Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsay Buckingham has spoken about his firing from the planet-shagging group, blaming “factions within the band” for his departure.

Wait? What? “Factions”? What is this? The Communist Party?

Obviously not, but Buckingham let his feelings known during a fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidate Mike Levin on Friday night (11 May). The guitarist found himself sacked after Fleetwood Mac announced that they would be touring without the man who wrote some of their biggest hits including ‘Go Your Own Way’ and ‘Tusk’.

It has since bee announced that the group will tour this autumn with Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.

"For me, personally, probably some of you know that for the last three months I have sadly taken leave of my band of 43 years, Fleetwood Mac. This was not something that was really my doing or my choice,” he said.

"I think what you would say is that there were factions within the band that had lost their perspective," Buckingham continued. "The point is that they'd lost their perspective. What that did was to harm – and this is the only thing I'm really sad about, the rest of it becomes an opportunity – it harmed the 43-year legacy that we had worked so hard to build, and that legacy was really about rising above difficulties in order to fulfill one's higher truth and one's higher destiny."

All this musical merry-go-round raises a few interesting prospects. Perhaps Buckingham could get in touch with the remaining members of Crowded House and they could go on the road? What with them being on extended hiatus, this would be a good opportunity to get out of the house for some fresh air, a bit of musical exercise and top up their air miles. It’s got to beat mooching around, right?

Photo: Kristoffer Juel Poulsen/Epa/REX/Shutterstock