Buckingham Nicks
Biography Buckingham Nicks
Lindsey Buckingham
Considered to be among the greatest guitarists of all time, Lindsey Buckingham grew up in California’s Bay Area and fell in love with music as a teen. A self-taught guitar virtuoso, he started performing with a folk-rock band in high school, and later encouraged his friend Stevie Nicks, who would become his girlfriend, to join.
The two struck out on their own in 1973 – moving to Los Angeles, forming a folksy duo called Buckingham Nicks and then releasing an eponymous album. Mick Fleetwood happened to hear the song Frozen Love from that record. In 1974, he invited both of them to be part of Fleetwood Mac.
The first album released with Buckingham on lead guitar and as one of the three vocalists came out in 1975. Often referred to as the White Album, it was Fleetwood Mac’s second eponymous offering and saw the group rise to stardom in the US. With the arrival of 1977’s Rumours, they were well on their way to multi-platinum worldwide domination. Over the next four decades, Fleetwood Mac would release five more albums – 1979’s Tusk, 1982’s Mirage, 1987’s Tango In The Night, 2003’s Say You Will and 2013’s Extended Play – before a series of disagreements with Nicks led to Buckingham’s departure in 2018.
Across those years, he had also established an impressive solo career. Initially, Buckingham just wanted to experiment and explore new corners of rock’n’roll. In the late ’70s, he began working on his debut album, finally unveiling Law And Order in 1981. It featured guest appearances from bandmates like Fleetwood and Christine McVie, as well as containing one of his greatest solo tracks, Trouble.
Buckingham wrote the song Holiday Road for 1983’s beloved film National Lampoon’s Vacation starring Chevy Chase. Although it didn’t chart in the UK and only reached No.83 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list in the US, the effusively fun track was used in two more sequels – 1985’s National Lampoon's European Vacation and 1997’s Vegas Vacation.
Buckingham’s second solo album Go Insane arrived in 1984. During the late ’80s, he also worked on collaborative projects including co-writing Since You’ve Gone for Belinda Carlisle’s debut solo album and contributing Time Bomb Town to the soundtrack for the movie Back To The Future.
In 1992, Buckingham released his third album Out Of The Cradle. Peaking at No.51 on the UK albums chart, it contained the languid lament Countdown, his modern electro-acoustic track Don’t Look Down and the evolution-themed Soul Drifter.
A long gap of time passed before Buckingham unveiled his fourth album, 2006’s Under The Skin. That was followed closely by 2008’s Gift Of Screws, which boasted a title track inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem.
Soon after, his contract with Warner Records ended. This led Buckingham to self-release his fifth album Seeds We Sow in 2011. Along with a torrent of guitar playing on the title track, it featured the heart-rending song Stars Are Crazy about lost love.
In 2017, he united with McVie to record their first-ever album together, Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie. Fellow bandmates Fleetwood and John McVie also joined the duo on several songs.
After suffering a heart attack in 2019, Buckingham underwent emergency bypass surgery that resulted in vocal damage. He bounced back and was due to head out on tour, however the coronavirus pandemic forced those plans to be cancelled.
Buckingham collaborated with The Killers on the song Caution from their 2020 album Imploding The Mirage.
In summer 2021, he released the lead single I Don’t Mind from his self-titled sixth solo album, which arrived in September and peaked at No.25 on the UK albums chart. In addition, he announced his first-ever solo European tour dates including three UK shows in late May 2022.
Stevie Nicks
Best known as the mysterious and mystical powerhouse lead voice of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks is just as much the entrancing chanteuse as a solo songstress. Her latest album, "In Your Dreams," was released in 2011. Her singular sartorial style, featuring long robes, lace, scarves and wild hair, is as iconic as her sound, and that, coupled with long-held rumors of her Wiccan interests, helped create a remarkably haunting stage presence. Though she tours infrequently and creates new work rarely, she remains one of the most inspirational women in rock, with bands like the Dixie Chicks and Destiny’s Child and artists Mary J. Blige and Florence Welch idolizing her inimitable style.
Nicks began her career early, singing at small concerts with her grandfather as a young child before meeting her future partner, band mate and lover Lindsey Buckingham, in high school. Together they joined Fleetwood Mac members Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie, where she penned classic hits “Rhiannon” and “Landslide” for their first album, resulting in immediate global acclaim and innumerable follow-up covers by fellow musicians. The tumultuous band life resulted in drug addiction, divorces and ultimately, a breakup, though they reunited in 1997, the same year the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite ailing health, Nicks produced several albums, both with Fleetwood Mac and solo, including "Bella Donna," her first solo effort released in 1981. This album showcased the musical gems “Edge of Seventeen” and “Leather and Lace.” Her other lone efforts include "The Wild Heart," "Rock a Little," "The Other Side of the Mirror," "Street Angel" and "Trouble in Shangri-La" before releasing "In Your Dreams."
