When was Lindsey Buckingham fired from Fleetwood Mac? Former member reunites with the band’s co-founder and leader, Mick Fleetwood
Fleetwood Mac's former guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham, has reunited with the band's co-founder and leader, Mick Fleetwood. According to People's March 26 report, Swedish record producer Carl Falk announced the news on February 20 in a Threads post.
According to the media outlet, Lindsey Buckingham was fired from the rock band in April 2018 following a disagreement at a MusiCares performance.
Producer Carl Falk called the reunion "unreal." He stated Mick Fleetwood played their upcoming album to Lindsey Buckingham, and the guitarist offered to participate in the album. He wrote:
"Slightly unreal moment to sit with Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood to play Lindsey the album we have been working on, and to see his genuine happiness for Mick to finally do his own album and offering to play guitar and to sing on it. Can’t wait to finish this one."
What did Lindsey Buckingham say about his dismissal from Fleetwood Mac?
In September 2021, Buckingham did an interview with People. He stated that the band's vocalist, Stevie Nicks, whose real name is Stephanie Lynn Nicks, was the reason behind his dismissal.
For the unversed, the two dated from 1972 to 1976. Buckingham claimed that Nicks allegedly gave the band an ultimatum in 2018. The former guitarist compared the situation to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' feud.
"It was all Stevie's doing. Stevie basically gave the band an ultimatum that either I had to go or she would go. It would be like [Mick] Jagger saying, 'Well, either Keith [Richards] has to go, or I'm going to go,'" he said.
Buckingham then stated that the other members, especially the band's co-founder and leader, Mick Fleetwood, were in a challenging situation at the time. He claimed Christine McVie allegedly reached out to him and apologized for not standing up for him, as she reportedly bought a house and did not want to risk her financial livelihood.
Buckingham said:
"I think they felt they might have been threatening their own financial livelihoods at that point, and that's a tough one. It was a tough one for Mick especially, but for Christine too. I mean, Christine texted me and said, 'I'm really sorry I didn't stand up for you when that happened.' She said, 'I had just bought a house,' so that was the tradeoff that they made."
According to Billboard's report, Stevie Nicks responded to Lindsey Buckingham's accusation. She released a statement claiming that she was not involved with his dismissal, and instead, she proactively removed herself from the group as it was a "toxic" environment. She said:
"To be exceedingly clear, I did not have him fired, I did not ask for him to be fired, I did not demand he be fired. Frankly, I fired myself. I proactively removed myself from the band and a situation I considered to be toxic to my well-being. I was done. If the band went on without me, so be it."
Fleetwood Mac released their live album Mirage Tour '82 in September 2024. It featured recordings from their 1982 Mirage Tour and six unreleased tracks.