Lindsey sacked, Neil joins Mac

LINDSEY Buckingham will have to go his own way.

The singer-guitarist is out of Fleetwood Mac.

The band said in a statement on Monday that Buckingham would not be on their new tour. The announcement came in two terse sentences at the bottom of a long news release announcing the new concerts.

“Lindsey Buckingham will not be performing with the band on this tour,” the statement said. “The band wishes Lindsey all the best.”

He’ll be jointly replaced by Neil Finn of Crowded House (right) and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. Buckingham joined the band with then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks in 1974 and the two became the central faces, voices and songwriters of the group for the next 40 years.

Buckingham sang and either wrote or co-wrote hits like Go Your Own Way, Tusk, and The Chain.

Buckingham left the band once before in 1987, returning for a tour in 1996, and remaining a steady member since.

No details were given on what led to the latest split. Buckingham’s agent referred requests for comment back to a publicist for Fleetwood Mac, who said it wasn’t yet clear how to reach Buckingham for a reaction.

The 68-year-old released an album and played a series of dates with the band’s Christine McVie last year.

Fleetwood Mac used most of the news release announcing the departure to tout its two new members.

“We jammed with Mike and Neil and the chemistry really worked and let the band realise that this is the right combination to go forward with in Fleetwood Mac style,” Mick Fleetwood, the drummer who co-founded the band in 1967, said.

Finn said the group contacted him only very recently and he was stunned to suddenly find himself a member of the band.