Category Archives: Lindsey Buckingham

Lindsey Buckingham says he would return to Fleetwood Mac “in a heartbeat, absolutely” | NME

Lindsey Buckingham has reflected on his time in Fleetwood Mac and revealed that he would rejoin the line-up “in a heartbeat”.

The comments from the artist arose during a new interview with Conan O’Brien for SiriusXM, in which Buckingham recalled the legacy of the band and his departure from the line-up in 2018.

Currently, the future of Fleetwood Mac hangs in the balance, following the death of longtime member Christine McVie. The singer, songwriter and keyboardist died in November 2022 aged 79 “following a short illness”. It was later revealed that her death was primarily caused by suffering an ischemic stroke.

The musician had also been diagnosed with “metastatic malignancy of unknown primary origin”, meaning cancer cells had been detected in her body.

While it remains uncertain whether or not the band will continue without McVie, Buckingham has said that he would be open to the idea if the opportunity arose.

“In a heartbeat, absolutely,” he responded to O’Brien when asked if he would consider rejoining (via Far Out). “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.” Continue reading Lindsey Buckingham says he would return to Fleetwood Mac “in a heartbeat, absolutely” | NME

Lindsey Buckingham Wrote a Song That Changed Omar Apollo’s Life | Rolling Stone

BY TOMÁS MIER
Rolling Stone
OCT 24, 2023

A genre-hopping young star and a rock icon compare notes on songwriting, Fleetwood Mac, relationships and much, much more

I DIDN’T BRING my stilts,” dad-jokes Lindsey Buckingham as he eyes Omar Apollo, all six feet five of him. Apollo lets out a chuckle as he leans against the recording console, where Buckingham’s band, Fleetwood Mac, happened to have made Tusk 45 years ago.

Buckingham, a 74-year-old guitar hero, might seem an odd pairing for a 26-year-old Mexican American star who makes tear-jerking alt-R&B. But as Apollo, who asked Buckingham to join him for Musicians on Musicians, puts it: “I got layers, you know?” (That’s evident as the singer jumps between playing the Cocteau Twins and norteño legend Ramón Ayala during the duo’s photo shoot.)

Once the men sit down for their chat at the Village, the legendary L.A. studio, they realize their connection is more than just musical. Perhaps, fateful. Buckingham made Tusk here. Apollo dropped his breakthrough album, Ivory, last year. “That’s crazy,” Apollo says. “We both have the elephant thing.”

Apollo’s conversation with Buckingham arrives at a pivotal moment in his career: He earned a Best New Artist Grammy nomination earlier this year, his song “Evergreen” just went platinum, and his excellent new EP, Live for Me, came out Oct. 6 — the success is coming swiftly, and he’s at a clear turning point. Buckingham knows that feeling all too well: It happened after Fleetwood Mac dropped their blockbuster album Rumours. He has some advice to impart about fame, songwriting, and going your own way as an artist.

Omar, you wanted to talk to Lindsey. I would love to hear why.

Apollo: Well, there’s a song that you made that has so many memories attached to it, that I’m obsessed with, that literally changed how I wanted to look at music and make music.

Buckingham: And what song was that?

Apollo: It was “Never Going Back Again.” Continue reading Lindsey Buckingham Wrote a Song That Changed Omar Apollo’s Life | Rolling Stone

Lindsey Buckingham cancels rest of UK and European tour due to “ongoing health issues” | NME

NME
By
Will Richards
3rd October 2022

The dates were already rescheduled from earlier in 2022 when they had to be postponed due to positive COVID cases

Lindsey Buckingham cancelled the remainder of his UK and European tour dates due to “ongoing health issues”.

The former Fleetwood Mac guitarist and singer was currently midway through a run of rescheduled UK gigs, which were due to be played earlier this year before he was forced to postpone the tour after he and members of his live band and crew contracted COVID.

After playing the London Palladium on Saturday night (October 1), Buckingham shared a message on his social media the following day, revealing that the remainder of the dates – including a show set for tonight (October 3) in Glasgow – are now cancelled.

The message said: “Due to ongoing health issues, Lindsey is regrettably having to cancel the remaining shows on his current European tour.

“Refunds will be available from the point of purchase. Lindsey sends his deepest apologies to all of his fans who were planning to attend and hopes to return to Europe in the future.

See the message and the cancelled tour dates below.

OCTOBER 2022
03 – Glasgow, SEC Armadillo
04 – Liverpool, Philharmonic Hall
06 – Dublin, Helix

Continue reading Lindsey Buckingham cancels rest of UK and European tour due to “ongoing health issues” | NME

Lindsey Buckingham UK/Europe tour reviews

Lindsey Buckingham UK/Europe tour reviews

Collection of tour reviews

Lindsey Buckingham review — the Fleetwood Mac soap opera continues | The Times

★★★★☆
Alongside becoming one of the pre-eminent guitarists of his generation, Lindsey Buckingham appears to have been on a lifelong mission to annoy Stevie Nicks as much as possible. Way back on Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 divorce masterpiece Rumours, Buckingham was contributing Second Hand News, Never Going Back Again and Go Your Own Way, self-explanatory break-up anthems all in some way about his former girlfriend. When Nicks finally flipped in 2018 and said either she went or he did, Buckingham put his subsequent sacking from Fleetwood Mac down to her probably still being in love with him. Finally in London after a much-delayed tour, he certainly didn’t shy away from highlighting his undeniable contribution to Fleetwood Mac, playing all the favourites alongside his solo material.

Buckingham was always the one who pushed things musically, embracing post-punk when the others wanted to stick to soft rock. It resulted in following up Rumours with the 1979 album Tusk, the title track of which still sounded as weird as ever here with its marching beat and eerie demand, “Don’t say that you love me.” Elsewhere the concert was a masterclass in guitar playing, from the sweet acoustic finger-picking on Never Going Back Again to the gentle balladry of Time, a cover version of the plaintive Sixties hit by harmony trio the Pozo-Seco Singers, which features on Buckingham’s (very good) 2021 solo album. And when he launched off on an interminable solo he looked as if he was going through every kind of agony and ecstasy before the roar of the crowd brought him some kind of climax when the solo finally ended.

Amid all this Buckingham was a slender, lithe figure who looked good for his age (he’s 73 today) and seemed perfectly content to play with his three backing musicians as if he was filling stadiums, even though he was actually in a mid-sized theatre before a seated audience. By Go Your Own Way everyone was up on their feet, singing along and doing a bit of dancing in the aisles before being removed by overzealous ushers; exactly the kind of rapturous response that proves Buckingham can indeed go his own way, which will annoy Nicks further. Don’t bet on Lindsey Buckingham’s role in the Fleetwood Mac soap opera being over yet, though.

London Palladium
With seven albums’ worth of solo material to his name, Buckingham makes the fans wait for classic Rumours tracks – but eventually delivers in style


Lindsey Buckingham is considered rock royalty thanks to the years he spent with Fleetwood Mac, and his role in transforming a one-time great British blues band that had lost its leader and sense of direction into a multi-platinum-selling soft-rock phenomenon. But he clearly wants to be known for even more: as a singer-songwriting soloist who is also a distinctive guitarist. Tonight, those who are desperate for him to get on to his Fleetwood Mac hits are reminded that he has recorded seven albums of his own songs.

Now in his early 70s, he comes on in very tight blue jeans, black vest and jacket, backed by a three-piece band of keyboards, drums, and a second guitarist, Neale Heywood, who has worked with Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham makes no introductions as he heads into a selection of his non-Fleetwood songs, demonstrating his guitar skills from the start. He likes the finger-picking style that is associated more with folk than rock, and the opening Not Too Late shows his slick, rapid-fire technique. He has a powerful vocal range and a catalogue of fine, tuneful songs, such as Soul Drifter, which would benefit from more emotion and variety than his consistently full-tilt approach allows.

Continue reading Lindsey Buckingham UK/Europe tour reviews

Lindsey Buckingham announces rescheduled UK and Ireland dates | NME

Check out the new autumn show dates here

Lindsey Buckingham has confirmed his rescheduled UK and European shows.

The former Fleetwood Mac guitarist and singer was in May forced to postpone the tour after he and members of his live band and crew contracted COVID.

A statement at the time read: “This is heartbreaking for Lindsey, he was so excited to come to Europe for the first time as a solo artist this spring.”

Buckingham will now play shows in Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool and London between October 3 and October 6, 2022.

The UK run follows rearranged gigs in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and Germany. Original tickets are valid for all the corresponding new dates.

Lindsey Buckingham’s UK and European tour dates 2022:

OCTOBER
Saturday 01 – London, London Palladium
Monday 03 – Glasgow, SEC Armadillo
Tuesday 04 – Liverpool, Philharmonic Hall
Thursday 06 – Dublin, Helix

Continue reading Lindsey Buckingham announces rescheduled UK and Ireland dates | NME

“Applaud my genius, Bemoan my failings” | The RC Interview with Lindsey Buckingham

Record Collector Magazine
April 2022
Terry Staunton

Musicians with careers as long and as successful as Lindsey Buckingham’s tend to have a wealth of stories to tell, but few have involved quite so many plot twists. From relatively unassuming beginnings as a recording artist via a sun-kissed album made with his then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks, he was catapulted into the white heat of superstardom with Fleetwood Mac, as a creative linchpin of the makeover that brought them global acclaim. A solid, parallel solo career garnered more plaudits, if not the same sales, but there have been myriad pitfalls and problems along the way Oddly, despite the stratospheric success, he remains, in a sense, a cult artist, “I was determined to avoid becoming a caricature,” he tells Terry Staunton.

Lindsey Buckingham opens with an apology. While happy to be grilled about any and all aspects of his professional and private life, he’s concerned some events may be trickier to recall than others: “I want to say sorry in advance, in case I draw a blank on some of your questions. There may be memory lapses, especially during those years we weren’t behaving ourselves.”

The misbehavior he alludes to is a frequently referenced component in the story of Fleetwood Mac, a band whose appetite for frowned-upon substances has, in some quarters, defined them as much as any of their million-selling albums. The same can be said about the unraveling of in-house romantic entanglements that inform the contents of their most iconic work, the “musical soap opera”, Rumours. Released in early 1977, three months before Star Wars opened in US cinemas, more than one subsequent magazine article about its songs and the star-crossed lovers who made them has headlined May Divorce Be With You.

Quick-fix shorthand aside, however, Buckingham’s is a musical CV distinguished by daring, by taking risks, by refusing to zig and relishing a zag. He may have been the co-architect of the perceived pinnacle of soft rock (with worldwide sales north of 40 million), but he was also the driving force behind the often wilfully radio-unfriendly Tusk.

When the boundaries of the Fleetwood Mac blueprint were no long a workable (or welcome) fit for his spirit of musical adventure, he embarked on a parallel solo career that, while retaining many of the melodic hallmarks of the band, allowed him to scratch a relentless itch for pushing envelopes. His 2021 self-titled collection is a continuation of the sonic explorations of its six predecessors, of a hunger to remix the paints on what he refers to in this interview as his “artistic palette”.

It’s an album we should have heard when it was completed in 2018, were it not for a sequence of events no one saw coming on the last day of its recording. A request to extend his sabbatical from the group in which he’d served for a total of 43 years was met with an unceremonious sacking, and while still licking his wounds from that bolt-out-of-the-blue news, Buckinghamham was rushed to hospital to undergo triple-bypass surgery.

While recuperating and redrafting plans to take the new record to market, his private life also went into a tailspin with headlines that the man whose name was synonymous with hign-profile breakups in the rock biz, was getting a divorce from Kristen Messner, his photographer and interior designer wife of 21 years. The ending of that particular chapter has yet to be written, and the now 72-year-old Buckingham is candidly philosophical about what the future might hold.

Today he has a European tour (including his first-ever solo shows in the UK) to promote, while looking back at the highs and lows of a life in music that started with playing acid rock bass at school in the San Francisco suburb of Atherton. Continue reading “Applaud my genius, Bemoan my failings” | The RC Interview with Lindsey Buckingham

Lindsey Buckingham looks past Fleetwood Mac ‘fiasco’ with upcoming solo tour | San Francisco Chronicle

Aidin Vaziri
San Francisco Chronicle
April 1st, 2022

Lindsey Buckingham doesn’t have much reason to be optimistic.

Over the past four years, Fleetwood Mac gave him the boot, his wife filed for divorce, he lost his voice, nearly died, and watched the release of his long-awaited solo album get delayed several times. Oh, and then there was the whole pandemic thing.

After being ousted from Fleetwood Mac, musician Lindsey Buckingham released a self-titled album in 2021.

“It’s certainly been an interesting few years, starting with the whole Fleetwood Mac fiasco,” Buckingham, 72, told The Chronicle, calling from his home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Yet the songwriter, best known as the band’s lead guitarist and singer since it released the 40 million-selling album “Rumours” in 1977, is full of hope as he prepares to kick off an extensive spring solo tour at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on Tuesday, April 5.

The trek is in support of his seventh solo album, “Lindsey Buckingham,” which was completed nearly five years ago and finally released in September. The first leg of the tour in the fall saw him packing theaters with loyal fans, and many of his upcoming dates are sold out too.

But Buckingham is most looking forward to getting back onstage with the members of his former group — drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie, keyboardist-vocalist Christine McVie and singer Stevie Nicks, who reportedly issued the ultimatum forcing the band to dump Buckingham ahead of its 2018 “An Evening With Fleetwood Mac” tour. Continue reading Lindsey Buckingham looks past Fleetwood Mac ‘fiasco’ with upcoming solo tour | San Francisco Chronicle

Lindsey Buckingham blames “disoriented” Stevie Nicks for the lack of new Fleetwood Mac music | Classic Rock

Lindsey Buckingham says the fact that Fleetwood Mac haven’t released a new album since 2003 “wasn’t for lack of trying”

(Image credit: Rob Ball/WireImage)

Lindsey Buckingham blames Stevie Nicks for the lack of new music from Fleetwood Mac, telling Classic Rock magazine that the fact that the legendary rock band haven’t released a studio album since 2003‘s Say You Will “wasn’t for lack of trying.”

Buckingham, who released a self-titled solo album earlier this year, was fired from Fleetwood Mac in 2018, and claimed earlier this year that Nicks was the catalyst for that decision: speaking with the LA Times, the guitarist said that Nicks issued a ‘him or me’ ultimatum to the band, in a bid to assert more control over the group, an accusation Nicks has denied.

Now, in a new interview running in the new issue of Classic Rock magazine, on sale on December 7, Buckingham suggests that his former partner’s reticence to get involved in the writing and recording of new Fleetwood Mac material is the reason there’s been no new album from the band in 18 years.

Buckingham claims that work had actually begun on a new Fleetwood Mac album back 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,” he tells Classic Rock. “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.” Continue reading Lindsey Buckingham blames “disoriented” Stevie Nicks for the lack of new Fleetwood Mac music | Classic Rock

Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham on Stevie Nicks: ‘She’s never been over me’ | The Times

The Times (UK)
Will Hodgkinson
September 17 2021

Last week the singer revealed he had been fired from the group by Nicks. The reason? She’s probably still in love with him, he tells Will Hodgkinson

Lindsey Buckingham: “It’s hard for me to know what Stevie’s mentality is towards me — but I know what mine is to her”CHANTAL ANDERSON/NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX/EYEVINE
Lindsey Buckingham: “It’s hard for me to know what Stevie’s mentality is towards me — but I know what mine is to her” CHANTAL ANDERSON/NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX/EYEVINE

The soap opera continues. Last week Lindsey Buckingham announced that he was fired in 2018 from Fleetwood Mac because Stevie Nicks made an ultimatum: it was either him or her. They chose her. It was, says the guitarist who joined the band in 1975 with Nicks, then his girlfriend, the result of long-simmering tensions. They reached boiling point after Nicks refused to delay a tour so Buckingham could promote his solo album, and because of a perceived slight during her speech at the MusiCares charity event in New York, when she felt he was smirking behind her back. Nicks responded by stating: “I did not have him fired, I did not ask for him to be fired, I did not demand he be fired. Frankly, I fired myself.”

Rather than fuel the he-said-she-said back and forth, I’m interested to know where all this antipathy came from in the first place. Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 masterpiece, Rumours, was dominated by songs about the pair’s romantic tussles. She wrote Dreams about him, he wrote Go Your Own Way, Second Hand News and Never Going Back Again about her, and since then they have dealt with cocaine addiction, alcohol abuse, solo careers, Nicks going through rehab, Buckingham getting married to the interior designer Kristen Messner, and countless worldwide tours. If they could survive all of that, why should it fall apart in 2018 over a tour delay and a snigger? Continue reading Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham on Stevie Nicks: ‘She’s never been over me’ | The Times

‘Like Trump and the Republicans’: Lindsey Buckingham reignites Stevie Nicks feud | The Guardian

Ben Beaumont-Thomas
Thu 9 Sep 2021 17.38 BST

War of words takes place between former Fleetwood Mac couple, with Buckingham accusing the band of dishonouring its legacy

Going their own way … Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Composite: Getty

One of the bitterest feuds in pop music rolls on, after Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks – once a couple whose breakup powered the classic album Rumours – have strongly disputed Buckingham’s departure from the band.

In 2018, it was announced that Buckingham would not be appearing on a forthcoming Fleetwood Mac tour. Buckingham sued the band later that year, saying that he was “suddenly cut off” after a dispute over being able to postpone the tour to play solo dates.

The lawsuit was settled out of court, with Buckingham saying: “We’ve all signed off on something. I’m happy enough with it. I’m not out there trying to twist the knife at all. I’m trying to look at this with some level of compassion, some level of wisdom.”

But in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Buckingham has said he was ousted because Nicks “wanted to shape the band in her own image, a more mellow thing”. He added: “I think others in the band just felt that they were not empowered enough individually, for whatever their own reasons, to stand up for what was right. And so it became a little bit like Trump and the Republicans.”

He said the ensuing tour, with Mike Campbell and Crowded House’s Neil Finn replacing him on guitar, “seemed somewhat generic and perhaps bordering on being a cover band … what this did was dishonour the legacy that we built”. Continue reading ‘Like Trump and the Republicans’: Lindsey Buckingham reignites Stevie Nicks feud | The Guardian