Police are investigating after a Fleetwood Mac musician was attacked (Picture: Stephen J. Cohen/ Getty Images)
Lindsey Buckingham has been attacked by a woman who police have said is suspected of stalking him.
The American musician, 76, is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987, and then from 1997 until 2018, when he was dismissed.
News has now broken that Buckingham has been the target of an attack in Santa Monica, California.
NBC News has reported that after he turned up for an appointment in the coastal city in Los Angeles County, a woman described threw an unknown substance at him, before taking off.
Police have identified the suspect, and although no arrests have yet been reported, they said one is ‘expected soon’.
Authorities have confirmed the woman is known to Buckingham from ‘past incidents’.
A woman has ‘thrown an unknown substance’ on Lindsey Buckingham (Picture: ABC via Getty Images)
He joined the rock band alongside his then partner Stevie Nicks in 1975 (Picture: Silver Screen Collection/ Getty Images)
They went on to explain that she found out when and where he had an appointment and showed up at the location.
Buckingham was not injured; however, Santa Monica police and the Los Angeles Police Department are currently working on the case.
Born in Palo Alto, Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975 and scored hits with “Go Your Own Way,” “Tusk,” and “Big Love.” He won two Grammys with the band, including Album Of The Year for Rumours.
He released a solo album in 1981 and teamed with Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie for a duet album in 2017.
Buckingham, who shared a complicated personal and professional history with bandmate Stevie Nicks, was dismissed from the band in 2018.
Buckingham is an acclaimed guitarist, known for his fingerpicking style.
They’ve had a tumultuous relationship since breaking up in 1976 (Picture: Michael Ochs ArchivesGetty Images)
He later rejoined the band, but was dismissed in 2018 (Picture: Noam Galai/ Getty Images)
He joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975, replacing guitarist Bob Welch, and convinced the group to recruit his musical – and at the time romantic – partner, Stevie Nicks too.
The pair then became well-known members of the band during its most commercially successful period, specifically the 1977 album Rumours, which sold over 40 million copies worldwide.
Though highly successful, the group has ongoing creative and personal conflict, with Buckingham leaving the band in 1987 to focus on his solo career.
Songs he wrote and sang during his time with the band included Go Your Own Way, Never Going Back Again and Tusk.
Throughout his solo career the musician has also released seven solo studio albums and three live albums.
Although he rejoined Fleetwood Mac in 1997 for the live tour and album The Dance, in 2018 he was dismissed and replaced by Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.
He attended the same high school as Nicks, with the pair beginning a relationship after the break-up of their band Fritz. Two years after joining Fleetwood Mac, they split in 1977, with their breakup chronicled in several songs including Dreams and Go Your Own Way.
Buckingham went on to marry photographer and interior designer Kristen Messner in 1998, with the pair sharing two daughters.
He’s been married to Kristen Messner for over 25 years now (Picture: Christopher Polk/ ACA2012/ Getty Images)
In 2019 he underwent emergency open heart surgery. At the time his wife said that ‘the life-saving procedure caused vocal cord damage, the permanency of which is unclear’, though he ultimately recovered.
Just a few days ago he also teased new music was on the way.
‘I am still very, very grounded in my creative life. I’ve been working on a new solo album for the last couple of years, which is one song away from being finished,’ he said.
He also said that the upcoming Fleetwood Mac documentary may arrive this year. Directed by Frank Marshall for Apple TV, it will feature interviews with the four core surviving members of the band: Buckingham, Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie. ‘Those are two very specific things that are waiting in the wings for this year,’ he added.
Metro has contacted representatives for Lindsey Buckingham, Santa Monica police and the Los Angeles Police Department for comment.
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