Fleetwood Mac: Lindsey Buckingham breaks silence on being 'fired' from iconic band

The band confirmed last month that they will tour with two new members, Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Neil Finn of Crowded House.

But Buckingham, who had been in the line-up since 1974, was not involved.

Now, he has confirmed that his exclusion was not his own choice.

Speaking while playing at a campaign fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidate Mick Levin over the weekend, he said – according to Metro: “It’s been an interesting time on a lot of levels.

“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 added: “I think what you would say is that there were factions within the band that had 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.

“That legacy was really about rising above difficulties in order to fulfil one’s higher truth and one’s higher destiny.”

Mick Fleetwood had recently told Rolling Stone that the group “arrived at the impasse of hitting a brick wall” though he did not confirm that Buckingham was fired.

Buckingham was recruited at the same time as his then girlfriend Steve Nicks, and the group scored huge success with the likes of Rumours in 1977.

That went on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time; shifting 13 million units worldwide.

They released their last studio set Say You Will back in 2003, but have continued to perform together since.