Fans are trying to make heads or tails over Lindsey Buckingham's sudden firing from Fleetwood Mac. In the announcement that Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House's Neil Finn would be joining the band to cover Buckingham's parts, fans were never given any reason for the change in the band's classic lineup. There are some whispers that Buckingham had actually wanted to have a new Mac album readied before hitting the road again -- but that doesn't really play out. Following the band's sold out 2015 reunion dates with Christine McVie, the band was all geared up to record a new album, yet Stevie Nicks balked, citing that albums don't sell anymore, and proceeded to book yet another solo arena tour.
The 2017 Buckingham McVie album -- featuring Mick Fleetwood and John McVie -- was in truth a Fleetwood Mac album under a different brand due to Nicks refusing to contribute. It was confirmed to us that the group was absolutely holding out for Nicks' involvement for both creative and financial reasons. As it stood, Lindsey Buckingham played two major Fleetwood Mac world tours back to back, wrote and produced an LP that performed far under the expectations of what a "proper" Fleetwood Mac album would've, and supported it with Christine McVie performing one-nighters on the shed circuit rather than the Mac's standard of several nights in arenas. Buckingham wanting to hit pause on the Mac machine, along with bucking Stevie Nicks' allotted time for Mac roadwork was likely the reason for him being ousted.
- The fact of the matter that can't be ignored is that Buckingham is a 69-year-old father of three teenagers. He and wife and Kristen are the parents of 19-year-old William, 18-year-old Leelee, and 13-year-old Stella. The pull of a massive world tour away from his brood probably played a significant part in how and when Buckingham wanted to hit the road.