Did Stevie Nicks really force Lindsey Buckingham out of Fleetwood Mac over something he did
during a speech? Or does their animosity towards each other stretch back decades?
After five decades, the music of the legendary band Fleetwood Mac continues to be popular.
The band's 2018 reunion tour saw a total of 88 performances over four legs around the world,
while in the fall of 2020 the use of their song "Dreams" in a viral TikTok video caused streams
of the song to triple. Still, long-time member Christine McVie told Rolling Stone in June of
2022, just a few months before her death, that she wasn't sure if the band was still intact.
To many of those hearing their music for the first time, the inner workings of the
band may not be that familiar. And it must be said, the inside story of Fleetwood Mac
is notoriously turbulent. In the band's heyday, the feuding, love triangles and
public sniping in the press between the band's members threatened to tear Fleetwood Mac apart.
And from time to time, that is exactly what the band's inner turmoil often did.
Even the glorious 2018 tour began with one prominent band member, Lindsey Buckingham,
apparently being frozen out of the touring roster by songwriter and vocalist Stevie Nicks. Longtime
fans and admirers of the group were hardly surprised. The feuding between the former
couple is legendary. But why exactly can't Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks stand each other?
The pair began dating and working together as teenagers and were still
in a relationship when they joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975. The band exploded shortly after,
with the hit album Rumours laying bare some of the couple's troubles. It is now common
knowledge that the pressures of megastardom were a central reason for their breakup.
"That's why I say don't go out with rock stars."
Rock Music Revival quotes Nicks as saying:
"Lindsey always blamed Fleetwood Mac for the loss of me. Had we not joined,
we would have continued on with our music but we probably would have gotten married
and we probably would have had a child, and it would have been a different life."
However, according to the 2017 book Gold Dust Woman, an unofficial biography of Nicks,
the couple's trouble began long before they made it big. In the book,
an anonymous source tells the story of the troubled photoshoot for the couple's
1973 collaborative album Buckingham Nicks. Nicks was still a shy 25-year-old and was
unhappy removing her clothes for what their record label wanted to be a "sexy" shoot.
Buckingham reacted badly, bullying Nicks and telling her that the shoot was in the
interest of "art." He also said she was being immature. According to the
book Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac: Interviews and Encounters,
Buckingham's behavior at the time prompted Nicks to think that her then-boyfriend didn't
really know her. Still, the album cover would feature an image of Nicks topless.
Nearly five decades after they joined the group, the bitterness between Stevie Nicks
and Lindsey Buckingham still has an impact on Fleetwood Mac's tours, and dominates
the headlines surrounding the group. Factors include claims of abuse on Buckingham's part,
emerging alongside reports of Nicks' long-running troubles with addiction. Still,
in the end, it appears that Nicks has had the last laugh.
As previously mentioned, the band's huge 2018 tour went ahead without Buckingham,
reportedly thanks to an ultimatum delivered by Nicks to her current bandmates. In the ultimatum,
the singer offered the following options: either Buckingham was excluded from the tour,
or she walked. The band chose Nicks, but, according to Newsweek, had to
reach a financial settlement with Buckingham for breach of oral contract, among other complaints.
According to Rolling Stone, part of the reason for Nicks' flare-up was over something very minor.
While delivering a thank-you speech on behalf of the group at a 2018 benefit in New York,
Nicks perceived a smirk on Buckingham's face, which set her off. Buckingham told Rolling Stone:
"The irony is that we have this standing joke that Stevie, when she talks, goes on a long time."
According to Page Six, however, Buckingham was kicked off the tour
because he wanted the group to wait until he was done promoting his solo
project. Nicks didn't want to wait to go on tour, hence the ultimatum.
"It's a damn shame. Uh, it's, it's not what I want."
For Fleetwood Mac's fans,
the feud itself is also something of a standing joke. Some things never change.