. We look forward to honoring that spirit on this upcoming tour.”

In a statement, Neil Finn said: “Two weeks ago I received  a wonderful invitation to be a part of a truly great band. A few days later I was standing in a room playing

music with Fleetwood Mac. It felt  fresh and exciting, so many great songs, a spectacular rhythm section and two of the greatest voices ever. Best of all, we sounded good together. It was a natural fit. I can’t wait  to play.”

A source close to the situation tells Variety that Buckingham did not exit voluntarily — rather, says the insider, “He was fired” — although a source notes that the term may not quite fit the situation.

Lindsey Buckingham Fired by Fleetwood Mac

Lindsey Buckingham Fired by Fleetwood Mac
by Shirley Halperin
Variety

Lindsey Buckingham, guitarist and songwriter extraordinaire, has left the group Fleetwood Mac, Variety has confirmed. Buckingham has been a key member of Fleetwood Mac, playing with the band from from 1975 to 1987, then, after a decade-long break, returning to the fold in 1997. Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a year later.

News of the exit was first shared by guitarist Billy Burnette, who tweeted on April 4, “Breaking news: Lindsey Buckingham is out but I’m not in.” The message was deleted a few hours after posting. Presumably, Burnette, who replaced Buckingham in the group from 1987 until it went on hiatus in 1995, was angling for a position in the band.

According to a source, Buckingham did not exit voluntarily, rather, says the insider, “He was fired.”

Buckingham was not a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, which formed in 1967, but was asked to join the group after the exit of Bob Welch in 1974. That incarnation of the band, which also included Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks, went on to release one of the most successful albums of its time, 1977’s “Rumours,” which has sold more than 40 million copies and yielded such classics as “Don’t Stop” and “Go Your Own Way,” the latter written by Buckingham alone, as well as “The Chain” and “You Make Loving Fun.”

As a solo artist, Buckingham has released six studio albums. Last year, he and Christine McVie teamed for a well-received collection of original songs under the banner Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie.

Fleetwood Mac is managed by CSM and Suretone Management and booked by CAA.

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
by Rob Sheffield
Rollingstone

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.

Full article at Rollingstone

Did he jump or was he pushed?

Why leaving Fleetwood Mac may be a smart move for Lindsey Buckingham

By MIKAEL WOOD - POP MUSIC CRITIC
LA Times

Did he jump or was he pushed?

In the matter of Lindsey Buckingham's departure from Fleetwood Mac, the answer isn't yet clear.

On Monday, the veteran rock band issued a statement announcing that Buckingham — the singer and guitarist with whom Fleetwood Mac made such genre-defining albums as "Rumours" and "Tango in the Night" — would not be performing with the group on its upcoming tour.

Rolling Stone said that Buckingham had been fired over a disagreement pertaining to the tour; Variety cited a source who said Buckingham's leaving was harder to classify. (A representative for the band said she wasn't authorized to speak on Buckingham's behalf.)

Either way, the speed with which the guy was replaced — on tour, Fleetwood Mac will be joined by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers and Neil Finn of Crowded House — suggests that Buckingham's former bandmates weren't exactly tripping over themselves to keep him off the ledge.

So: Poor Lindsey, you might thinking.

Dude puts his own career on hold to team up with an unremarkable English blues-rock band, then quickly transforms that band into one of the world's most popular acts — and this is the thanks he gets?

But maybe stepping away from Fleetwood Mac, voluntarily or not, was actually a smart move for Buckingham, at least in a creative sense.

Anyone paying attention over the last few years could tell he didn't seem to be having much fun with the group he'd been with (on and off) since the mid-1970s, when he and his then-girlfriend, Stevie Nicks, teamed up with Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie to make the chart-topping "Fleetwood Mac" album that spun off hits like "Rhiannon" and "Landslide."

Fleetwood Mac: The Ultimate Music Guide - 124-page Uncut Magazine Special Edition

Deluxe, expanded: the latest updated edition from the Uncut family. This special edition of Fleetwood Mac: The Ultimate Music Guide from UnCut Magazine [April Edition] is available now in the UK and soon everywhere else.

124-page deluxe edition features a wealth of archival interviews from Melody Maker and NME, a recent catch up with Buckingham and McVie alongside in-depth reviews of every album.

More details at Uncut Magazine

Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours,’ Named to Library of Congress’ Registry

The Library of Congress announced on Wednesday that it will preserve the recordings of 25 additional artists and personalities in the National Recording Registry, including Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album "Rumours".

Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian, with advice from the Library’s National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB), is tasked with annually selecting 25 titles that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least 10 years old. 

Full list at Variety.com

“Rumours,” (album), Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Stevie Nicks said: “Devastation leads to writing good things.” It’s little wonder, then, that Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” is so highly regarded, having been forged by the crumbling relationships of every member of the group. In 1974, the then-remaining members of Fleetwood Mac—drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie and his wife, vocalist and keyboard player Christine McVie—found themselves without a male vocalist or guitarist. A chance meeting at a recording studio led to guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks, who were romantically involved, joining the group. The newly formed Anglo-American lineup soon struck gold with their eponymous 1975 album. They should have been on top of the world, but as they began working on their follow-up album, “Rumours,” relationships became so strained that, except as musically necessary, they would barely speak to each other while playing songs about each other. However, because the group had a sense that the songs were so strong, they not only endured, they prevailed. As engineer and co-producer Richard Dashut put it, they wanted to “ … make sure that every song on [“Rumours”] was worth its weight in gold.”

Alternate Fleetwood Mac "Tango In The Night" Released for Record Store Day

Fleetwood Mac The Alternate Tango In The Night

Similar to last year's Record Store Day where Fleetwood Mac released the alternate "Mirage" album by taking the previously issued CD from the duluxe edition reissue and making it a stand alone album, Fleetwood Mac will once again bust out the alternative album cd from 2017's deluxe reissue of "Tango In The Night". For the very first time, these alternate tracks will make their way to vinyl for this years Record Store Day on April 21st. Warner Bros. will press 4,000 copies of the vinyl for the US and 8,500 in total worldwide.

Support your local record store!

An album of alternate takes from the Tango In the Night Deluxe Edition, originally released in 2017.  Includes early versions and demos of “Tango In The Night” and “Seven Wonders”. On vinyl for the very first time. Worldwide run of 8,500.