“I was gobsmacked. I was 60 and I’d had a wonderfully diverse musical life when Mick called and said, ‘We’ve got rid of Lindsey – would you play with us?’” Neil Finn on how he ended up joining Fleetwood Mac

In a new interview, Crowded House's Neil Finn has revealed how one surprise phone call led him to join Fleetwood Mac.

“I was gobsmacked,” he told MOJO. “I was 60 and I’d had a wonderfully diverse musical life when Mick called and said, ‘We’ve got rid of Lindsey – would you play with us?’ I’d just done [2018 album] Lightsleeper with [Finn’s son] Liam so he had a vested interest in my not doing it, but he said, ‘Give it a shot,’ so I auditioned.”

“It’s the only audition I’ve ever done. I went to Hawaii and Mick spent an hour telling me it wasn’t an audition, but it was. I was auditioning them, too: I wasn’t sure it was the right thing, I was quite conflicted, but I liked the people and the welcome was universal.”

When asked what elements he brought to the iconic group, Finn said: “The naysayers said, ‘No Lindsey Buckingham, no Fleetwood Mac,’ but I brought personality and the ability to sing with Stevie and Christine. I could never be capable of sounding like Lindsey, but I put a similar intensity into his songs.”

Elsewhere in the same interview, Johnny Marr recalled the exact moment he realized how unique Finn's talent is: “I was at the Concert For Linda in 1999, watching Neil soundcheck Don’t Dream It’s Over when Elvis Costello leaned in and said, ‘Imagine being that good.’ That’s Neil. His songs are so seamless, you don’t notice at first how clever they are, and he has this God-given gift for melody.”

Neil Finn and former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell replaced Lindsey Buckingham as Fleetwood Mac's guitarists in 2018. The band allegedly fired Buckingham after internal disputes. 

This stint followed Finn's already illustrious career, which includes his work with New Zealand New Wavers Split Enz and founding the beloved Australian pop-rock band Crowded House. 

Finn is gearing up to release Crowded House's eighth studio album, Gravity Stairs, in May. The release will be followed by a tour that kicks off in the UK and Europe at PRYZM in London on June 10, followed by North America in late August.