The tumultuous relationship between Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham has fueled rock ‘n’ roll legend for nearly half a century. From their early days as a romantic couple to their bitter breakup and subsequent years of creative tension, the duo’s infamous “beef” has fascinated fans and inspired some of the band’s most iconic music. Now, drummer Mick Fleetwood has expressed his hope for a long-awaited reconciliation between the estranged bandmates in a recent interview with MOJO published on July 9.
“It’s no secret, it’s no tittle-tattle that there is a brick wall there emotionally,” Fleetwood shared. “Stevie’s able to speak clearly about how she feels and doesn’t feel, as does Lindsey. But I’ll say, personally, I would love to see a healing between them – and that doesn’t have to take the shape of a tour, necessarily.”
Nicks and Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac on New Year’s Eve 1974, after performing as a duo under the name Buckingham Nicks. Their romantic relationship ended in 1976, just before the band recorded their iconic album Rumours, yet they continued to perform together professionally for many years. They were pivotal in creating the band’s signature sound and were mainstays until 1987, when Buckingham left the group, followed by Nicks in 1990. Both returned in 1997, only for Buckingham to be fired in 2018.
Following Buckingham’s departure in 2018, he claimed it was “all Stevie’s doing,” alleging that she gave the band an ultimatum that led to his firing. Nicks refuted his claims: “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.”
Meanwhile, Fleetwood Mac’s future has been uncertain following the death of longtime member Christine McVie in November 2022. Both Fleetwood and Nicks have indicated that the band is unlikely to reunite without her. Nicks told MOJO last month, “Without Christine, no can do. There is no chance of putting Fleetwood Mac back together in any way. Without her, it just couldn’t work.”
“Even if I thought I could work with Lindsey again, he’s had some health problems,” says Nicks, referring to Buckingham’s heart surgery in 2019. “It’s not for me to say, but I’m not sure if Lindsey could do the kind of touring that Fleetwood Mac does, where you go out for a year and a half. It’s so demanding.”
Fleetwood echoed that McVie’s death signaled the end of a Fleetwood Mac revival, saying in February last year that he had drawn “a line in the sand” regarding playing with the band again but would be happy if the members continued making music in other projects. Reflecting on the past year, he said, “It’s been a strange time for me. Losing sweet Christine was catastrophic. And then, in my world, sort of losing the band too. And I [split] with my partner as well. I just found myself sort of licking my wounds.”
Despite the uncertainties, Buckingham expressed in February that he’d rejoin the band “in a heartbeat” if given the opportunity. Meanwhile, Nicks has been busy with her solo career and is set to headline BST Hyde Park in London on July 12, supported by artists like Baby Queen and Nina Nesbitt. This comes after the music legend was forced to postpone a slew of recent shows “due to illness.”
Mick Fleetwood has had a rough year, dealing with the loss of Christine McVie and the subsequent dissolution of Fleetwood Mac. In a new interview with Mojo, he recapped his life since McVie’s death in late 2022. “It’s been a strange time for me,” Fleetwood explained. “Losing sweet Christine was catastrophic. And then, in my world, sort of losing the band too. And I split with my partner as well. I just found myself sort of licking my wounds.” Fleetwood’s “crazy little restaurant” was also destroyed by the 2023 Maui wildfires.
One thing that’s been unifying for him, though, is maintaining a Swiss-like relationship with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, whom he’s optimistic can one day landslide their way into some sort of reconciliation. “It’s no secret, it’s no title-tattle that there is a brick wall there emotionally. Stevie’s able to speak clearly about how she feels and doesn’t feel, as does Lindsey,” Fleetwood said. “But I’ll say, personally, I would love to see a healing between them — and that doesn’t have to take the shape of a tour, necessarily.”
Nicks has been adamant that Fleetwood Mac died as a touring unit alongside McVie, and last time we checked, she and Buckingham were still throwing verbal shawls at each other in the press. But maybe if the duo open their eyes and look at the day, they’ll see things in a different way.
At the tail end of 1974, Fleetwood Mac’s trajectory was changed forever when they recruited guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks. The then-couple were both romantically entwined and pursuing their own musical career as a duo cannily named Buckingham Nicks. Founding members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie recognized their lineup needed refreshing, and they were right. Nicks and Buckingham contributed vastly to Fleetwood Mac’s period of global commercial success, especially with the 1977 album Rumours which they created in the midst of personal turmoil, drug abuse, and various inter-band romantic entanglements.
The tumultuous nature of Nicks’ and Buckingham’s working relationship continued over the course of the following decades too. Both were ever-present until 1987 when Buckingham first quit, before Nicks left in 1990. They both rejoined in 1997, before Buckingham was eventually fired in 2018. In a new interview with Mojo magazine, Mick Fleetwood has called for “healing” between the two, though it might not result in a future Fleetwood Mac reunion.
Discussing the former couple’s current relationship, Fleetwood said: “It’s no secret, it’s no tittle-tattle that there is a brick wall there emotionally. Stevie’s able to speak clearly about how she feels and doesn’t feel, as does Lindsey,” he continued. “But I’ll say, personally, I would love to see a healing between them – and that doesn’t have to take the shape of a tour, necessarily.”
Despite their frequent ups and downs since they first broke up in 1976 ahead of recording Rumours, Nicks and Buckingham have largely maintained an amicable professional relationship. That was until 2018 when Lindsey Buckingham was fired from Fleetwood Mac, which opened old wounds for the two. At the time, Buckingham told People magazine his firing was “all Stevie’s doing” and that she “basically gave the band an ultimatum that either I had to go or she would go.” After his departure, the guitarist was replaced by Crowded House’s Neil Finn and Mike Campbell, a former member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Even if Stevie and Lindsey do manage to reconcile – no matter how unlikely that may be – it’s doubtful Fleetwood Mac would reunite for a tour. Recently Nicks poured cold water on a potential Fleetwood Mac reunion, saying there was “no reason to” after the death of Christine McVie. “When Christine died, I felt like you can’t replace her. You just can’t,” she said in an interview with Vulture. “Without her, what is it? You know what I mean? She was like my soul mate, my musical soul mate, and my best friend that I spent more time with than any of my other best friends outside of Fleetwood Mac. Christine was my best friend.”
Source: MOJO, People, Vulture
