Fleetwood Mac fans are currently speculating over a wave of recent activity from the band online.
Last weekend, a new “official” account for the legendary group was launched on Instagram. The verified page is currently set to private, and is followed by just eight people – including members Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood.
READ MORE: Stevie Nicks interview: “In Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie and I were a force of nature”
An official Fleetwood Mac TikTok profile was also set up recently – although no content has been shared there as of yet. However, the account has almost 14,000 followers at the time of writing.
This came as Nicks made her first appearance on Saturday Night Live in 41 years, where she performed her new single ‘The Lighthouse’ and her classic solo track ‘Edge Of Seventeen’.
“Fleetwood Mac making an official Instagram and TikTok we are cooked,” wrote one user on X/Twitter last Saturday (October 12). Another shared: “Fleetwood Mac making an Instagram. Somebody sedate me.”
Fleetwood Mac making an official Instagram and tiktok we are cooked
— kara (@oliverfknreeds) October 12, 2024
fleetwood mac making an instagram. somebody sedate me
— ellie⁶³ (@dreamsrussell) October 11, 2024
Meanwhile, some fans theorised about what could be happening behind the scenes. On Reddit, one user asked, “what the flip is about to happen?” while sharing a screenshot of the new Instagram page.
“It would be so amazing if this amounted to something like a reunion of the remaining four,” one person commented. “Has John [McVie] been coaxed out of retirement? Have Stevie and Lindsey [Buckingham] buried the hatchet? One final public tribute to Christine [McVie] and then curtains?”
Another user wrote: “Can someone explain what is happening right now?” Someone else said: “Y’all got my heart pounding!!!!”
While some people discussed a potential reunion, others noted that last week marked the 45th anniversary of Fleetwood Mac’s 12th album ‘Tusk’ – and said a reissue could be in the works.
Elsewhere, guitarist/singer-songwriter Buckingham – who was fired from Fleetwood Mac in 2018 – wished ‘Tusk’ a “happy birthday” in a post on Instagram.
In the caption, he reflected on drawing “a creative fork in the road” with the experimental record following “the enormous commercial success” of its predecessor, 1977’s ‘Rumours’. See the post below.
It was also reported over the weekend that the band’s official website was down temporarily.
Following Nicks’ SNL performance, another Reddit user commented: “It seems very odd to set an account up now after so long, particular[ly] right as Stevie was about to go on SNL… Lindsey also posted a memory [of SNL] (which if it is unrelated seems very weird to do).”
On the same thread, a fan wrote: “I’m still hoping a Buckingham Nicks reunion could still happen!”
This summer, Nicks said there was “no chance of putting Fleetwood Mac back together” without Christine McVie – who died in 2022 aged 79. “Without her, it just couldn’t work,” she reasoned.
In a previous interview, Nicks said there was “no reason to” continue the band. She called McVie her “best friend” and “musical soul mate”. “When she died, I figured we really can’t go any further with this,” the singer continued.
John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, and Lindsey Buckingham of the rock group “Fleetwood Mac” pose for a portrait in 1975. CREDIT: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Mick Fleetwood subsequently explained that he “would love to see a healing” between Nicks and Buckingham. However, the drummer added that this “doesn’t have to take the shape of a tour, necessarily”.
In early 2023, the sticksman said he still planned to perform, but “not as Fleetwood Mac”, adding: “I’d say we’re done, but then we’ve all said that before. It’s sort of unthinkable right now.”
Nicks played a headline solo concert at London’s BST Hyde Park 2024 in July, where she was joined by surprise guest Harry Styles.
She also took to the stage in Manchester, Dublin and Glasgow as part of her 2024 UK and Ireland tour. However, Nicks was forced to delay her Glasgow and Manchester dates due to a health issue. The singer later explained that she had “got this weird infection, and it just went crazy”.
READ MORE: Christine McVie, 1943-2022: an eternal songbird
In late 2018, Buckingham revealed that he had settled the lawsuit he had filed against Fleetwood Mac after he was ousted from the band earlier that year (and replaced by Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn).
“We’ve all signed off on something,” Buckingham said at the time. “I’m happy enough with it. I’m not out there trying to twist the knife at all. I’m trying to look at this with some level of compassion, some level of wisdom.”
But in early 2024, the singer-songwriter explained that he would return to Fleetwood Mac “in a heartbeat, absolutely” if the opportunity arose: “If there’s more to come, if there’s a way to heal that, that would be great. It would be very appropriate to close on a more circular note.”
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