Fleetwood Mac rule out Lindsey Buckingham return

Buckingham with Fleetwood Mac in January 2018
Buckingham with Fleetwood Mac in January 2018 (Image credit: Steve Granitz - Getty)

Mick Fleetwood has ruled out the possibility of Lindsey Buckingham rejoining Fleetwood Mac in the future.

Buckingham was fired from the band in early 2018, with Fleetwood Mac enlisting Crowded House leader Neil Finn and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell for their subsequent world tour.

And asked in a new interview with Rolling Stone if there was any scenario in which Fleetwood Mac could ever play with Buckingham again, the drummer said: “No.”

Fleetwood added: “Fleetwood Mac is a strange creature. We’re very, very committed to Neil and Mike, and that passed away a time ago, when Lindsey left. And it’s not a point of conversation, so I have to say no. 

“It’s a full drama of Fleetwood Mac, no doubt. His legacy is alive and well, and as it should be. A major, major part that will never be taken away, and never be down-spoken by any of us.

“Neil and Mike have tremendous respect for Lindsey. The situation was no secret. We were not happy. It was not working, and we parted company. And that really is the all of it.”

Fleetwood goes on to say that he hasn’t spoken with Buckingham since the vocalist and guitarist’s emergency open heart surgery in February 2019.

Fleetwood was also asked if the band would ever do a farewell tour, to which he replied: “I suppose. It would be the right thing to do, to let people know you’re not wanting to play again. 

“We are not at that point, but if we get there, it’s a pretty good, gracious thing to let people know they’ll never see the band play again.”

Fleetwood will celebrate the music of Peter Green and the early years of Fleetwood Mac at a special show at the London Palladium on February 25.

He’ll be joined onstage by a raft of musicians including former Pink Floyd guitarist David GilmourZZ Top’s Billy GibbonsAerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Johnny LangAndy Fairweather Low, John Mayall, Zak Starkey, Bill Wyman and his Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie.

Green won’t perform at the show, but Fleetwood says he could be in attendance on the night.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.