Lindsey Buckingham, who’s preparing to release his new self-titled solo album next week, has a lot to say about his 2018 dismissal from Fleetwood Mac in a new Los Angeles Times interview.
It’s been reported that Buckingham was fired from the group after Stevie Nicks gave Fleetwood Mac a “him or me” ultimatum following an incident at the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year gala. Buckingham told the Los Angeles Times that he was disappointed that band mates Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie didn’t have his back in that conflict, while suggesting that financial concerns may have been a factor.
Lindsey maintains Mick has “never quite gotten to the point where he’s financially stable all the time,” adding, “He’s been married and divorced many times. He’s just not smart with his money.”
As for Christine, Buckingham reports that she sent him an email after his firing that read, “I’m really sorry that I didn’t stand up for you, but I just bought a house.” Lindsey also posed that Stevie wanted him out of the band so she could garner more attention and more control of the group’s direction. “I think she saw the possibility of remaking the band more in the Stevie Nicks vein,” he maintains.
The Los Angeles Times informed Nicks about Buckingham’s comments, and she sent a message in response, saying that Lindsey’s version of the events surrounding his firing “is factually inaccurate.”
She continues, “To be exceedingly clear…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.”
Nicks says “many lengthy group discussions” followed, and Fleetwood Mac “found a new path forward with two hugely talented new members,” referring to Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.
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