Randee St. Nicholas; John RussoIn January of 2018, Fleetwood Mac was saluted as MusiCares Person of the Year — becoming the first band to be recognized with the honor — at a New York City gala featuring star-studded tributes and a performance by the group itself. But fans didn’t know that trouble was brewing behind the scenes.
In April, Fleetwood Mac announced that it was welcoming two new members — founding Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn — and said that Buckingham would not be joining the band when it hit the road in the fall for a new North American tour.
Initially, the reason for Lindsey’s ouster from the band he’d played with, on and off, for 43 years remained unclear, although drummer Mick Fleetwood told Rolling Stone in late April that “we made a decision that we could not go on with him.” The magazine also reported that Lindsey wouldn’t commit to doing the tour.
The 2018 Fleetwood Mac trek launched in October, and the band’s set included songs by Finn’s groups Crowded House and Split Enz and by Petty & the Heartbreakers. Buckingham kicked off a solo tour that same month, supporting a new career-spanning compilation titled Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham.
Also in October, Lindsey gave a lengthy interview with Rolling Stone in which he claimed that his former flame and longtime collaborator Stevie Nicks was so upset by his actions at the MusiCares ceremony that, in essence, she told the rest of the group, “either he goes or I go.”
Buckingham admitted he’d had some conflict with the group over when the next tour was to start because he’d wanted to release a new solo album and support it with his own trek. However, he alleged that he agreed to postpone his solo endeavors for a year so he do the Fleetwood Mac tour first. Buckingham then sued his band mates over the money he was losing by not touring with the group.
By December, Buckingham revealed that the lawsuit had been settled. He also told Rolling Stone that although it seemed unlikely to happen, he wouldn’t rule out returning to Fleetwood Mac, because he feels the band owes fans a proper farewell tour.
Meanwhile, Nicks got exciting news in December: She’d been chosen for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019 as a solo artist. When she’s welcomed into the Rock Hall in March, Stevie will become the first women to be inducted twice. She previously received the honor as a member of Fleetwood Mac in 1998.
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