Mick Fleetwood wishes that his Fleetwood Mac bandmates Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham would put their differences aside. https://t.co/cGrXyy3HYN

— Us Weekly (@usweekly) February 4, 2025

“I always have a fantasy that [Stevie] and Lindsey would pal up a bit more and just say everything’s OK for them both,” said Fleetwood. “But we’ve had such an incredible career.”  

Nicks and Buckingham’s relationship stretches all the way back to their high school days when Nicks joined the band Fritz. They became involved romantically before moving to Los Angeles and forming Buckingham Nicks. They released one album before joining Fleetwood Mac in 1975, though they were initially hesitant with the band’s reputation for being a meat grinder for musicians.  

Their romantic split during the writing and recording of 1977’s ‘Rumours’ produced some of the most iconic Fleetwood Mac songs, but those tensions often spilled over into their live performances, most notably a performance of ‘Silver Springs’ in 1997.

The pair’s professional relationship reached boiling point in 2018 when Buckingham was asked to leave the group, with Nicks giving them an ultimatum that she would leave if he stayed. In 2021, Buckingham claimed that Nicks had never got over him, while Nicks countered by saying that she “gave him more than 300 million chances.”

 

 

 

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Following the death of Christine McVie in 2022, the future of Fleetwood Mac has been in the air. Mick Fleetwood acknowledged the impact of her passing, describing it as something that changed the band forever. “Losing Chris, it was beyond unexpected,” he told US Weekly. 

McVie was instrumental in shifting Fleetwood Mac’s sound from their blues roots to the pop-rock sound they would become known for, and wrote hits like ‘Everywhere’, ‘You Make Loving Fun’, and ‘Little Lies’. As the keyboard player, she would be heavily involved in the more electronic-influenced ‘Tango in the Night’, released in 1987. Since her passing, the band have released no original material, though 2023’s ‘Rumours Live’ performed well, reaching 19 on the UK Charts.

Fleetwood has previously shown a willingness to reunite the band without McVie, though Stevie Nicks has remained resolute in her stance that Fleetwood Mac is done. “Without Christine, no can do. There is no chance of putting Fleetwood Mac back together in any way,” she told MOJO in October 2024. On the other hand, Buckingham said he would reunite the band “in a heartbeat” when asked in February 2024.  

Fleetwood has remained active since The Mac’s disbandment. He released an album with ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro in 2024, and teased an upcoming solo album on which he would sing too. His comments to US Weekly seem to suggest the drummer is itching to get back on the road, “I miss playing as much as we used to. ​​I’m hoping next year, one way or another, some band somewhere will say, ‘Come and play with drums or something.’”

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Despite their last studio album coming in 2003, Fleetwood Mac are one of the most enduring acts of their era. ‘Rumours’ is a mainstay on the UK Album Charts, spending over 1000 non-consecutive weeks on it. With an upcoming Apple+ documentary, Fleetwood Mac are as relevant as ever, even if the surviving members don’t reunite.

While the documentary remains untitled, Fleetwood Mac’s Instagram hinted at a possible connection to their iconic 1977 album, Rumours, with the caption: “It’s not a Rumour.” A release date has not yet been announced.

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The project promises to chronicle Fleetwood Mac’s tumultuous 50-year journey, from the meeting in 1974 (the most recognisable line-up) all the way through to the present day. The film will delve into the band’s personal and professional highs and lows, including the interpersonal drama that inspired much of Rumours.

The 1977 album Rumours became one of the best selling albums of all-time, with over 40 million copies sold worldwide. In fact, it was the tenth best-selling album on vinyl in 2023, with 323,000 certified sales. The album is well-known for its lyrical content which addresses the personal turmoils of the musicians. Take ‘Dreams’ by Stevie Nicks, and ‘Go Your Own Way’ by Lindsey Buckingham; both address the pair’s breakup from different viewpoints.

Director Frank Marshall, whose work includes acclaimed music documentaries like ‘The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart‘, expressed his admiration for Fleetwood Mac’s ability to transform their chaotic personal lives into timeless music. “This will be a film about the music and the people who created it,” he said.

The creative team also includes Emmy-winning writer Mark Monroe, who previously collaborated with Marshall on Disney+ show ‘The Beach Boys’. Producers Nicholas Ferrall and Jeanne Elfant Festa, who have both worked with Marshall and Monroe before, are on board as well.

Fans can expect exclusive new interviews with band members Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks, as well as archival footage of the late Christine McVie. The film aims to explore the chemistry between the group and their creative process, which has helped them sell over 140 million records worldwide.

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The announcement comes as Apple TV+ continues to expand its music documentary catalogue, following hits like ‘Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me’ and ‘Beastie Boys Story’. This may be Apple’s strategy to compete with Disney+ and Netflix, both of whom have found success with shows like ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ and ‘Wham!’.

Fleetwood Mac remains culturally relevant, even with a much younger audience, with their song ‘Dreams’ going viral on TikTok in 2020 thanks to a video of a man skateboarding with cranberry juice. The band’s popularity ensures a well-established audience for the documentary, tapping into a streaming trend driven by nostalgia.

@420doggface208

♬ Dreams (2004 Remaster) – Fleetwood Mac

A 2021 Vice report on the rise of music documentaries and biopics attributes their success to familiar fan bases and easy accessibility. However, the genres face challenges of oversaturation, as seen with the mixed reception to recent biopics such as, ‘Bob Marley: One Love’. With Christine McVie’s passing in 2022, any possibility of a full reunion has been ruled out. This film will likely serve as the band’s definitive statement, offering glimpses of some of the most definitive moments in the history of the group, and could be some of the last original material we see of them.

Not *The* Fleetwood Mac, though. The second Fleetwood Mac.

— Angus (@gibsona07) November 19, 2024

On X (formerly Twitter), one user questioned the absence of Peter Green in Apple’s announcement. The guitarist was one of the founders of the original incarnation of the group, which was called ‘Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac’. He left the group in 1970 after struggling with his mental health, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia four years later.

While we don’t know exactly when the documentary will drop, or even what it will be called, there is already a considerable amount of excitement online. With Marshall, Monroe, and the rest of the team leading the project, this will be a must-watch for any music fan.

In an interview with Vulture, Nicks stated: “When Christine died, I felt like you can’t replace her. You just can’t, Without her, what is it? You know what I mean? She was like my soul mate, my musical soul mate, and my best friend that I spent more time with than any of my other best friends outside of Fleetwood Mac.”

Nicks also added: “Christine was my best friend. When I think about Taylor Swift’s song ‘You’re on Your Own, Kid’ and the line ‘you always have been,’ it was like, that was Christine and I. We were on our own in that band. We always were. We protected each other. Who am I going to look over to on the right and have them not be there behind that Hammond organ? When she died, I figured we really can’t go any further with this. There’s no reason to.”

Upon McVie’s death, Fleetwood Mac also released a statement in which the band called McVie “truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure” later adding “She will be so very missed”.

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— Fleetwood Mac (@fleetwoodmac) November 30, 2022

Born in Lancashire, United Kingdom, Christine McVie joined Fleetwood Mac in 1971, four years before Stevie Nicks joined the band. McVie’s debut as a full-time member was on the album Future Games, having already made guest contributions on albums prior and was married at the time to Fleetwood Mac bass guitarist John McVie.

Christine McVie became a consistent songwriter and singer for the band, writing and singing hits such as ‘Warm Ways’, ‘Say You Love Me’ and ‘You Make Loving Fun’. After a long tenure with the band, McVie retired from the band in 1998, before reuniting with the band in 2014.

Nicks described McVie’s influence and importance to the band as to why the band could never tour again, as she said: “And her songs, you take out all of those songs. Christine was the pop star. She wrote all those really super pop hits. None of the rest of us could write those songs. What would happen is we’d have to take the songs out, like we did when she actually retired for 18 years. We couldn’t re-create those songs. So we became a much more hard-rock band.”

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