![\"Lindsey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Lindsey-Buckingham-Guitarist-Producer-Singer-Musician-1970s-Fleetwood-Mac-Far-Out-Magazine-F-1140x85.jpeg\")
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(Credits: Far Out \/ Press)<\/p>\n
Tue 21 October 2025 17:52, UK <\/p>\n
Lindsey Buckingham has never been the flashiest as a guitarist and prefers to take a subtle, more nuanced approach to the instrument. With Fleetwood Mac<\/a>, he often wasn\u2019t the centre of attention. Still, his understated contribution brought an unmistakable complexion to their sound, even if it was poppier than many of his peers.<\/p>\n Joining Fleetwood Mac was a daunting task for Buckingham, as he had to follow in the footsteps of Peter Green and Bob Welch. There was pressure attached to being the lead guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, but rather than trying to replicate those who came before him in the role, he stayed true to himself and leaned into why Mick Fleetwood recruited him to the band.<\/p>\n Fleetwood had settled on Buckingham because of his unique style of playing. The American had been touring with Don Everly, even singing Phil\u2019s parts, and he had a swagger that was unteachable. His lines and riffs felt like sunshine, and it was difficult to come up with an argument as to why he wouldn\u2019t improve the group. It was this sway that also allowed him to bring his girlfriend, Stevie Nicks, along for the ride. <\/p>\n In a traditional sense, Buckingham wasn\u2019t a typical lead guitarist, but that didn\u2019t prevent him from inserting his name into the rock \u2018n\u2019 roll history books. \u201cI really came in the back door. All the Jimi Hendrix and the Clapton types who were wearing their style on their sleeve were not the people I was listening to,\u201d he once admitted in an interview from 2002.<\/p>\n Buckingham continued: \u201cIt was probably people whose names I wasn\u2019t even aware of so much, like Chet Atkins and Scotty Moore. The lead playing you usually associate with the \u2018rock guitar god\u2019 thing was the last thing I picked up. I couldn\u2019t even play lead for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Buckingham didn\u2019t grow up idolising the likes of Hendrix and Clapton, that doesn\u2019t mean he doesn\u2019t respect guitarists from that side of the fence. Blues was always a part of the rock scene of the 1960s, but while Buckingham didn\u2019t really connect with the old masters who had infiltrated the swinging scene in London, he did find appreciation for some of its inhabitants. <\/p>\n Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who began his career with The Yardbirds, is a figure he holds in the highest regard. A swashbuckling performer, Page was able to rip out a solo as well as anyone, but he had a secret weapon that very few of his contemporaries had in their arsenal: studio wizadry. However, Buckingham knows it\u2019s a style he\u2019ll never be able to replicate.<\/p>\n Speaking to Guitar.com, the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist explained: \u201cI wasn\u2019t really a lead guitar player. So in the process of retooling myself for Buckingham Nicks<\/a> as the guitarist, I was listening to Jimmy Page a lot \u2013 he had great chops, but also amazing production values, and that became the key, just listening for the use of guitar in ways that were integral.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cI can\u2019t think of anyone who even touches Jimmy Page in terms of being able to draw from elements of folk and classical and other things and make it so musical. So I guess that became a touchstone for me.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Lindsey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Lindsey-Buckingham-2012-Steve-Proctor-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>(Credits: Far Out \/ Steve Proctor)<\/p>\n