Rock Feuds: Stevie Nicks vs. Lindsey Buckingham 

Had it not been for all these break-ups: Stevie leaving Lindsey, Christine leaving John, and even Mick Fleetwood's own wife leaving him, I do not believe their 1977 album Rumours would have been nearly as successful, 'cause these divorces were what made the album.

Lindsey, even here in this video, says so many hurtful things about Stevie. Talking at the end of this video and hinting of Stevie's jealousy that he had married and had children and she didn't was one of the cruelest things he has said yet. I'm understanding Stevie more with every video of Lindsey I watch.

How ironical that Stevie, who was the plus one when she joined the band with Lindsey, ended up being the indispensable one when Mick finally had to make the choice.

So much Drama for this band and they still managed to rock it. They are impressive and beautiful and they’re human. ❤

I think that Stevie and Lindsey are fuel to each others fires. Not everyone can let go of the past, Unfortunately for all they spend their time playing the blame and shame game. Think of all the beautiful music these two extraordinarily gifted people could have created together over the years. It takes two to tango in the dark.

Lindsey Buckingham is a MONSTER guitar player!

Their love and pain put in each song was so real, raw, and toxic.

Stevie Nicks was pure heart, a little crazy and amazingly talented. We enjoyed every visit she made to Arcadia and I could listen to her sing acapella under Camelback skies forever. Leave her be, she’s given out enough goodness to our world.

Dang, Lindsey. Shots fired towards the end there, calling Stevie an old maid.

Bittersweet relationship. Maybe too many regrets, too much love, too many people interfering, too many hurtful words. Who knows...only those 2 I guess. I love the music and that's what I cherish.

I think we should leave their personal life to them and be grateful that they were professional enough to gift us with all the great music they performed together. My favorite is, "Peacekeeper." That really says it all.

I love both Lindsey and Stevie equally. Their music was and is a huge part of my life and brings me joy. I choose to believe they are truly in love with each other. He's an ass at times and she's intolerable. So aren't we all. If they are faking their love then they should win an award for best actors.

His wife and his children ALL know how Stevie and Lindsey feel about each other

Well, as of now, with Christine McVie’s passing, it’s not gonna matter who left or got fired: Fleetwood Mac is put to bed, according to Mick Fleetwood himself.

Imagine being this angry at your ex into your seventies

God bless both of them, and their fans will always be grateful

Stevie Nicks is a rare kind of artistic genius and I adore her. But I hate to say it, it seems like she overreacted and singled out Lindsey for that onstage incident. Also, not a great look for Lindsey to publicly speculate that Stevie was mad at him because he had kids and she didn’t.

"He tortured me so I cheated" Pay attention men.

when they take their last breathe they will say like David Cassidy said " so much wasted time"

It’s clear as day to see that Steve’s problem with Lindsey is that he is the one person in the world who refuses to see how talented she is. He always thought of himself as above her and she’s proven time and time again that she is the power of the two, but he just won’t take her seriously. Even despite the fact that she is the most successful member of the band by a mile and had a far more lucrative solo career.. he still says “yeah but I have a wife and kids, that must be so hard for you.”

Для себя я их открыл уже в зрелом возрасте. Поразительно, как эти потрясающе красивые люди кроме всего прочего ещё и так талантливы. Слушаю их каждый день и постоянно нахожу там что то новое... Снова и снова...

As time goes by, I really appreciate the Musical contribution of the late great Miss Christine McVie. "Over My Head" is my favorite FM Song. And the hushed yet harrowing Vocal is part Anne Murray, part Judy Collins, part Joni Mitchell. Very impressive!🤔🎤💃🇬🇧🎼🎵🎶🎸🥁B.W.

Behind closed doors, especially before Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey was abusive towards Stevie. Then, he became so jealous of her success, he was just beside himself. Many, many fans will pay to see FM without Lindsey, but when they tried replacing Stevie, they were giving free concerts in the park.

Thank you so much for your documentary I really enjoyed it. I am a massive fan of Fleetwood Mac and I find it very hard to accept that it has all come to an end - however that is life and we have some wonderful music to remember them by.

Totally in Camp Lindsey. Saw the band live in 1979, and was so looking forward to it. Saved up weeks to get the money for tickets. What happened? Lindsey was a consummate professional all night, played and sang brilliantly. Nicks? Half the time she wasn't even on stage. She'd sing Dreams, leave, change into another ridiculous outfit, come back out, sing Rhiannon, and vanish again. It was completely unprofessional and inconsiderate. And most of the stories about him have been instigated by her. And four abortions? FFS, couldn't she ever learn how birth control works?

Fact: Christine wrote most of the bands top 40 hits.

Lindsey Buckingham gets shit on a lot. But he is absolutely the guy who transformed an obscure British blues band into a powerhouse hit making machine. He took very good ideas from Christine and Stevie’s demos, arranged, engineered and produced them into the incredible songs they became. They’d be nothing without him. Stevie’s demos of The Chain and Dreams was nothing like the finished versions. You can’t even recognize them.

Buckingham Nicks is a WONDERFUL album. I suggest every FM fan should at least give it a listen.

there's a very fine line between love and hate. just because you love somebody doesn't mean you have to like them.

I think a big part of the draw is the mysterious aspect of it all. Why did they really break up? What was that big fight between them at the end of recording Rumours? All. I know for sure, is I absolutely fell in love with the Buckingham Nicks album in 1972. I don't believe Fleetwood Mac would have made it to the BIG time without BOTH Lindsey and Stevie.

For over 40 years, I have remained very close to a man I was married to for 10 years in the 1980s. I love his wife and kids. But we don't have egos the size of planets, and we realize the difference between the love of friends and the love of lovers.

I think Lindsey waited for Stevie to reconcile their tumultuous relationship, but like he said, you can’t get closure if you’re around them at all times. I think they were both hurting, but they knew that the work they produced together in Fleetwood Mac made a world of difference, even in spite of one another. It was their therapy to move on alongside one another regardless of that immense pain. It wasn’t the therapy they actually truly needed, but they prevailed otherwise, writing about each other and producing phenomenal music. Despite that, they were lovers and claim to always be in some way, even though Lindsey married and had kids. And maybe Stevie did have an internal problem with that, because like she said in one interview, their dynamic on stage was almost more romantic than what they lost. Words not verbatim, mind you, but if she felt that way and he moved on, she’s the front runner and could call the shots to remove him. But I do think that’s a foul decision, even after all he said about her jealousy toward him later finding a soul mate and having kids and she didn’t. Again, a tumultuous relationship that should’ve been handled better early on with professional help versus drug use and exposure to one another after the split on a regular basis. I just hope they both find peace for each other in the end.

Buckingham had a long and difficult time escaping the shadow of his romantic past with Nicks. He often referred to it as "the spectre of Stevie." When Buckingham was fired in 2018, Fleetwood told the other band members not to have any contact with him. John McVie was the only one with the integrity to reach out to Buckingham and tell him what happened. The words from his song "Big Love" describe his former band mates perfectly: "You said that you love me, And that you always will. Oh, you begged me to keep ya, In that house on the hill." He made them rich and famous, but they had absolutely no loyalty to him. And in the end, they stabbed him in the back.

She said it over and over….she picked the band because it gave her notoriety as a start, that had to be maintained and then grow. Emotion wrote those songs, and without their web, there would have not been much of a Fleetwood Mac. I’m kinda thinking that when Lindsey got married and started a family, that might have made Stevie feel a certain kind of way because she can’t have him in the only way that she could have him any more, and it grew to her rage. I don’t think they will ever get over each other. Kinda sad, really.

A perfect example of not addressing the issues early in time just how destructive behavior manifests itself.

Credibility lost by posters who say Lindsey's solo work is crap. They read like an agenda. His last solo record was all over critic's Top 10 albums lists just two years ago. Why? Because Lindsey was the musical genius in the band. Is it not enough to recognize that his contributions to the sound and production of Fleetwood Mac was essential to their success?

Lindsay was brilliant Fleetwood Mac will not be the same without him.

I swear I could look at those two young forever, very informative video, thanks for making it. 😊

I always wondered what Stevie and Don Henley's baby would've turned out to be like.

I went to a Rumors concert at 15, and I was a hardcore FM fan all the way through the Tango in the Night era. Saw them several times live and Stevie solo several times. I was also a Stevie Nicks fan when I was younger and in my mind, she was so cool, and her love life was so romantic in a dysfunctional way a teenager would find romantic. I had the Buckingham Nicks album which I found pre-internet at a Tower Records store. Now that I'm older I see Stevie's side as more dysfunctional than when I did when I was younger. Even, besides Lindsey, all her other romantic relationships never endured with in some cases other rock stars that were even more famous than Lindsey, she had more of a drug problem than the rest of the band. She implies there was physical abuse from Lindsey, but has admitted she pushed him to that point by telling him horrible things. Not saying physical abuse is okay. But you can see the part she's played in their dysfunctional relationship. No other version of the band has worked without Lindsey. Despite even people like Sheryl Crow or members from other famous bands like Tom Petty's band. I think Stevie thought she had she had to make a choice between stardom, and family life esp. in the seventies/eighties, and stardom was ultimately what she wanted. I just felt sorry for Lindsey, on his last firing, he suffered a heart attack afterward where FM released a lame general statement about his heart attack. And his family was worried he might have lost his singing voice. Now Christine is gone. I think Lindsey's contribution was his producer abilities, and FM never shined as bright without his contributions. Stevie's contributions are of course her songwriting ability and story telling abilities. One thing that came out of the 1970s was people's ability to go to therapy, but now FM is way beyond middle age, and they are still stuck in their dysfunctional ways. (PS I think Mick always sides with the money).

Stevie wants to go back to being fun but part of being fun is not taking things seriously. And the minute people had "fun while she was having her speech, she took offense. You can't have it both ways, Stevie. Such a great group. Have fun with it.

Why people are posting that Stevie being inducted into the Hall of Fame twice makes her better than Lindsey doesn't make sense to me. There are so many great artists not in the R&R Hall of Fame - it doesn't mean anything. I still love those artists who are my favorites that aren't in the Hall of Fame. Some artists in the Hall of Fame I don't feel should be there at all. I fell in love with Fleetwood Mac when Rumours came out. I learned who all the members were and like many fans, Stevie Nicks was my favorite. I liked Lindsey too, and Christine, but Stevie was the #1 reason I loved Fleetwood Mac. Saw them in concert a few times as well as Stevie, Lindsey, and Christine solo, and Lindsey and Christine together. After years of putting up with their childish behavior as they got older, I think they're all obnoxious and annoying to some degree. My opinion is that Stevie got Lindsey kicked out of the band going from what I believe after hearing everyone who's spoken about it. When that happened, I was so disappointed in/mad at Stevie Nicks and have not gotten back to being the fan I was when I first bought Rumours. For some reason, Lindsey thinks fans eat up the "let's pretend like we like each other when we walk out on stage hand in hand for the encore" routine. I personally do not. The music is the reason I paid money to see you in concert or bought your albums. That soap opera drama never made a FM concert better for me. When Christine died, so did Fleetwood Mac in my opinion. I don't care who they go on stage with and call themselves Fleetwood Mac. My Fleetwood Mac is Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Rest in peace, Fleetwood Mac.

I saw Stevie in concert last week, and she was fantastic, even with a broken toe.

Lindsay IS the SOUND of post 1974 Mac, hands-down. He was the Producer, Arranger, & Aesthetic-regardless of who wrote the song. Listen to 1991’s “Out of the Cradle” and this all will become instantly clear.

3:30 brings a whole new respect for Stevie and Lindsay as well as John and Michelle ❤

Stevie Nicks is a Jose State alumni I read about. “Rooms on Fire”, great song, underrated, and those classics she did with my favorite musician and American treasure, Tom Petty. Nicks, beautiful voice!

Greatest rock band of all time, forever. I think just about everyone in the band slept with everyone else at some point, it was musical beds. If you ever get the chance to see "The Commitments" movie, based on the novel, do it--it's great & I swear it's loosely based on Fleetwood Mac.

Hearing Lindsey call Kristen his “soulmate” cracks me up. Lindsey couldn’t quit Stevie until Kristen gave him a “me (& the kids) or Stevie” ultimatum late in their marriage! And imo, it was Stevie’s jealousy over Lindsey doing a CD with Christine that was the final straw…that award speech hoopla was an excuse.

Lindsay is clearly still salty over Stevie breaking up with him even several decades later hahahah

I saw them in 1977, 1978, 1997 and 2015. By far the best show was 2015. They were on fire and sober. Buckingham is underrated and without his creative input and postproduction work there would not have been as much success. He is cruel to her but she was also the biggest drug addict of the group, first needing to break her cocaine habit and then klonopin. By all accounts she was a mess in the studio. I don’t think it’s fair to call him out. It takes two to tango. It’s sad because in 2015 they really did seem like it was all behind them.

I remember that 2013 tour, and he was fired over money an ip rights. He also was combative with the other band members, not just NIcks. That blow-up was all over the news. They had to fire him because he was making everyone crazy. I'm sure news stories from that time period can be dug up from somewhere to verify this. I'm pretty sure he wasn't fired over a smirk.

She's not telling the truth. She was having an affair with Mick Fleetwood (who was married) and it was Mick that told Lindsay that Stevie was with him now and that it was over between the two. Nor was that the first affair; Lindsay didn't trust her because she gave him every reason not to.

While I'm sure Lindsey was a pain in the butt, he seems much more grounded and content with life. I don't think she's ever really moved on from Lindsey.

Saw Fleetwood Mac in 2018. Missed having Lindsay there but all were great!

Lindsay's comments at the end should have been left unspoken.

Stevie: kicked him out of group Lindsey: gets royalties/props as songwriter/producer regardless. *WINNER*

I’m telling you… there’s going to be a movie or an FX “Feud” series about these two one day, and it’ll be incredible, heartbreaking, embittering, and unforgettable. The most toxic pair who made the most incredible music… even with them both still alive and making music, it’s a captivating story.

Well done. Thank you.

My first love and i went back and forth for 25 years and i cant stand seeing her for the five minutes she comes by to get more of her stuff, no idea how they kept working together tbh

She the one who wanted to keep him single he moved on and she was furious

Some of Stevies quotes make me go to the Buckingham side.

If they didn't have a feud, we would never have got the album rumours.

what they did in their time I could care less, on music, I WILL ALWAYS LOVE THE RUMORS ALBUM. I love fleetwood mac forever.

As Rick James once said: "Cocaine is a hell of a drug!"

Lindsey is a pretty cool dude and a monster at guitar!

Problem is drugs change people she was hooked and that was her life children would get in the way regardless of the drugs they were brilliant my youth growing up funny no matter how many times and every time i here there songs i feel sad i guess it was when i first herd they were splitting up and when they split up it was sad i was so happy when they announced they were getting back together as a group was never realy the same but i loved them just as much seeing stevie and lindsey play together you could feel the love between them so sad and stevie still dancing today given her all like she always did a true professional artist i will alwas love FLEETWOOD MAC ❤

Gee, what Stevie said must make Lindsey's wife feel all warm and cozy. Knowing those 2 will always have the hots for each other is comforting. 🙄I don't think I could deal with that. She must be one hellavuh woman!

In every relationship there's 2 things that will kill it. Pride & the inability to forgive, other "traits" spin off of or come from the two. And the biggest that is a product of both is, mutual respect. Whether you are around one another constantly or the typical after 5, if the respect level that's spawn from the 2 former isn't rained in, it ain't going to work...ever!! Until YOU (not putting it on the other person, you have to be bigger, not only for them but for yourself) decide to put aside the pettiness & find the respect you had that's when it's possible to refind the love. This comes after 25+ years of marriage but ultimately it comes from my parents example. They owned their own business, working (5 to 6 days a week), living together, raising a family & married almost 51 years until my dad passed away. My mom still sat on my dad's lap, he lovingly teased her as she smiled and said "Oh Frank" then a giggle. They displayed true friendship, deep love, mutual respect, they were A TEAM. If anyone takes sides, they're wrong to do so, both are to blame, both contributed & blaming it on "not having distance or closure" is the way children reason not true adults. Gotta let pride go & forgiveness in

Nicks is the ultimate drama Queen. Give her ANY question, and she will identify herself as a saint. Then she goes on, and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. ….and on and on……and on…….and onnnnnnnnn. His jealousy tortured her into having an affair? And she wants him fired because she didn’t like the look on his face while she babbles on? Don’t make me laugh. 😂

Love all ur Music you were Rockn then still Rockn now be safe with this COVID out therel Ur my favorite hope i get to meet up some day would be my dream come true for Sure Tammy be safe my friend

Absolutely the very best ❤❤❤❤. Stevie was beautiful, majorly talented❤...amen❤

Everyone was tired of Stevie . Christine McVie was against Lindsey leaving the band. They would go on to make an album together

It is a shame these two just can't seem to get along. Deep inside, the love is there, though.

Now I understand Daisy Jones and the Six.

Lindsey and Stevie couldn’t give to one another the Love they couldn’t give to themselves.

Stevie was the show!!! No matter what ppl say, I have followed this band since I was 14. Stevie rings like a bell through the night, she was always a poet, a dancer, and she could get the audience going. She conqured the industry full of men.

I think Fleetwood Mac epitomizes the excesses and insufferable narcissism of rock culture of that era. When I read Mick Fleetwood’s description of how their tour managers had to go into every one of Stevie Nicks’s hotel suites in advance and redecorate them all with white paint, white carpet, and a white baby grand piano in the middle of it all, I nearly tossed my cookies. If today’s artists want to know why the music industry went in the shitter, all they have to do is consider all the bad juju put off by their predecessors. I have no sympathy for any of them.

Relationship's are hard... you have to learn to just not fight no matter how much you disagree

I remember every female wanted and got a Stevie Nicks Shag Haircut and her voice was one of a kind

I think Lindsey Buckingham needs to admit the truth which is that he was very jealous trying to control her and she stayed with him for many years that way and finally she just couldn't take it anymore and that was that I think Lindsey Buckingham has a very aggressive personality.. period. I think that's what happened folks

We all have made mistakes, he probably should have been with Stevie, but I know it's hard when you are so close.

No matter what was said about them with their ups and downs in their early years being young and you become famous and long time friendships and relationships change.im suprised through it all they stuck around and played shows while they had their solo music careers too.But the good thing in there later years all was forgiving and sadley we lost vickie in 2022 rest in Peace 🙏🕊🕊🕊🕊🦋🦋🦋🦋🌹🌹🌹🌹.but to me they will always be my favourite band with songs from Rumours well written by each of the band .they may have gone through ups and downs in the making of Rumours but in the end that chain was never broken even through there bad days of years gone by 🙏🤝🤜🤛💪🤲 👍🤞✌✊🔗🔗🔗🔗⛓️⛓️⛓️⛓️☮️☯️🕎✡️🇨🇮🇨🇺🇨🇲🇬🇹🇪🇺⚖️ 🎸🎷🎹🎵🎼.💖✌

“Closure closure closure closure closure…” ~ Tandy

Great job I love how you Narrated the whole story without it being a repeat of the love those two have

Watch the early live version of Go Your Own Way. You will see Stevie staring Lindsey down throughout the whole performance and then she signals to Christine to help her sabotage the end of the song; to make Lindsey look stupid pmsl. It's like DAMN!

this is what happens when kids stay kids instead of getting over themselves and growing up and being professional - Too many of these rock stars take themselves waaaayy too seriously - not mentioning any names , Johnny "don't call me Cougar " Mellencamp - ps I like johnny cougar - that's sounds like a cool dude - john mellencamp sounds like ....

I absolutely love them both! Relationships are difficult in a normal setting. I can’t imagine being in their shoes! 🙃

As a fellow smirker, can sympathize...

I feel like she has always carried a torch for him and he moved on. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This ongoing feud with Stevie and Lindsey finally came to a head with the smirking incident and she’s always wanted control over Fleetwood Mac and made her stand with the “it’s him or me” thing snd Mick sided with her pretty much making the other’s fine with firing the most talented person they ever had in that band Lindsey Buckingham! If you doubt that? listen to the really great duo album with Christine! But because he was gone, they went ahead with that horrible tour with Neil Finn and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell someone Stevie has wanted to work with as she made it clear that she wanted to be in Tom Petty’s band,but he knew better to let that happen so he refused that! But seriously,this tour was the final opportunity for this band especially the Rumours era band to get together and really celebrate their time together. But sadly with the loss of Christine,they will never be able to ever again! What a sad end to that great band and even if they do some how get together again, Christine won’t be there because of band politics!

Some artists are difficult, demanding, self-centered, jealous, touchy/moody and often unhappy. They made great music, made lots of money but barely could tolerate each other.

When the VO says "cracks began to show" around 1:20 I think you mean to show a photo of Lindsey, but I'm pretty sure that's John.

Stevie Nicks' ego and arrogance walks into the room 3 hours before she even gets there.

all i know is i love them both and want the est for them both

With Christine’s passing and the Stevie Lindsey feud , we will never see this lineup of Fleetwood Mac play together again and that’s so sad

So many of these commenters are dumping on Lindsey Buckingham and making Nicks out to be an angel saint who made FM. In actuality they have no idea what went into making this band. Lindsey wrote at least 1/3 of the songs on the most successful albums, plus produced, created his iconic guitar style, sung and made the harmonies that created the sound that rocketed FM to success. SN is part of that but some have no clue what the total winning combination of talents was. Including songwriter, singer, keyboardist Christine McVie, Nicks just sang. McVie even cowrote and released an album and toured with Lindsey as a duo in 2018. So any talk of friction betweeen her and Lindsey is nonsense. I saw that tour and they were fantastic together. Nicks stabbed Buckingham in the back and caused his heart attack. And the band betrayed him after all those years. That is proof of a terrible tendency to carry a grudge and makes her look small. It changed the way I see her.

It is a mystery as to what really happened. There are two sides to the story, and despite listening to both sides, there is even more mystery, and that fuel the interest in finding more clues and missed ques.

Fine, thanks.

Tango in the Night rules Hard to feel bad for anyone in FM considering how awful they all were to each other

Stevie is envious of Lindsey's family life. Stevie gave away the dreams of marriage and family for fame and fortune. Lindsey chose marriage and family. I think Stevie is envious of this. Stevie has the past, Lindsey has the future. Fame, money and beauty fade away; family comes through when you need them. Stevie lost out on life, too late for kids, probablynot able to be a good marriage partner. Lindsey has a great life ahead of him seeing his children grow old and bring him grandchildren.