Ever the musical soap opera, Fleetwood Mac have fired longstanding guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and recruited Mike Campbell, longtime lead guitarist for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn. The pair will be be joining the band for their upcoming, as-yet-formally unannounced tour.
“We are thrilled to welcome the musical talents of the caliber of Mike Campbell and Neil Finn into the Mac family,” the members of Fleetwood Mac said in a joint statement released yesterday.
“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.”
Guitarist/vocalist Buckingham first joined the band in 1974 and remained a member until 1987. He then reunited with the group in 1996 and has been with them ever since. Rolling Stone reports that Buckingham was “fired” from the group following “a disagreement over the band’s upcoming tour”.
Intriguingly (because that’s the kind of band they are), founding drummer Mick Fleetwood released his own separate statement:
“Fleetwood Mac has always been about an amazing collection of songs that are performed with a unique blend of talents… 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. We know we have something new, yet it’s got the unmistakable Mac sound.”
Speaking with Uncut magazine last year, Buckingham said of his fractious relationship with fellow member Christine McVie: "I've grown up a lot since the last time I really worked with Christine. I realised: 'Oh, here I am, a completely different person. I'm a father of three children. I've been married almost 20 years. I've had my journey, and Christine has had her own journey.'"
Christine, for her part, described the collaboration as "an umbilical cord that can't be broken. It just pulls you back."
So yeah. He’ll be back.
