He was the lead guitarist and co-vocalist in one of rock music's most famous bands for much of their lifespan - but Lindsey Buckingham's departure from Fleetwood Mac in 2018 was pretty acrimonious.
Depending on who you believe, Buckingham was either fired or left of his own accord after a disagreement about touring with the band, and his role has since been filled by Neil Finn of Crowded House and Michael Campbell of The Heartbreakers. He later sued the band and the case was settled out of court.
Despite all that has happened in recent years, however, it seems that the door to rejoining the band has been left ajar for the 71-year-old guitarist.
Drummer and founding member Mick Fleetwood has said that he would like to do a farewell tour with the whole band, including Buckingham - even though last year, he said that Buckingham rejoining the band was "not a point of conversation."
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Fleetwood said that the past year and the coronavirus pandemic has seen him reevaluate the important things in life - and that after the band's former guitarist Peter Green died suddenly last year, he had re-connected with Buckingham.
“I’ve really enjoyed being re-connected with Lindsey, which has been gracious and open,” he said. “And both of us have been beautifully honest about who we are and how we got to where we were."
He continued: “I look at Fleetwood Mac as a huge family,. Everyone plays an important role in our history, even someone like guitarist Bob Welch, who was huge and sometimes gets forgotten. Lindsey’s position in Fleetwood Mac will, for obvious reasons, never been forgotten, as it should never be forgotten. Would I love to think that [a reunion] could happen? Yeah. I’d love to think that all of us could be healed, and also respect the people who are in the band, Neil Finn and Michael Campbell.”
Discussing the prospect of a final reunion tour, he added: "I think the vision for me, and I think it would be hugely appropriate, is that we actually say ‘this is goodbye’ and go out and actually do that. That has always been my vision and I’m a flatly confident that we can do that. We owe it to the fans.”
