The Lindsey Buckingham/Fleetwood Mac drama continues, and Buckingham has hinted at a potential return to the group.
Buckingham said in an appearance on the WTF With Marc Maron Podcast (as transcribed by U.K.’s Far Out), “It’s my sense that pretty much everyone would love to see me come back.” He also said of getting fired, “What was most disappointing about it [his firing] to me was not, ‘Oh, I’m not gonna get to do this tour.’ What it was [is] again, we spent 43 years building this legacy which was about rising above things – it stood for more than the music.”
Buckingham was ousted from Fleetwood Mac in April 2018. Since then, there has been a lot reported on why he was fired in the first place.
Buckingham told Rolling Stone in October 2018 he was fired from Fleetwood Mac after Nicks allegedly gave the band a “him or me” ultimatum following the band being honored at the MusiCares Person of the Year gala in January 2018 where she was not pleased with some of Buckingham’s behavior. There was also an issue within the band regarding the start of Fleetwood Mac’s current tour. The band wanted to start in August, while Buckingham wanted to start in November to give him time to promote and tour in support of a solo album.
Nicks would finally publically comment on the Buckingham situation for the first time in October 2020 in an interview with the Los Angeles Times saying, “I never planned for that to happen. Any time we re-formed to do a tour or a record, I always walked in with hope in my heart. And I just was so disappointed. I felt like all the wind had gone out of my sails.”
The Los Angles Times noted, “Nicks is reluctant to discuss the details of that night [at the MusiCares gala], though she admits it was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back.’”
Nicks added, “I just felt like a dying flower all the time. I stayed with him from 1968 until that night. It’s a long time. And I really could hear my parents — I could hear my mom saying, ‘Are you really gonna do this for the rest of your life?’ And I could hear my dad saying in his very pragmatic way — because my dad really liked Lindsey —‘I think it’s time for you and Lindsey to get a divorce.’ It’s a very unfortunate thing. It makes me very, very sad.”
Despite all of this, Fleetwood told Rolling Stone earlier this month that the July 2020 death of co-founder Peter Green led to him getting back in touch with Buckingham after not speaking for two years.
“I’ve really enjoyed being reconnected with Lindsey, which has been gracious and open, and both of us have been beautifully honest about who we are and how we got to where we were,” said Fleetwood.
Fleetwood also mentioned in that interview that he’s thinking about a potential farewell tour, likely once it’s safe to tour again following the coronavirus pandemic. He said, “I’m very aware that we’ve never played that card. I think the vision for me, and I think it would be hugely appropriate, is that we actually say ‘this is goodbye’ and go out and actually do that. That has always been my vision and I’m flatly confident that we can do that. We owe it to the fans.”