Lindsey Buckingham was publicly fired from Fleetwood Mac back in 2018 and Mick Fleetwood has been adamant that Buckingham would not rejoin the band. At the beginning of 2020, the band co-founder said that they would never reunite with Buckingham after bringing in Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell and Crowded House’s Neil Finn to take over for him on a Fleetwood Mac tour.
But in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Fleetwood has changed his tune about Buckingham. The two of them are apparently on good terms after they started talking again in the wake of Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green's death last year. "I’ve really enjoyed being re-connected with Lindsey, which has been gracious and open," Fleetwood said in the interview. "And both of us have been beautifully honest about who we are and how we got to where we were."
When asked about whether Buckingham would rejoin Fleetwood Mac for a hypothetical farewell tour, he responded: "Strange things can happen. I look at Fleetwood Mac as a huge family. Everyone plays an important role in our history, even someone like [early Seventies] guitarist Bob Welch, who was huge and sometimes gets forgotten. Lindsey’s position in Fleetwood Mac will, for obvious reasons, never been forgotten, as it should never be forgotten."
He continued: "My vision of things happening in the future is really far-reaching. Would I love to think that [reunion] could happen? Yeah. I’d love to think that all of us could be healed, and also respect the people who are in the band, Neil Finn and Michael Campbell."
A sticking point remains: the contentious relationship between Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, which is part of the reason Buckingham was fired back in 2018. "I can’t speak for the dynamic with Stevie and him. I don’t even need to protect it. It’s so known that they’re chalk and cheese in so many ways, and yet not." But Fleetwood is amenable to working with Buckingham once again: "I know for a fact that I intend to make music and play again with Lindsey," he said. "I would love that. It doesn’t have to be in Fleetwood Mac."
