Buckingham: 'Screaming' Phone Call Got Me Fired

Ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist says it's finally over and done
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 9, 2018 4:36 PM CST
Ex-Fleetwood Mac Guitarist: This Is What Happened
In this Jan. 26, 2018 file photo, Fleetwood Mac band members, from left, Stevie Nicks, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood appear at the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute honoring Fleetwood Mac in New York.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Lindsey Buckingham's exit from Fleetwood Mac is official—legally speaking—and he sounds like a man who's getting close to acceptance: "I'm happy enough with it," the guitarist tells CBS News, saying the band has settled their lawsuit. "I'm not out there trying to twist the knife at all. I'm trying to look at this with some level of compassion, some level of wisdom." But he admits "it hurt for a while. I did walk around for a few months with a visceral reaction to that." The 69-year-old, who helped forge Fleetwood Mac's unique sound, says he was kicked out of the band earlier this year for smirking when frontwoman Stevie Nicks spoke on stage.

Band manager Irving Azoff "called me up and he was basically screaming at me," says Buckingham. "He was screaming at me on the phone saying, 'You've really done it this time.' And I had no idea what he was talking about. He said, 'Stevie never wants to be on stage with you again,' and I'm going, 'Why?'" The band blamed the breakup on Buckingham's disinterest in touring again: "This team wanted to get out on the road," says Nicks. Buckingham kept mum about their settlement terms and dismissed the prospect of rejoining the group, per ABC News Australia. "I'm pretty much figuring that I won't," he says. (A metal band broke up in an "epic way.")

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X