Coordinates: 51°59′44″N 0°59′12″W / 51.9956°N 0.9868°W / 51.9956; -0.9868

Buckingham
Buckingham High Street in 2009
Buckingham  Buckingham shown within Buckinghamshire
Population	11,572 [1]
OS grid reference	SP695335
Civil parish	Buckingham
District	Aylesbury Vale
Shire county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BUCKINGHAM
Postcode district	MK18
Dialling code	01280
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Buckingham
List of places: UK • England • Buckinghamshire

Buckingham is a town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 (United Kingdom Census 2001), (2007 est. 13,200). Buckingham is also a civil parish designated as a town council.

Buckingham was declared the county town of Buckinghamshire in the 10th century when it was made the capital of the newly formed shire of Buckingham^[2] until Aylesbury took over this role early in the 18th century.^[3]

Buckingham has a variety of restaurants and pubs, typical of a small market town. It has a small number of local shops, both national and independent. Market days are Tuesday and Saturday which take over Market Hill and the High Street cattle pens. Buckingham is twinned with Mouvaux, France.

History[link]

Old County Gaol in Buckingham, built 1748. It is now the Buckingham Old Gaol Museum.

In the 7th century, Buckingham, literally "meadow of Bucca's people"^[4] is said to have been founded by Bucca, the leader of the first Anglo Saxon settlers.^[4] The first settlement was located around the top of a loop in the River Great Ouse, presently the Hunter Street campus of the University of Buckingham. Between the 7th century and the 11th century, the town of Buckingham regularly changed hands between the Saxons and the Danes, in particular, in 914 King Edward the Elder and a Saxon army encamped in Buckingham for four weeks forcing local Danish Viking leaders to surrender.^[4] Subsequently a fort was constructed at the location of the present Buckingham parish church.^[4]

Buckingham is the first settlement referred to in the Buckinghamshire section of the Domesday Book of 1086.^[5] Buckingham was referred to as Buckingham with Bourton, and the survey makes reference to 26 burgesses, 11 smallholders and 1 mill.

The town received its charter in 1554 when Queen Mary created the free borough of Buckingham with boundaries extending from Thornborowe Bridge (now Thornborough) to Dudley Bridge and from Chackmore Bridge to Padbury Mill Bridge. The designated borough included a bailiff, twelve principal burgesses and a steward.^[6]

The town suffered from a significant fire that raged through the town centre on 15 March 1725,^[7] with the result that many of the main streets of the town were destroyed including Castle Street, Castle Hill and the north side of Market Hill. The result was 138 dwellings (out of a total of 387 in the town at that time) being consumed in the fire. The current fine range of Georgian architecture in these streets today is as a direct result of that fire, but the immediate aftermath was difficult for the town. Collections were made in surrounding towns such as Aylesbury and Wendover to help those made homeless and by 1730, only a third of the homes had been rebuilt.

Geography[link]

The town is centred on the historic market place and contains many 18th century buildings. There are three main roads crossing Buckingham, namely the A413, the A421 (the southern bypass) and the A422. Capability Brown's historic formal garden design at Stowe (on the A422 westbound) is an important attraction in the care of the National Trust.

There is a medieval well known as St Rumbold's Well on the south side of the dismantled railway which borders the town. The well, which is now dry for much of the year, was positioned to exploit the spring line below the crest of a north facing slope overlooking the town.

Suburbs of Buckingham include Mount Pleasant, Page Hill, Bourton, Badgers, Linden Village, and Castle Fields. Maids Moreton, a village on the north eastern borders of the town has become contiguous with the Buckingham urban area. Nearby towns include Aylesbury, Winslow, Bicester, Brackley, Milton Keynes and Towcester. Local villages in the immediate vicinity include Padbury and Gawcott to the south, Chackmore to the north and Shalstone to the north west. It is also very near Stowe, the location of Stowe House, Stowe Landscape Gardens and Stowe School.

There is a Confluence point on the edge of the town (here), at exactly 52°00′00″N 01°00′00″W / 52°N 1°W / 52; -1

Bourton[link]

Bourton was a hamlet in the parish of Buckingham. The hamlet name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'fortified enclosure'. It is now an integral part of the town of Buckingham, with a road and old mill named Bourton still visible to visitors.

Bourton was once the location of a great house that belonged to the Minshull family. In the English Civil War the house was plundered by Parliamentarian forces and goods to the value of £2,000 (a massive fortune in the day) were stolen.^{[citation needed]} The house has long since disappeared.

Education[link]

The town is home to one of the UK's two private universities, the University of Buckingham. Unlike other UK universities, most of its students are from overseas.

Buckinghamshire operates the Tripartite System of state secondary education. The local state secondary schools are the Royal Latin School (a grammar school) and the Buckingham School (a secondary modern). Stowe School and Akeley Wood School, just outside the town, are independent schools. There are three primary schools, two community and one academy, serving different areas of the town: Buckingham Primary School, Grenville Combined School School and Bourton Meadow.

Industry and business[link]

The town is home to a number of industrial estates and technology parks housing high tech companies in the pharmaceutical, electronic, foods and composite materials fields including Natco, Racelogic, Superchips, Vitalograph and Wipac.

Transport[link]

Road[link]

Buckingham stands at the crossroads of the A413 (north-south), A421 and A422 (east-west) roads. The town was by-passed in the early 1980s by creating a new section of the A421 to the south.

Bus[link]

Buckingham is linked to Aylesbury by the 60 and Milton Keynes by the 32. An inter-city coach service known as the X5 links the town to Oxford and Cambridge. Some surrounding villages are connected to Buckingham by a market day bus.

Canal[link]

Buckingham was served by the Buckingham Arm of the Grand Junction Canal from 1801 to 1932, and the canal was finally abandoned in 1964. The canal ran from Cosgrove, Northamptonshire to the centre of Buckingham to a wharf.

Rail[link]

Buckingham had a railway station on the Banbury to Verney Junction Branch Line and ran from 1850 to 1964.

Automobiles[link]

Buckingham was home to the Thomas Rickett steam car, an innovative vehicle from 1860, though considered ahead of its time and only two are considered to have been made.

Leisure[link]

Buckingham Cricket Club's ground

Sport[link]

There are two local football teams, a rugby union club including teams for women and young women and a cricket club. These are Buckingham Athletic F.C. based at Stratford Fields, Buckingham Town F.C. based at Ford Meadow, Buckingham Rugby Club based at Floyd Field, Maids Moreton and Buckingham Town Cricket Club based at Bourton Road. Moretonville Junior Football Club also has boys and girls teams from u7s - u16s.

The town has several public sports facilities including an indoor swimming pool, an all weather sports pitch, squash courts, tennis courts and bowls pitch. There are several private golf clubs in the vicinity of the town.

Culture[link]

Buckingham Old Gaol is the town's museum which was established in 1993 in the historic town centre Old Gaol building. It also houses temporary exhibitions and the Tourist Information Centre.

The Chandos Cinema was in operation from 1934 and closed in 1987,^[8] but in 2005 an independent community cinema opened in the university called the Film Place.^[9] Live music events are regularly held in the Radcliffe Centre.^[10]

Tourism[link]

• Buckingham Chantry Chapel (owned by the National Trust)
• Stowe School and Stowe Gardens (National Trust)

Saint Rumbold[link]

SS Peter and Paul, Buckingham viewed from the south west.

The town is said to be the final resting place of St Rumbold (also known as Saint Rumwold), a little known Saxon saint and the grandson of Penda King of Mercia; the parish church at Strixton (Northamptonshire) is dedicated to him and the small northern town of Romaldkirk is also thought to be named after him. He was apparently born at King's Sutton, Northants, where he died just three days later. During his short life, he repeatedly professed his Christian faith and asked for baptism. He is now most often referred to as St Rumbold,^[11] the latter being the most common, as it can be found being used on a local road name and recent booklets about the subject.

Places of worship[link]

• St Bernardine's Catholic Church, Buckingham [1]
• Buckingham Evangelical Church [2]
• St Peter and St Paul, Buckingham, Buckingham (Church of England)[3]
• Salvation Army, Buckingham [4]
• Well Street United Church, Buckingham (Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed Church) [5]

Notable people[link]

• John Bercow was elected Member of Parliament for Buckingham in 1997, and since 2009, Speaker of the House of Commons
• Gillian Blake (actress)
• Sir George Gilbert Scott (architect)
• Robert Maxwell Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1964 - 1970
• Craig Pickering (Athlete) attended the Royal Latin School
• David Pickering (writer)
• Browne Willis Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1705 - 1708
• Sam Baldock (footballer) attended the Royal Latin School
• George Baldock (footballer) attended the Royal Latin School
• Bernie Marsden (musician) lives in Buckingham.
• Wyndham Hazelton (cricketer)

See also[link]

• Buckingham (borough)
• Buckingham (UK Parliament constituency)
• Duke of Buckingham
• Buckingham Palace
• Buckingham gave its name to Buckingham Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

References[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Buckingham.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Buckingham

• The Buckingham table - Raising funds for local charity
• Buckingham Town Council
• Buckingham Tourist Information Centre
• Buckingham what's on guide
• The Buckingham Society
• Buckingham - Mouvaux Twinning Association

v t e Aylesbury Vale District Buckinghamshire County Council elections District Council elections Aylesbury Constituency Buckingham Constituency Towns (Component Areas and Hamlets) Aylesbury Bedgrove Broughton California Elm Farm Elmhurst Haydon Hill New Zealand Prebendal Farm Quarrendon Queens Park Southcourt Turnfurlong Walton Walton Court Buckingham Bourton Buffler's Holt Castle Fields Mount Pleasant Page Hill Wendover Cobblers Hill Concord Dean Hazeldean Kings Ash Little London Lower Bacombe Scrubwood Smalldean The Hale Upper Bacombe Wendover Dean Wendover Marsh World's End Winslow Shipton Shipton Brook Other Civil Parishes (Component Villages and Hamlets) Addington Adstock Akeley Akeley Stockholt Ashendon Ashendon Lower Pollicott Upper Pollicott Aston Clinton Aston Clinton Chivery Vaches Aston Abbotts Aston Sandford Barton Hartshorn Beachampton Biddlesden Bierton with Broughton Bierton Broughton Broughton Crossing Burcott Boarstall Boarstall Honeyburge Brill Brill Little London Buckingham Park Berryfields Weedon Hill Buckland Buckland Buckland Wharf Calvert Green Calvert Charndon Chearsley Cheddington Cheddington Cooks Wharf Chetwode Chilton Chilton Easington Coldharbour Fairford Leys Creslow Cublington Cuddington Dinton-with-Ford and Upton Aston Mullins Dinton Ford Gibraltar Upton Waldridge Westlington Dorton Drayton Beauchamp Drayton Parslow Dunton East Claydon Botolph Claydon East Claydon Edgcott Edlesborough Northall and Dagnall Dagnall Edlesborough Northall Ringshall Fleet Marston Foscott Gawcott with Lenborough Gawcott Lenborough Granborough Granborough Green End Great Brickhill Great Horwood Great Horwood Singleborough Grendon Underwood Haddenham Haddenham South End Halton Hardwick Hillesden Hoggeston Hogshaw Fulbrook Hogshaw Hulcott Ickford Ivinghoe Greatgap Horton Ivinghoe Ivinghoe Aston Ringshall Kingsey Kingswood Kingswood Tetchwick Leckhampstead Lillingstone Dayrell with Luffield Abbey Lillingstone Dayrell Luffield Abbey Lillingstone Lovell Little Horwood Long Crendon Ludgershall Maids Moreton Marsh Gibbon Marsh Gibbon Little Marsh Summerstown Marsworth Marsworth Startop's End Mentmore Crafton Ledburn Mentmore Middle Claydon Middle Claydon Verney Junction Mursley Nash Nether Winchendon Newton Longville North Marston Oakley Addingrove Little London Oakley Oving Padbury Pitchcott Pitstone Barley End Pitstone Pitstone Green Pitstone Hill Poundon Preston Bissett Quainton Quainton Shipton Lee Quarrendon Berryfields Radclive-cum-Chackmore Radclive Chackmore Shabbington Shalstone Slapton Grove Horton Wharf Slapton Soulbury Bragenham Chelmscote Hollingdon Soulbury Stockgrove Steeple Claydon Stewkley North End Stewkley Stewkley Dean Stoke Hammond Stoke Mandeville Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell Bishopstone Hartwell Lower Hartwell Sedrup Stone Stowe Boycott Dadford Lamport Stowe Swanbourne Nearton End Swanbourne Thornborough Thornton Tingewick Turweston Twyford Upper Winchendon Waddesdon Eythrope Waddesdon Wormstone Water Stratford Watermead Weedon East End Weedon Weedon Hill Westbury Westcott Weston Turville Bye Green Weston Turville Whaddon Whitchurch Wing Ascott Burcott Littleworth Wing Wingrave Burston Nup End Rowsham Wingrave Woodham Worminghall Wotton Underwood Former Districts and Boroughs Municipal Borough of Aylesbury Municipal Borough of Buckingham Buckingham Rural District Long Crendon Rural District Wing Rural District Former Constituencies Buckinghamshire County Constituency Wendover Constituency List of Parliamentary constituencies in Buckinghamshire List of places in Buckinghamshire List of civil parishes in Buckinghamshire

Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Buckingham performing with Fleetwood Mac on March 3, 2009
Background information
Birth name	Lindsey Adams Buckingham
Born	(1949-10-03) October 3, 1949 (age 62) Palo Alto, California, United States
Genres	Rock, pop, New Wave
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, banjo, keyboards, drums, percussion
Years active	1968–present
Labels	Reprise, Polydor, Mercury, Elektra, Asylum
Associated acts	Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham Nicks
Website	www.lindseybuckingham.com
Notable instruments
Rick Turner Model 1 Chet Atkins CEC RS6

Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987, and 1997 to present day. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released six solo albums and two live albums. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2011, Buckingham was ranked 100th in Rolling Stone magazine's 2011 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".^[1] In Fleetwood Mac's heyday, Buckingham was known for his finger picking guitar style and wide vocal range as well as the famous (sometimes tense) chemistry between himself and former girlfriend and fellow bandmate Stevie Nicks.

Early years[link]

Born in Palo Alto, California, Buckingham was the third and youngest child of Rutheda (née Elliott) and Morris Buckingham. He had two older brothers, Jeff and Greg. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area community of Atherton, Buckingham and his brothers were encouraged to swim competitively. Though Buckingham dropped out of athletics to pursue music, his brother Greg went on to win a silver medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Buckingham's first forays into guitar playing took place on a toy Mickey Mouse guitar, playing along to his brother Jeff's extensive collection of 45s. Noticing his talent, Buckingham's parents bought their son a $35 Harmony guitar.

Buckingham never took guitar lessons and does not read music.^[2] By age 13, he became interested in folk music and, influenced by banjo methods, practiced the energetic style of The Kingston Trio. At 15 he joined a small folk group, Fritz, providing vocals and guitar work.

Buckingham Nicks[link]

Buckingham and his then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks recorded seven demos in 1972 on an analog 4-track machine, and drove to Los Angeles to pursue a record deal. In 1973, Polydor Records signed the pair. Their album, Buckingham Nicks, was released in September 1973; soon after its release, however, Polydor dropped the duo because of poor sales.

Despite Polydor's measure, though, Buckingham Nicks has been championed by rock critics since its release.^{[citation needed]} It features fine two-part harmonies backed by notable LA session musicians, including superstar drummer Jim Keltner. According to the album notes, other session musicians include: Ron Tutt (Elvis Presley TCB Band), drums; Peggy Sandvig, keyboards; Waddy Wachtel, guitar; Jorge Calderon, percussion; Jerry Scheff (Elvis Presley TCB Band), bass; Monty Stark, synthesizer; Gary Hodges, drums; and Mark Tulin, bass.

Although money was tight, the hardworking duo caught the attention of many budding musicians, including Warren Zevon, who is rumored to have been a roommate of Nicks and Buckingham in a Fairfax district apartment.^{[citation needed]}

A short tour promoting the Buckingham Nicks album commenced shortly after the joining of Buckingham and Nicks with Fleetwood Mac. Bootlegs of two concerts in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa exist and are widely distributed on peer-to-peer networks and fansites.^{[citation needed]} The touring band included drummers Bob Aguirre (from Fritz) and Gary Hodges playing simultaneously and bassist Tom Moncrieff, who later played bass on Stevie Nicks' 1981 album Bella Donna.

To help make ends meet, Buckingham toured with Don Everly's back-up band, singing Phil Everly's parts.^[3] Buckingham and Nicks were eventually forced to move in with record producer Keith Olsen, who helped the pair work on several demos for the next Buckingham Nicks album, including "I'm So Afraid", "Monday Morning" and "Rhiannon".^{[citation needed]}

Buckingham Nicks has never been released on CD (a bootleg version does exist), although both Buckingham and Nicks have hinted at a possible remix and re-release on CD in the near future. Buckingham has also suggested a tour in support of the collection could be something the two may be interested in. Moncrieff and Hodges from the original Buckingham Nicks touring band have also expressed interest.

Fleetwood Mac[link]

While checking out the Sound City recording studio in California, Mick Fleetwood heard the song "Frozen Love" from the Buckingham Nicks album. He asked who the guitarist was, and immediately stated that he wanted him to fill a recent vacancy. Buckingham insisted to Fleetwood that he and Nicks were a package deal—if Fleetwood didn't want Nicks, he wouldn't get Buckingham. The duo was quickly asked to join Fleetwood Mac on New Year's Eve, 1974.

Fleetwood Mac released their eponymously titled album in 1975, which became a hit. However it was the second album of this new line-up, Rumours, that propelled the band to superstar status when it became one of the best-selling albums of all time. Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way" was the lead-off single, soaring into the US Top Ten. After the resounding commercial success of Rumours (during the making of which Buckingham and Nicks famously split), Buckingham was determined to avoid falling into repeating the same musical pattern. The result was Tusk (1979), a double album that Buckingham primarily directed. Once again, Buckingham wrote the lead-off single, the title track that would peak at #8 on Billboard's Hot 100. It was during this time that Buckingham moved in with record company secretary and aspiring model, Carol Ann Harris, with whom he lived until 1984. Though by most standards a hit, Tusk failed to come close to Rumours record sales, and the album was followed by a hiatus in the band's studio recording efforts.

After a large world tour that ended in 1980, Fleetwood Mac took a year-long break before reconvening to record their next album Mirage, a more pop-friendly work that returned the band to the top of the US album chart. However, by this time various members of the band were enjoying success as solo artists (particularly Nicks) and it would be five years before the release of the next Fleetwood Mac album. By the time Tango in the Night was released in 1987, Buckingham had already released two solo albums and had given up much of the material for what would have been his third solo album for the project, including "Big Love", "Tango in the Night", "Family Man", "You and I" and "Caroline". On several of these tracks Buckingham played every instrument^{[citation needed]}. "Big Love", released as the first single from the album, became a top ten hit in the US and the UK.

Propelled by a string of hit singles, Tango in the Night became the band's biggest album since Rumours a decade earlier. However, following its release, Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac^[4] largely because of his desire not to tour and the strain he was feeling within the band. Fleetwood Mac continued without him, and Buckingham was replaced by guitarists Rick Vito and Billy Burnette.

Solo projects[link]

During the time he worked on Tusk, Buckingham also produced albums for Walter Egan and John Stewart in the late 1970s as well as beginning work on his own solo album.

In 1981, Buckingham released his first solo album Law and Order, playing nearly every instrument and featuring guest appearances by bandmates Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie. The album pursued the quirky, eclectic, often lo-fi and new-wave-influences of Tusk, and spawned the hit single "Trouble" which reached #9 on the US Charts and #1 in Australia (for three weeks). Two years later, he wrote and performed the songs "Holiday Road" and "Dancin' Across the U.S.A." for the film National Lampoon's Vacation. "Holiday Road" was released as a single, and reached #82 on the Billboard's Hot 100. He did other soundtrack work, including the song "Time Bomb Town" from Back to the Future (1985). Buckingham played all of the instruments on the track except drums, which was played by noted drummer Michael Huey.

In 1984, after ending his 7-year relationship with Carol Ann Harris, he released his second solo album, Go Insane. The title track was a modest hit, reaching #23 on the Hot 100. The last track of the album, D.W. Suite, was a tribute to the late Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson.^[5] The next year, Buckingham performed on USA for Africa's fundraising single, "We Are the World".

Following his split with Fleetwood Mac in 1987, Buckingham spent much of the next five years in the studio, working on his third solo album, Out of the Cradle, which was released in 1992. Many of the songs seem to deal with the death of his father and the sudden death of his brother Greg in 1990. "Wrong" was a gentle rebuke of former bandmate Mick Fleetwood's tell-all biography. Out of the Cradle received some favorable reviews but did not achieve the sales levels associated with Fleetwood Mac. However, Buckingham toured throughout 1992–93 for the first time as a solo artist; his band included an army of seven other guitarists (Buckingham himself calls them "the crazy band" on his Soundstage DVD), each of whom he individually taught the entire two-and-a-half hours of music from the concert (Lindsey Buckingham: Behind the Music documentary for VH-1, 2001).

A subsequent solo album, entitled Gift of Screws, was recorded between 1995–2001 and presented to Warner Bros./Reprise for release. Executives at the label managed to persuade Buckingham to hold the album back and instead take several tracks from Gift of Screws and re-record them with Fleetwood Mac. Thus, seven songs from Gift of Screws appear on the Fleetwood Mac album Say You Will, in substantially the same form as Buckingham had recorded them for his solo release. Excellent bootleg copies of Gift of Screws—taken from an original CD-R presented to Warner Bros/Reprise—are known to exist, and have been widely distributed among fans through the use of torrent sites and other peer-to-peer networks.

On his 57th birthday, (October 3, 2006) Buckingham's fourth solo album, an acoustic album entitled Under the Skin was released. Under The Skin features Buckingham on almost all instruments, with the exception of two tracks that feature Fleetwood Mac's rhythm section of John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. The album includes a cover of The Rolling Stones classic "I Am Waiting". Three days after the album's release, Buckingham embarked on a tour in support the album that lasted until the end of June 2007.^[6] A live album and DVD, Live at the Bass Performance Hall, was released documenting the Fort Worth, Texas show from this tour.^[7]

In 2008, the Gift of Screws album was finally released, containing three tracks from the originally planned album, as well as seven new recordings. Buckingham then commenced a short tour to promote Gift of Screws in September and October, opening in Saratoga, California and closing in New York, New York.^[8]

On November 3, 2010, Buckingham's website announced that he was working on an untitled album with release planned in early 2011.^[9] Buckingham had finished recording the album, titled Seeds We Sow in April, and on April 22, 2011, he filmed a concert for DVD release to support the album. Seeds We Sow was released on September 6, 2011.^[10] On September 10, Buckingham kicked off the Seeds We Sow Tour in Reno, Nevada; the tour ended in Tulsa, Oklahoma on November 14. Buckingham had planned to conduct his first solo tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland in December. However, in early December Buckingham postponeed all UK dates due to his guitarist suffering a back injury.^[11] The UK dates were subsequently cancelled.

Buckingham began a "solo" (no backing band) tour of the United States on May 3, 2012 in Solana Beach, California.^[12]

Rejoining Fleetwood Mac[link]

In 1992, newly elected president Bill Clinton asked Fleetwood Mac to come together to perform the song he had chosen for his campaign, "Don't Stop", at his inaugural ceremony. Buckingham agreed to be part of the performance, but the experience was something of a one-off for the band, who were still very much at odds with one another and had no plans to reunite officially.

While assembling material for a planned fourth solo album in the mid 1990s, Buckingham contacted Mick Fleetwood for assistance on a song. Their collaboration lasted much longer than anticipated, and the two eventually decided to call upon Stevie Nicks, John and Christine McVie. The band's old chemistry was clearly still there, and plans for a reunion tour were soon in the works. In 1997, Buckingham and all four of his bandmates from the original Rumours line-up of Fleetwood Mac went on the road for the first time together since 1982 in a reunion tour titled The Dance. The tour was hugely successful and did much to heal the damage that had been done between Buckingham and his bandmates. However, Christine McVie had opted to leave the band in 1998, essentially now making the band a foursome. In 2003, the reformed band released the first studio album involving Buckingham and Nicks in 15 years, Say You Will. Buckingham's song "Peacekeeper" was the first single from the album, and the band went on a world concert tour that would last almost a year and a half.

The band toured in 2009, rehearsals began in January 2009, with the first date of the "UNLEASHED" Tour as March 1, 2009, in Mellon Arena (Pittsburgh). Christine McVie was not involved with this project.

Musical style[link]

Unlike most rock guitarists, Buckingham does not play with a pick; instead, he picks the strings with his fingers and fingernails. Initially after joining Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham used a Gibson Les Paul. Before the band, a Fender Telecaster was his main guitar, and was used on his first Fleetwood Mac album. In 1979, he worked with Rick Turner, owner of Renaissance Guitars to create the Model One. He has used it extensively since, both with Fleetwood Mac and for his solo efforts. He uses a Taylor Guitar 814ce for most of his acoustic performances and has also used an Ovation Celebrity in the past.

His influences include The Beach Boys and The Kingston Trio.

In an interview with Guitar World Acoustic Magazine, Buckingham said:

"I've always believed that you play to highlight the song, not to highlight the player. The song is all that matters. There are two ways you can choose to go. You can try to be someone like Eddie Van Halen, who is a great guitar player, a virtuoso. Yet he doesn't make good records because what he plays is totally lost in the context of this band's music.

Then there are guitar players like Chet Atkins, who weren't out there trying to show themselves off as guitar players per se, but were using the guitar as a tool to make good records. I remember loving Chet's work when I was a kid, but it was only later, when I really listened to his guitar parts, that I realized how much they were a part of the song's fabric, and how much you'd be going 'Oh, that song just isn't working' if they weren't there." ^[13]

Personal life[link]

On July 8, 1998, Buckingham's girlfriend, Kristen Messner, gave birth to their son, William Gregory Buckingham. Buckingham and Messner subsequently married in 2000, when Messner was 30 and Buckingham was 51; she gave birth to a daughter, Leelee, the same year. Their third child, Stella, was born on April 20, 2004. The song "It Was You" from his Under the Skin album pays homage to all three children by using their names.

Discography[link]

As Buckingham Nicks[link]

With Fleetwood Mac[link]

Albums

Live albums and compilations

Solo albums[link]

Soundtrack appearances[link]

Singles[link]