Case file Nº 004 1967–2022

Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac's drama is so extensive it spans two entirely separate catastrophes: the 1969–74 era, in which three brilliant guitarists exited under extraordinary circumstances and the manager toured a counterfeit version of the band; and the 1975–2018 era, in which two couples divorced inside the band, wrote Rumours about it, and kept touring together for four more decades of on-again, off-again warfare, culminating in Lindsey Buckingham being fired in 2018 and suing.

Formed: 1967
Origin: London, England
Genre: Rock / Blues rock
Status: Effectively concluded
Documented lineup changes: 18 members; three guitarists lost in four years, one to a cult

The file

Fleetwood Mac is the rare band whose Wikipedia article requires a flowchart. Founded in London in 1967 as a blues band around the prodigious guitarist Peter Green, it survived — barely — the loss of Green in 1970, the mid-tour disappearance of guitarist Jeremy Spencer into a religious movement in 1971, the breakdown and dismissal of guitarist Danny Kirwan in 1972, and, in 1974, the surreal spectacle of the band's own manager sending an entirely different group of musicians on tour under the name Fleetwood Mac.

Then came the second act, which everyone knows and nobody fully believes: Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined in 1975, and by 1976 both couples in the band — Buckingham/Nicks and John/Christine McVie — were breaking up while Mick Fleetwood's marriage collapsed. Rather than pause, they recorded Rumours, an album consisting substantially of the members singing accusations at each other across the studio. It sold over 40 million copies, condemning them to perform those accusations together, nightly, for the rest of their lives.

The thread finally frayed for good in 2018, when Buckingham was voted out of the band over a tour dispute and sued; the case settled, the band toured without him, and Christine McVie's death in 2022 closed the book on the classic lineup.

The thread

Timeline of unravelling

1967

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac

Guitarist Peter Green leaves John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and forms a band named after its rhythm section — Mick Fleetwood and (soon) John McVie — a gesture of generosity with unforeseen trademark consequences. They quickly become one of Britain's biggest blues acts; 'Albatross' hits No. 1.

1970

Peter Green leaves

Green, increasingly troubled following LSD use — including a notorious episode in Munich — announces his wish to give away the band's money, then departs. One of the great guitarists of his generation largely withdraws from music for decades. The band he named carries on without the man it was built around.

Feb 1971

Jeremy Spencer goes out for a magazine and joins a religious movement

Mid-US tour in Los Angeles, guitarist Jeremy Spencer leaves the hotel saying he's popping out to a shop — and never returns. He is located days later at a compound of the Children of God, head shaved, having joined. He does not rejoin the tour. Peter Green is temporarily recalled to finish the dates.

1972

Danny Kirwan is fired

Guitarist Danny Kirwan, whose relationship with the band had deteriorated alongside his drinking, refuses to go onstage after a backstage outburst in which he injures himself and damages his guitar — then critiques the band's performance from the sound desk. He is dismissed immediately afterward: the third guitar genius lost in three years.

1974

The fake Fleetwood Mac tour

Manager Clifford Davis, asserting he owns the band's name, sends a completely different set of musicians on a US tour billed as Fleetwood Mac. Audiences notice. The real band litigates for control of its own name, is forced off the road for months, and relocates to California. The impostor band later becomes Stretch, whose hit 'Why Did You Do It' is aimed at Davis.

1975

Buckingham and Nicks join over a demo

Mick Fleetwood, shopping for studios, hears the duo Buckingham Nicks' recordings at Sound City. He invites Lindsey Buckingham to join; Buckingham insists Stevie Nicks comes too, as a package. The self-titled 1975 album goes to No. 1 in the US.

1976

Everyone breaks up simultaneously

During the writing and recording of the next album: John and Christine McVie's marriage ends; Buckingham and Nicks' long relationship collapses; Fleetwood's marriage disintegrates. All parties elect to continue sharing a studio, a payroll and a tour bus.

1977

Rumours — the divorce, pressed on vinyl

The band releases Rumours, containing 'Go Your Own Way' (Buckingham about Nicks), 'Dreams' (Nicks about Buckingham), 'You Make Loving Fun' (Christine about her new partner — the band's lighting director) and 'The Chain' (everyone, about everyone). It wins the Grammy for Album of the Year and becomes one of the best-selling albums ever made.

1977–79

The affair inside the aftermath

Fleetwood and Nicks begin a then-secret relationship, later confirmed in both parties' memoirs and interviews — adding a sixth romantic fault line to a band that had, at most, five members. The Tusk album's costs meanwhile make it then the most expensive rock album recorded.

1987

Buckingham quits; the meeting turns physical

After finishing Tango in the Night, Buckingham declines to tour. In a band meeting at Christine McVie's house, the dispute becomes a physical altercation — described in multiple members' memoirs, including a chase and a scuffle. Buckingham leaves the band for over a decade.

1993

One song for the President

The Rumours lineup reunites for exactly one performance: Bill Clinton's inaugural gala, having been effectively summoned because 'Don't Stop' was his campaign song. They play it and immediately re-disband.

1997

The Dance

The classic lineup reunites properly for the live album and tour The Dance, one of the highest-grossing tours of the year, performing their divorce catalogue with two decades of added subtext. Christine McVie retires from touring shortly after, citing among other things a fear of flying.

2013–14

Christine returns

After 15 years away, Christine McVie rejoins, restoring the Rumours five for the On With The Show tour. Interpersonal peace holds for approximately four years.

2018

Lindsey Buckingham is fired — and sues

Following a dispute over tour scheduling and, reportedly, conduct at a MusiCares gala, the band dismisses Buckingham and replaces him with Mike Campbell and Neil Finn. Buckingham sues for breach, stating the tour would have paid each member $12–14 million; the case settles out of court within months.

2022

The thread closes

Christine McVie dies in November 2022. Fleetwood and the surviving members indicate the band is effectively finished, while Nicks and Buckingham's estrangement persists. Rumours, meanwhile, re-charts perennially — the divorce that never stops selling.

Personnel ledger

Who held the thread

Mick FleetwoodDrums · 1967–presentCo-founder, namesake, and the constant through all 18 members; also managed the band into some of its 1970s messes, a dual role he later regretted.

John McVieBass · 1967–presentThe 'Mac.' Divorced Christine in 1976; continued sharing a rhythm section with her for 46 more years.

Christine McVieKeys, vocals · 1970–98, 2014–22Wrote the band's warmest hits about its coldest moments. Died 2022.

Peter GreenGuitar · 1967–70Founder and original genius; left in 1970 amid mental health struggles. Honoured with an all-star tribute concert organized by Fleetwood in 2020, shortly before his death.

Jeremy SpencerGuitar · 1967–71Left mid-tour to join the Children of God, in the most literal 'quit the band' story on this entire site.

Danny KirwanGuitar · 1968–72Fired after the 1972 backstage incident; the third founding-era guitarist lost. Died 2018.

Lindsey BuckinghamGuitar, vocals · 1975–87, 1997–2018Joined as a package deal with Nicks; quit once, was fired once, sued once, settled once.

Stevie NicksVocals · 1975–presentTurned the band's implosions into its biggest songs; per most reporting, the decisive vote in 2018.

Clifford DavisManager · 1967–74Sent a counterfeit Fleetwood Mac on tour in 1974, generating one of rock's strangest legal battles.

Where the thread lies now

Fleetwood Mac's status is best described as 'concluded, pending appeal.' Since Christine McVie's death, Fleetwood has said the band as constituted cannot continue, while Nicks has ruled out reforming without Christine. Buckingham has expressed openness to reconciliation; Nicks has expressed the opposite, with vigor. Mick Fleetwood, ever the diplomat, keeps the door theatrically ajar.

The band's legacy is a paradox no one has replicated: their interpersonal catastrophe wasn't the obstacle to their success — it was the product. Rumours remains the most commercially successful act of mutual accusation in recorded history, and 'The Chain,' assembled from the wreckage of everyone's relationships, became the one song all five could always agree to play. The thread, in their case, was the setlist.

Exhibits