Lindsey Buckingham continues to analyze his issues over the years with Stevie Nicks, which resulted in him being forced out of Fleetwood Mac at Nicks' urging back in 2018. Buckingham, who's now on the road in support of his new self-titled solo album, spoke to Mojo and shed light on the pair's relationship since splitting 1976.
Buckingham blamed some of Nicks' issues with him on her jealousy at the guitarist still moving around the stage with verve and ease: “Part of Stevie's problem with me onstage was I was so energetic and I had so many peak moments in the show. 'Go Your Own Way,' 'Big Love,' 'Never Going Back Again,' 'Tusk,' 'I’m So Afraid' — with that long solo — and 'The Chain.' I think she came off stage every night feeling like she’d come in second.”
Regarding his sudden firing from the Mac, Buckingham painted a picture of his bandmates and managers not wanting to ever upset Nicks — or risk losing her drawing power: “Everyone wanted to protect the touring mechanism and no-one wanted to even contemplate Fleetwood Mac without Stevie Nicks.”
He went on to recall, “Every time Fleetwood Mac was off the road, she would work on touring larger and larger venues as a solo artist. She finally got to this place, not long before I got ousted from the band, where she was able to play arenas by herself. I was happy for her; it was admirable that she’d been able to do that on her own. But at the same time she then felt enabled enough to say, 'Either Lindsey goes or I go,' which she probably wouldn’t have done without knowing she had the ability to play arenas on her own in her back pocket. The power, it was this ongoing, expanding thing.”
Although Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood have repaired their personal relationship, he and bandmates John and Christine McVie remain distant with each other, admitting, “John and I were never really close anyway. When all the stuff went down with Fleetwood Mac, he pretty much stayed off to the side. There’s never been a huge rapport with John, as much as I admire his talent and his intelligence.”
Buckingham, who recorded and toured with Christine McVie back in 2017, has shared a much closer personal and creative bond with her over the decades: “With Christine, I think I talked to her once. But it was hard all round — they were all caught in the middle when all that went down, they didn’t want it to happen but they didn’t feel strong enough to be able to do anything about it. I think Christine’s comment to me was, 'I’m sorry I didn’t stand up for you, but I had just bought a house.' That pretty much summarizes the whole thing.”
During a recent zoom chat on IT Unplugged via Nutanix, Lindsey Buckingham spoke about the bright side to these troubled times: “There certainly is a lesson in acceptance there, but there's also a lesson in looking for what is really essential within those circumstances. And obviously what comes to light is that yes, I've got my talent and I value that greatly, and I value the choices I've made. Beyond that, I'm here, every day with my wife, and my children and that is the gift.”
Lindsey Buckingham performs tonight (September 23rd) at Charlotte, North Carolina's Knight Theater