Category Archives: Lindsey Buckingham

30 Years Since ‘We Are The World’ – When Lindsey Buckingham Bumped Into Michael Jackson In The Bathroom

Written by New Zealand broadcaster Tim Roxborogh
28th Jan 2015

It’s 30 years today since USA For Africa’s We Are The World was recorded. The perennially cool Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) was part of the all-star chorus and I remember him telling me that one of his defining memories of that day was bumping into Michael Jackson in the bathroom.

Lindsey Buckingham 2nd from the right at the top.
Lindsey Buckingham 2nd from the right at the top.

For the record, I was interviewing Lindsey just after Michael’s death in 2009. He said he already could tell – even at that stage in Michael’s life – that MJ was a troubled soul. And a genius too.

Lindsey Buckingham: “I think I walked into the bathroom and he was in there and it kind of freaked him out! He was quite nervous just to be startled by someone walking in and I just nodded my head. I didn’t feel comfortable trying to engage him in a ‘hello’ at that point. He was really at the top of his game and I think probably even then was dealing with a lot of demons that were probably from way back when he was a kid. You know, I just didn’t want to intrude at all on his trip…”

Me: “Certainly not in the bathroom…”

LB: (Laughs) Yeah, especially not in the bathroom but not otherwise either.”

Innocuous as it is, this anecdote does give a sense of how even at a gathering with as much talent and ego as 30 years ago, there was an understanding that Michael Jackson was something altogether different.

Continue reading 30 Years Since ‘We Are The World’ – When Lindsey Buckingham Bumped Into Michael Jackson In The Bathroom

Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks: ‘Lindsey Buckingham and I will always be antagonising to each other’ | Guardian (UK)

The Guardian
Jan 15th 2015

The Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter opened up to Rolling Stone magazine about working with ex-boyfriend and bandmate, Lindsey Buckingham

Photograph: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images
Photograph: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Despite their onstage pretence to be close friends and inextricably linked, walking on hand in hand and singing to each other, Fleetwood Mac’s shawl-loving singer Stevie Nicks revealed that her relationship with bandmate and ex-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham remains tense.

“Relations with Lindsey are exactly as they have been since we broke up,” said Nicks, in an interview with Rolling Stone. “He and I will always be antagonising to each other, and we will always do things that will irritate each other, and we really know how to push each other’s buttons.”

Nicks and Buckingham joining Fleetwood Mac was the precursor to their period of greatest commercial success, following the release of their eponymous album in 1975. By the time 1977’s Rumours was released, and spawned four hit singles that catapulted the band – complete with a poppier sound – to stadium-gig fame, Nicks and Buckingham’s romantic relationship had fallen apart, and was documented on the album in songs such as Nicks’s Dreams and Buckingham’s Go Your Own Way.

During the peak of their Rumours-era stardom, the members of Fleetwood Mac earned a reputation for enduring a series of volatile and tumultuous relationships and breakups. Founding member Mick Fleetwood discovered his wife had cheated on him, with his best friend. Bassist John McVie and songwriting keyboard player Christine McVie split, and Christine wrote the song You Make Loving Fun about her new boyfriend, who was part of the band’s touring organisation. Nicks and Fleetwood briefly dated.

“We know exactly what to say when we really want to throw a dagger in,” Nicks said of she and Buckingham. “And I think that that’s not different now than it was when we were 20. And I don’t think it will be different when we’re 80.”

Even with their personal ups and downs, Fleetwood Mac reunited in 2013 to record an album, and begin a series of tours. Christine McVie returned, after leaving the band in 1998, joining John McVie, Nicks, Buckingham and Fleetwood. The five-piece are currently on a North American tour. They are due to play London’s O2 Arena in May.

Fleetwood Mac calling it quits after reunion tour On With The Show | Sunday Express (UK)

Sunday Express (UK)
Sun 4th Jan 2015

FLEETWOOD MAC could be calling it quits before getting restarted with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham believing their latest reunion tour will be their last.

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News of their current On With The Show tour caused a particular stir after it was announced that keyboardist Christine McVie would be rejoining following a 16-year absence.

And though the group have also revealed plans to release their first new album in 12 years Lindsey, 65, is doubtful that this reconciliation signals a fresh start.

He says: “If you think of this tour as the beginning of the last act. That’s how it feels. The album would be a beautiful way to kind of wrap up this last act.”

Formed in London in 1967 by drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, the band went through a number of line-up changes before settling on the combination with Lindsey, Christine and singer Stevie Nicks in 1974.

Widely considered the definitive incarnation of the band, they achieved great success with albums such as Rumours before Christine announced an early retirement in 1998.

While the band members had a turbulent working relationship throughout, Lindsey admits time apart has healed old wounds and recent recording sessions have been a success.

“We went in the studio for two months and came up with probably the best group of songs that we’ve done in years.”

Lindsey Buckingham interview with Tavis Smilay | PBS

Lindsey Buckingham – The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer talks about reuniting with the iconic band, Fleetwood Mac, for its “On With The Show” concert tour.

  • Aired: 12/17/2014
  • 26:36
  • Rating: NR

Interview Transcription via Nicole21290 (re-produced here on this site with permission)

TAVIS SMILEY. 17th DECEMBER 2014.

Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham is of course one of the reasons for the phenomenal success of Fleetwood Mac. He’s been a part of that band for some forty years now with only a slight break to focus, of course, on his highly successful solo career. Fleetwood Mac, with all the bandmates, is now back on tour for the first time in sixteen years. Before we start out conversation, a look at Lindsey performing ‘Big Love’ at the Saban Theatre here in Los Angeles. Continue reading Lindsey Buckingham interview with Tavis Smilay | PBS

Fleetwood Mac’s new album is “profound”, says Lindsey Buckingham | Digital Spy (UK)

By Harry Fletcher
Thursday, Oct 16 2014
Digital Spy Online

Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham has issued an update on the band’s new album.

The guitarist told The Wall Street Journal that he is working closely with Christine McVie on “profound” new music.

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© Getty Images / Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire

Buckingham discussed how McVie, who recently rejoined the band after 16 years apart, had sent him piano and voice demos, which he then developed.

“I took massive liberties with them,” he said.

“We never envisioned finishing the album in the short term. We set it aside. Stevie [Nicks] will come in and participate. I have material I had been working on.

“There’s no danger that it will slip between the tracks. It’s too profound to. Once we finish it we can think about going out and trying something new.”

© Getty Images / Dave Kotinsky/WireImage
© Getty Images / Dave Kotinsky/WireImage

Speaking about his working relationship with McVie, Buckingham said: “Christine and I were able to concentrate on each other. We were exploring some new turf. That became enlightening to me.” Continue reading Fleetwood Mac’s new album is “profound”, says Lindsey Buckingham | Digital Spy (UK)

Fleetwood Mac Revives Chemistry In Studio: ‘We Get Chills,’ Says Christine McVie | Billboard

Billboard.com
7th May 2014
By Gary Graff

It appears that Christine McVie will be returning to Fleetwood Mac to do more than play some old songs in concert. The group — sans Stevie Nicks, who was busy with “some other commitments,” according to Lindsey Buckingham — has just finished a nearly two-month run in Studio D at the Village Recorder in Los Angeles, where Fleetwood Mac made 1979’s “Tusk” album, working on a batch of new songs by McVie and Buckingham.

“This has kind of been a project in slow motion, that’s the only way I can put it,” Buckingham tells Billboard. “We got in the studio not knowing what to expect, and the chemistry was just unbelievable… We got eight tracks very far along, like, 75 percent done. It just played out really organically in a way that seemed appropriate.” Buckingham says the new songs came from ideas McVie brought into the band, and coupled with material he worked on previously with Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, the group has “about 14 or 15 things, and some other things we want to get to down the line” even before Nicks begins making contributions.

Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac in the studio
Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac in the studio (Kevin Winter/Getty images)

“We’re all very excited about it. Knowing me, I’m going to be pushing for a double album,” Buckingham says with a laugh. Continue reading Fleetwood Mac Revives Chemistry In Studio: ‘We Get Chills,’ Says Christine McVie | Billboard

Her fear gone, Christine McVie’s muse soars with Fleetwood Mac reunion | L.A Times

Los Angeles Times
BY RANDY LEWIS
May 2, 2014, 2:30 p.m

Christine McVie eases comfortably into the corner of a leather sofa, about a foot between her and Lindsey Buckingham. He leans forward and side by side, they listen to the playback of “Too Far Gone,” a danceable new Fleetwood Mac song they’ve written together over the last few weeks at a West Los Angeles recording studio.

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“This was a great collaboration,” Buckingham said. “I had a track without any singing on it, and she wrote the song over it.”

“We’ve been doing that quite a bit lately, haven’t we?” McVie said. Continue reading Her fear gone, Christine McVie’s muse soars with Fleetwood Mac reunion | L.A Times

Mick Fleetwood reveals that Fleetwood Mac are back – with a full pack | Sunday Express

By: Matt Gibson
Published: Sun, April 6, 2014
Sunday Express (UK)

Fleetwood Mac’s songbird is flying again, writes Matt Gibson. Christine McVie has conquered her fear of jet travel and will be touring with the band in America later this year, Mick Fleetwood has revealed.

McVie, the driving force behind some of the group’s biggest hits such as Little Lies, Songbird and Everywhere, left in 1998, saying her fear of flying made touring impossible. The band has had many personnel changes but core members have been Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Christine and her former husband John McVie and Lindsey Buckingham.

Writing in his exclusive Sunday Express column, drummer Fleetwood says: “The songbird has found her way home where she belongs and the amazing story of Fleetwood Mac continues.”

McVie missed Fleetwood Mac’s ‘tight chemistry’ | USA Today

Edna Gundersen,
USA TODAY
Mar 27th, 2014

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Looking back on her 1998 exit from Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie recalls how considerate and obliging her bandmates were, particularly Stevie Nicks.

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An undated early photo of Fleetwood Mac (from left): Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, John McVie, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham.(Photo: Herbert Worthington, Warner Bros.)

A few years later, “Stevie offered me $5 million to come back,” McVie says. “She was begging me, ‘Don’t leave me in this wilderness.’ ”

As it turned out, McVie’s 15-year exile left her feeling a bit lost in the wilderness, leading to this year’s surprise reunion of the classic lineup that lit up the charts with Rhiannon, Say You Love Me, Go Your Own Way, Dreams, Think About Me, You Make Loving Fun, Don’t Stop, Tusk and Hold Me.

A tour is booked, new songs are being recorded, and “we all have great affection for each other,” McVie says.

RELATED: Christine McVie rejoins Fleetwood Mac

Bad blood played no role in McVie’s departure. She was road weary after 28 years of “being one of the guys, raised in taverns and pubs with smoking, beer-drinking men.” Continue reading McVie missed Fleetwood Mac’s ‘tight chemistry’ | USA Today

Fleetwood Mac ready to begin recording?


theguardian.com

Newly reunited with Christine McVie, the group are already composing new songs according to a report in Maui News

Fleetwood Mac‘s classic line-up is reportedly set to begin recording together for the first time in 27 years. Newly reunited with Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and John McVie are purportedly working on a new album.
 Don't stop … Christine McVie's songs often bristled with optimism, at least on the surface. Photograph: REX

Don’t stop … Christine McVie’s songs often bristled with optimism, at least on the surface. Photograph: REX

Word of the studio reunion emerged through a tiny item in Maui News (via Stereogum), following Mick Fleetwood’s 11 January gig at a small festival in Wailuku, Hawaii. “Chatting after performing at Willie K’s BBQ Blues Festival, Mick Fleetwood confirmed the rumour that Christine McVie will rejoin Fleetwood Mac,” wrote columnist Jon Woodhouse. “Already composing new songs, McVie will begin recording with most of the band members in March … [and] the Mac will head out on the road again in the fall.”

Although the return of Christine McVie has been corroborated elsewhere, this is the first indication that Fleetwood Mac are making a record together. When the group last convened for an album, 2003’s Say You Will, Christine McVie didn’t write any songs. Her only contributions were borrowed from aborted sessions for a Lindsey Buckingham solo album.

When asked about a new album, last September, Lindsey Buckingham said the decision was up to Stevie Nicks. “Stevie needs to come to the table with some material,” he said. “She has to want to do it … [And] she’s probably thinking, ‘If I have to write five new songs, do I want to give them to Fleetwood Mac?'”

Buckingham was part of Sunday night’s Grammys gala, performing in a closing jam with Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme. Due to time restrictions, producers cut to a commercial before the performance was finished. “Music’s biggest night… to be disrespected,” Reznor tweeted. “A heartfelt FUCK YOU guys.”