When Fleetwood Mac staged an “intervention” on Lindsey Buckingham
Fleetwood Mac are just as famous for their intricately intertwined personal lives as they are for their soft rock hits. When they weren’t penning all-time greats like ‘The Chain’ and ‘Everywhere’, they were tangled up in affairs and substance abuse, struggling to stay together behind the scenes. It all came to a head on the aptly titled Rumours, which still remains one of the most fabled and famous records of all time.
Fleetwood Mac’s internal issues are most often associated with cheating and cocaine, but the group also struggled with differences in their ambitions and creativity. Following the release of Mirage in 1982, several members of the band decided to go out on their own and release solo records. While Stevie Nicks would hone perhaps the most successful solo career, it was Lindsey Buckingham who seemed to acquire a particular taste for writing and recording alone.
The band’s 1987 record, Tango in the Night, would be dominated by Buckingham’s solo writings. It also marked the guitarist’s departure from the band. Perhaps expectedly, Buckingham seemed to have decided that he would much rather work alone than be in such constant and close contact with his ex. It was the mature decision, but it meant no more Fleetwood Mac, or so Buckingham thought.
After six long years without Buckingham, the guitarist’s former bandmates got together to stage an intervention. “Before we got back together for The Dance,” he recalled to Louder Sound, “They even performed what might be called an intervention.” Gathered at Christina McVie’s place, the band urged Buckingham to take a break from his solo career to work with them once more.
“Everyone was literally standing around me in a circle saying: ‘You’ve got to put the solo work down and do this with us,” Buckingham remembered. The intervention clearly worked, as Buckingham left solo songwriting behind and reunited with Fleetwood Mac. The result was The Dance, which featured live recordings of some of their biggest hits.
Starting out with the sprawling ‘The Chain’, The Dance saw Buckingham return to some of his best songs. The album even included the iconic ‘Go Your Own Way’, a song he had penned about the breakdown of his relationship with the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman. It seemed that enough time had passed for the band to put their internal issues aside in favour of the band.
Buckingham didn’t entirely give up on his solo career, but he did put it on hold for a little while. It would be almost a decade before he returned with Under the Skin in 2006, as he opted to focus his efforts on Fleetwood Mac’s final record, Say You Will.
Despite all the dramas that defined Fleetwood Mac, it was Buckingham’s desire to pursue a solo career that prompted an intervention. It’s easy to see why the guitarist needed some time away from the band, surrounded by reminders of failed romances and turbulent times, but it’s also easy to see why he returned.
Buckingham’s solo career would never take off quite like Fleetwood Mac did. Alone, he would never pen anything that would be quite as impactful as ‘Tusk’ or ‘Go Your Own Way’, so it makes sense that he opted to return to those songs, given the chance. Buckingham may be a great songwriter alone, but he was bolstered by his bandmates, despite their turbulent relations.
