Lindsey Buckingham Parts Ways with Fleetwood Mac, Band Announces Tour Replacements

April 9, 2018

Fleetwood Mac guitarist and songwriter Lindsey Buckingham has left the band, Variety confirmed earlier today, and a tour with a duo of replacements for Buckingham is currently in the works.

Hints of the split initially came with a since-deleted tweet from guitarist Billy Burnette—who replaced Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac form 1987 until Buckingham’s return in 1995—that read “Lindsey Buckingham is out but I’m not in,” announcing he was “a little pissed off” that the band hadn’t turned to him in Buckingham’s absence.

Variety has confirmed, though, that the musicians who will be replacing Buckingham for an upcoming Fleetwood Mac tour will be Mike Campbell, former guitarist for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn, frontman of Crowded House.

“Fleetwood Mac has always been about an amazing collection of songs that are performed with a unique blend of talents,” band co-founder Mick Fleetwood tells Variety, noting that he and his bandmates have felt a chemistry with Campbell and Finn and that the result is “something new, yet it’s got the unmistakable Mac sound.”

“Fleetwood Mac has always been a creative evolution. We look forward to honoring that spirit on this upcoming tour,” the band said in a statement. “Lindsey Buckingham will not be performing with the band on this tour. The band wishes Lindsey all the best.”

Buckingham last joined his Fleetwood Mac bandmates on stage at New York’s Radio City Music Hall earlier this year when the group was honored at MusiCares Person of the Year ceremony. Dates for the upcoming Fleetwood Mac tour are expected to be confirmed soon.