Lindsey Buckingham Blames Stevie Nicks for Fleetwood Mac LP Delay
Lindsey Buckingham claimed his former bandmate, Stevie Nicks, was responsible for Fleetwood Mac’s lack of new material in recent years.
In a conversation with Classic Rock magazine, the guitarist revealed that work on a new Fleetwood Mac album began in 2012.
“I had a bunch of songs, and Mick [Fleetwood] and John [McVie] and I went in with the producer Mitchell Froom and cut a bunch of stuff,” Buckingham explained. “This was before Christine [McVie] returned to the band in 2014. We very much wanted to draw Stevie in, and for some reason she refused to participate.”
Buckingham further asserted that Nicks had “gotten a little bit disoriented in her wanting to pursue Stevie Nicks in capital letters, if you will.”
“I think she kind of lost track of her writing a little bit,” he continued, “and maybe didn’t think she had anything she felt she could offer, and so did not want to be a part of it.”
Later, when Christine McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham had hoped Nicks would find a renewed interest in the group. That, as it turned out, was not the case.
“It was like, ‘Well, Christine’s back, maybe now Stevie will want to do this,’” Buckingham recalled. “Christine had a bunch of song ideas and I helped her with those, and we eventually went in the studio and cut those. And we were still hoping to make that a Fleetwood Mac album, and Stevie wouldn’t do it. That became the duet album that Christine and I did [2017’s Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie]. So it wasn’t for lack of trying.”
Buckingham split from Fleetwood Mac in 2018, later saying he was forced out by Nicks. The guitarist sued the band for breach of contract, while Nicks' denied having made the decision to have him fired. The group has not released a new studio album since 2003's Say You Will.
Despite apparent animosity, Buckingham -- who released a self-titled solo album earlier this year -- reiterated that he’s open to a reunion with Fleetwood Mac.
“Who knows, maybe we’ll manage to see clear to have one more nice run out there,” he said to Classic Rock. “That would be the proper way to go.”
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Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso