Lindsey Buckingham says Stevie Nicks was the reason he fired from Fleetwood Mac

11 October 2018, 14:04

Lindsey Buckingham has claimed that Stevie Nicks was the reason behind his departure from the band.

The singer-songwriter was sacked from Fleetwood Mac, just days after the band were honoured at this year’s MusiCares benefit concert in New York.

Stevie Nicks later claimed that Buckingham wanting too much time for his solo work was the reason for his exit.

However, he has claimed that the band’s manager, Irving Azoff, called him at home to pass on a message from his Nicks.

“Stevie never wants to be on a stage with you again,” he was told.

“We rehearsed for two days, and everything was great,” Buckingham said. “We were getting along great.”

Azoff then gave a list of things “Stevie took issue with”, including how he had “smirked” during her thank you speech at an event in New York, and that he apparently had an outburst over the band’s intro music, ‘Rhiannon’.

“It wasn’t about it being ‘Rhiannon,’” he said. “It just undermined the impact of our entrance. That’s me being very specific about the right and wrong way to do something.”

Buckingham added he “may or may not have smirked” but the other members were also messing about in Nicks’ speech: “I look over and Christine and Mick are doing the waltz behind her as a joke."

“I don’t think there was ever anything that was just cause to be fired,” he added. “We have all done things that were not constructive. All of us have worn on each other’s psyches at times. That’s the history of the group.”

Last month, Fleetwood Mac revealed their new line-up, including Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House singer Neil Finn.