Why Tom Petty hated his collaboration with Lindsey Buckingham: “The whole idea offended me”
Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac share a storied history that intertwines friendship, mutual admiration, and a professional relationship that transcended music. Though born from different paths, their connection exemplifies how musical worlds collided, resulting in a lasting legacy of collaboration, support, and creative camaraderie.
The relationship between Petty and Fleetwood Mac dates back to the late 1970s. Petty and his band, The Heartbreakers, were emerging as a potent force in the rock scene, while Fleetwood Mac was already established as one of the most successful bands globally. Despite the difference in their career stages, Petty and the members of Fleetwood Mac navigated a friendship primarily based on their shared love for music and a mutual respect for each other’s craft.
It was Petty’s relationship with Stevie Nicks that blossomed in particular when, in 1981, Nicks expressed her keen desire to join forces with Petty and his band. This collaboration, an undoubtedly remarkable fusion of talents, unfortunately collided with Petty’s steadfast rule of “no girls allowed”. Fortunately, however, Petty and his band eventually recognised Nicks’ artistry, but not without a bit of persuasion.
Conversely, Petty’s admiration for Nicks’ personal and musical partner, Lindsey Buckingham, also resulted in them collaborating on a track in 1996 for the film She’s The One. However, although the respect was there, the track itself didn’t particularly rank among Petty’s favourites. On the song, ‘Walls (Circus)’, Buckingham contributes backing vocals, but his delivery evidently wasn’t powerful enough to earn Petty’s approval.
As he explained to Men’s Journal: “Never listened to it. I hated that record – the whole idea of it offended me. I only did it because I didn’t have anything else to do. I was single and living on my own, and this idea came up, and I liked Ed and thought he was pretty sharp, so I wrote him a couple of songs. And then it just kept mushrooming into, ‘Do the whole thing.’ So I took some stuff I hadn’t used in Wildflowers, really crummy versions, badly mixed, and put them on there. It was terrible, really. I’m disappointed I did that.”
Make no mistake, Petty admired Buckingham, even once inviting him to join his band: “I do remember trying to talk Lindsey into joining the band that night,” he said. “Stevie [Nicks] wasn’t playing with them at the time, so I said, ‘Why don’t you just join our band and get the heat off of me?’ I never wanted to be the front guy — I got that job and I’ve been stuck with it ever since.”
Of course, Buckingham never did become part of Petty’s band, and in hindsight, this turned out to be a good thing, as he went on to craft a string of impactful musical achievements within Fleetwood Mac. Moreover, Nicks, being a dedicated fan, expressed her admiration for Petty on numerous occasions, sharing her desire to collaborate with them, a sentiment that likely wouldn’t have aligned well with Buckingham’s potential departure.
