Lindsey Buckingham Says Fleetwood Mac Disrespected Their Legacy

Lindsey Buckingham remains disappointed in the way he was dismissed from Fleetwood Mac, but continues holding out hope that he and the group may tour together one last time.

During a recent interview with Conan O’Brien for SiriusXM, Buckingham detailed the way things played out with his former band.

“Without pointing any fingers, it was certainly fairly singular in how it was driven,” the guitarist noted, seemingly alluding to Stevie Nicks. “Others in the band were not happy with what was going on at that point. And I think everyone would have liked to see me remain, but did what they felt they had to do in that moment. And that’s understandable. There’s no fingers to point at anyone, really. That’s rock and roll, right?”

“I was in the band for almost 45 years,” Buckingham continued, “and we were always – this is always part of our legacy – we were always able to work out our differences over things of which were far more profound than any issues that happened in 2018 with me departing the band.”

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The inability to once again move past personal problems for the betterment of the band disappointed Buckingham. When Fleetwood Mac toured without him, replacing the guitarist with Neil Finn and Mike Campbell, it added insult to injury.

“The band collectively allowing that to happen, maybe out of weakness to some degree, it disrespected the legacy we built,” Buckingham opined. “Because we’d been through 45 years almost of really some very difficult moments, some very difficult years, and we’d come back around. Like I say, that’s our legacy. So to some degree, to go out and do something more generic was not honoring our legacy.”

Could Fleetwood Mac Reunite?

Following the death of Christine McVie in 2022, both Nicks and Mick Fleetwood suggested the band was likely done. Still, their passionate fan base remains – and if the group ever decides to head out for one more tour, Buckingham would like to be part of it.

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“In a heartbeat, absolutely,” the guitarist confirmed when O'Brien asked if he’d accept an invitation to rejoin the band. “If there’s more to come [from Fleetwood Mac], if there’s a way to heal that, that would be great. It would be very appropriate to close on a more circular note.”