Rock bands tour; that’s what they do. And the bottom line for Fleetwood Mac is that they were ready to hit the road, but, seemingly, longtime member guitarist Lindsey Buckingham just wasn’t.
“We were supposed to go into rehearsal in June and he wanted to put it off until November [2019],” singer Stevie Nicks told Rolling Stone about the conflict with Buckingham that led to his split with the group in early April. “That’s a long time. I just did 70 shows [on a solo tour]. As soon as I finish one thing, I dive back into another. Why would we stop? We don’t want to stop playing music. We don’t have anything else to do. This is what we do.”
The band — which also features Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie — told the magazine that they secretly parted ways with Buckingham a little over a month ago, the got together in a small theater in Maui to consider their future. Buckingham, the group’s lead guitarist and voice of many of its signature hits, was front and center in the group from 1975 until 1987 and again from 1997 to earlier this year. He will be replaced on Mac’s just-announced upcoming tour with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House‘s Neil Finn.
With Buckingham out again, the group’s members spent a few days recently rehearsing their songs with the new pair to test the chemistry in the room, with bassist John McVie saying the he instantly felt like he’d known them “for years…even though we’d only just met…I felt very comfortable when we rehearsed. It seemed to fit. It’s another exciting chapter in the book, in the saga.” The music clicked enough that the group will embark on a 52-date North American tour on Oct. 3 that will keep them on the road through April 2019.
“I was sitting in my yard by my pool contemplating my future without my partner [Tom Petty], which was going to be a dark place in a lot of ways,” said Campbell about this uncertain future following the death of longtime Heartbreakers leader Petty in October. “I said, ‘Give me a day to think it over.’ The more I thought about it, the more I though it could be great. I’ve known Stevie for years and we’ve always been very creative together.”
With Campbell on board, Fleetwood phoned up Finn, who has been touring solo for years after decades of success with Split Enz and Crowded House. “I was stunned when I got the call from Mick,” the New Zealand native said. “I was enjoying my life and my music, but I have a restless nature and now I’m relishing this beautiful gift that’s been given to me.”
Rehearsals haven’t begun yet, but the band plans to spend two months practicing five days a week on a set that will include songs from throughout the act’s career, including tracks outside the storied 1975-1987 Buckingham/Nicks era. “We were never able to do that since 1975 because certain people in the band weren’t interested in doing that,” Nicks said pointedly. “Now we’re able to open the set with a lot; a raucous version of [1969’s] ‘Rattlesnake Shake’ or something. I’d also like to do [1970’s] ‘Station Man,’ which has always been one of may favorites. We’re definitely doing [1970’s] ‘Oh Well.’”
Don’t worry, though — Nicks promises you’ll hear classics like “Gold Dust Woman” and “The Chain,” plus the other hits that are standard issue, which leaves a baker’s dozen of other songs to fill out a three-hour set.