Lindsey Buckingham fired by Fleetwood Mac leading up to group’s ‘Farewell Tour’

Not long after Fleetwood Mac announced their upcoming Farewell Tour, complete with all the bandmates we’ve come to know and love, the band announced that guitarist Lindsey Buckingham is now out of the band and won’t be included in that tour.  The last time Buckingham left the group it took two guitarists to replace him; and that will again be the situation for the band’s upcoming tour.  Yesterday, Fleetwood Mac announced that “Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Neil Finn of Crowded House will replace him,” according to MSN.

On April 9, the band simply announced: “Lindsey Buckingham will not be performing with the band on this tour. The band wishes Lindsey all the best.” ~ The Telegraph

MSN went on to report that the band fired Buckingham over disagreements surrounding the upcoming tour. Regarding Buckingham’s replacements, the band stated in a press release shared by The Associated Press that, “We jammed with Mike and Neil and the chemistry really worked and let the band realize that this is the right combination to go forward with in Fleetwood Mac style,” Mick Fleetwood, the drummer who co-founded the band in 1967, said in the statement. “We know we have something new, yet it’s got the unmistakable Mac sound.”

Campbell, a founding member of Tom Petty and Heartbreakers, hasn’t performed publicly since Petty died last October due to an accidental drug overdose. Both Campbell and Petty “wrote and played on Nicks’ 1981 hit “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,”” according to Syracuse.com.  Regarding their upcoming tour:

Fleetwood Mac issued a collective statement about the news, saying: “We are thrilled to welcome the musical talents of the caliber of Mike Campbell and Neil Finn into the Mac family. With Mike and Neil, we’ll be performing all the hits that the fans love, plus we’ll be surprising our audiences with some tracks from our historic catalogue of songs. Fleetwood Mac has always been a creative evolution. We look forward to honoring that spirit on this upcoming tour.”  ~ MSN

Buckingham was romantically involved with Stevie Nicks when the couple joined Fleetwood Mac back in 1974.  He left the band once before in 1987 and didn’t rejoin the “Rumors” group until 1996. He’s been an active member of Fleetwood Mac since getting back together with them in 1996. Buckingham is credited with writing and singing many of Fleetwood Mac’s big hits, including “Go Your Own Way” and “Tusk.

No concert dates have yet been scheduled for the band’s upcoming tour. For more on the story, see the video accompanying this article.

~ Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter