BY MELISSA RUGGIERI/AJC Music Scene
The rumors of Lindsey Buckingham’s departure from Fleetwood Mac are true.
Rolling Stone reports that the singer-songwriter-guitarist was fired from the band after a disagreement over their upcoming tour. Mike Campbell, a veteran of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn of Crowded House will replace him.
Buckingham joined the band in 1974, along with Stevie Nicks.
Fleetwood Mac issued the following statement:
"We are thrilled to welcome the musical talents of the caliber of Mike Campbell and Neil Finn into the Mac family. 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."
Mick Fleetwood added: "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."
No dates have been announced for the long-awaited tour, expected to be a Mac finale.
Rumblings of Buckingham’s departure began last week after former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Billy Burnette said in a since-deleted tweet that “Lindsey Buckingham is out, but I’m not in.”
In January, the band was honored at the annual pre-Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year event, produced by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.
Selections from Fleetwood Mac’s timeless catalog were performed by artists including Lorde, Zac Brown Band, Alison Krauss and Miley Cyrus.
Before performing themselves – in what has turned out to be the final concert including Buckingham, Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood – Buckingham noted that Fleetwood Mac has always been known as a band worthy of a soap opera.
But, he said, “not very far below that level of dysfunction was…love. (Fleetwood Mac) is now and has always been a group of destiny.”
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