Former Fleetwood Mac Lead Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham Says Stevie Nicks Acted “Like Trump”

Rock icon Lindsey Buckingham is coming out with a new album. The long-delayed eponymous album was recorded in 2017 but was delayed due to health problems and the pandemic. Buckingham’s life has been a bit of a rollercoaster, especially in the last three years, when he was kicked out of Fleetwood Mac and underwent triple bypass surgery that almost destroyed his vocal cords. 

The finger-picking guitar wizard sat down with Rolling Stone to talk about life, his new album, and of course, all of the drama from his Fleetwood Mac days. 

Nicks vs. Buckingham – Rock’s Saddest Feud

Some rock feuds are so iconic you only need to say their names, and everyone knows what you’re talking about. 

John vs. Paul

Noel vs. Liam

Stevie vs. Lindsey

Stevie and Lindsey were childhood friends turned lovers, recording partners, and bandmates.

Their frenemy and “will they won’t they” relationship is one of the most well-documented in rock history.

Heck, the entirety of Rumours (widely considered one of the best albums of all time) was the two writing break-up songs about EACH OTHER. Then they stayed in the same band for a decade. 

I’ve seen them live in the last few years, and you can tell that their relationship is beyond what any of us on the outside could understand.

They stare at each other with an immense passion that one can only feel for someone you want to kiss and murder at the same time.

In the interview, Buckingham is clearly wanting to move past his old band but is struggling to do so. I don’t blame him. How can you move on from a band that gave you such success and then dumped you like garbage? 

Stevie Nicks Acted “Like Trump” 

Buckingham doesn’t mince words with the reason Fleetwood Mac fired him. He lays the blame solely at Stevie Nicks’ feet.

Hitting her with some harsh words:

“I think others in the band just felt that they were not empowered enough, individually, for whatever their own reasons, to stand up for what was right,” says Buckingham. He pauses for just a second and then plows on. “And so, it became a little bit like Trump and the Republicans.”

Stevie also had some harsh words for her former bandmate: 

 
Regardless of your feelings towards our former President, you know what someone means (especially a rock star).

Buckingham elaborates that Nicks was jealous of him. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that their relationship is more complicated than any of us will ever know. 

Then The Landslide Will Bring You Down

I grew up listening to Rumours on repeat. It is still one of my favorite albums.

As I got older, I dove into the band’s history and realized how rare an album like that was. The ultimate break-up album with FOUR bandmates going through breakups with other bandmates, each of them contributing songs of anger, resentment, and sadness. 

I hope Lindsey and Stevie can make up sooner rather than later. I don’t mean touring.

One of the reasons Buckingham feuded with his bandmates was due to the total lack of new material for almost 20 years. Buckingham’s new work reflects his skills and signature vocals but also the trials of growing old, ending a marriage, and leaving the band that was your life for so long. 

Let’s end this with a remembrance of the better times. This is my favorite duet between Buckingham and Nicks. The passion in their eyes and voices is unmatched while singing “Silver Springs” to each other: 

What’s your favorite Fleetwood Mac song? Do you think they’ll ever reunite? Sound off in the comments.