It’s no rumor that a rift between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham led to Buckingham’s ouster from Fleetwood Mac in 2018. Now, in a new interview with Mojo, the group’s founding drummer, Mick Fleetwood, who’s in touch with both Nicks and Buckingham, shared his hopes that the estranged former bandmates will one day reconcile, even if it doesn’t result in a Fleetwood Mac reunion.
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“It’s no secret, it’s no title-tattle that there is a brick wall there emotionally,” Fleetwood told Mojo. “Stevie’s able to speak clearly about how she feels and doesn’t feel, as does Lindsey. But I’ll say, personally, I would love to see a healing between them—and that doesn’t have to take the shape of a tour, necessarily.”
[RELATED: Stevie Nicks Issues Definitive Statement on Fleetwood Mac’s Future and Possible Reunion]
After Buckingham’s departure from Fleetwood Mac, Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell joined the lineup and the band went on a world tour. Sadly, longtime singer/keyboardist Christine McVie died unexpectedly in 2022, which, according to Nicks, signaled an end to the group.
As she told Mojo in June, “Without Christine, no can do. There is no chance of putting Fleetwood Mac back together in any way. Without her, it just couldn’t work.”
Mick Said He Expected Another Fleetwood Mac Tour Before McVie Died
Fleetwood told Mojo that before McVie’s death, he expected the band to tour again, at least with Campbell and Finn.
“There was a full intention, without waiting too long, that we’d go and pick things back up,” he maintained. “That we’d play stadiums, big shows and festivals… and then at that point it was heading towards us saying goodbye.”
While the drummer still would like Fleetwood Mac to mount some sort of farewell trek, he told Mojo that he accepts that the group likely is done for good.
Recent Losses Fleetwood Has Experienced
The death of McVie is one of a number of losses Fleetwood said he’s been dealing with in recent years.
“Losing sweet Christine was catastrophic,” he noted. “And then, in my world, sort of losing the band too. And I [split] with my partner as well. I just found myself sort of licking my wounds.”
In addition, the August 2023 wildfires that devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui, where Mick has resided for three decades, destroyed the restaurant he owned in the city of Lahaina.
The good news, according to Fleetwood, is that the residents of Lahaina are “making progress” in recovering from the fires. He also told Mojo, “I’m even starting to think about bringing back my crazy little restaurant. It was a place where people around here would gather and commune.”
Plans for a New Solo Album
Meanwhile, Fleetwood told Mojo that after quite a bit of downtime from music, he’s playing drums again and is currently working on his first solo studio album in 20 years.
“I had to just get off my bottom,” he pointed out. “I was sitting around twiddling my fingers for a long time. I finally plugged into the fact that I’m a drummer, I need to go play.”
Regarding the album, Mick revealed that he’s exploring a musical skill for which he’s not exactly known.
“[B]elieve it or not, I’m actually starting to sing,” he said, “so God help you.”
Mick’s last full-length solo studio project was the 2004 album Something Big, which was credited to The Mick Fleetwood Band. In August 2023, Fleetwood teamed up with ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro to release a spoken-word version of Christine McVie’s classic Fleetwood Mac ballad “Songbird” in honor of would’ve been McVie’s 80th birthday.
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