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Mick Fleetwood

Mick Fleetwood has given up hope of a reunion with the former members of Fleetwood Mac.

The 71-year-old drummer co-founded the rock band with guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer, and bassist John McVie in 1967. Since then, the group has been through numerous lineup changes, with a total of 18 members performing as part of the band.

Most recently, singer and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham left the band in 2018, and was replaced by Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell. Mick, who along with John is the only member of the band to have performed in all incarnations of the group, admitted he can't see any ex-members returning to the fold.

"I don't think there will be a point where the band's former members all end up back in a good place together," the Don't Stop hitmaker told Britain's The Sun newspaper. "If you'd asked me that years ago I would have said so, being the old dreamer that I tend to be.

"I just accept things how they are... and (Fleetwood Mac) should absolutely honour those people in every way, and it does," he continued, adding, "The music comes back to haunt everyone afterwards anyway - and usually that wins out in the end."

The band is renowned for its members' personal relationships - with John's girlfriend, pianist and singer Christine McVie, joining in 1970, and couple Lindsey and singer Stevie Nicks making their debut in 1975. Reflecting on the group's "hard-lived days" during their early years, The Chain hitmaker admitted he's not surprised their history is so fragmented, and regrets "naively" making their private lives public.

"There's no doubt those were hard-lived days," Mick confessed. "For a while within Fleetwood Mac, there were romances and that lifestyle you mention and the other stuff got forgotten - and we really asked for that trouble."