Mick Fleetwood speaks out over Lindsey Buckingham's departure from Fleetwood Mac ahead of North America tour

Drummer and band co-founder was open about guitarist's split from the storied group

Mick Fleetwood has spoken about guitarist and co-vocalist Lindsey Buckingham's departure from Fleetwood Mac, ahead of the band's upcoming tour of North America.

Buckingham left the group in April after a 40-year career, and it was later announced that he would be replaced on tour by Mike Campbell [Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers] and Neil Finn [Crowded House].

His departure from the band caused shock for fans, particularly given the conflicting statements issued by himself and the remaining members of the band.

At the time, Buckingham claimed he was fired and accused the band of "losing perspective". Speaking to Billboard, Fleetwood has now said he remains positive for the future of the band.

"Obviously this is a huge change with the advent of Lindsey Buckingham not being a part of Fleetwood Mac," he said.

"We all wish him well and all the rest of it. In truthful language, we just weren't happy. And I'll leave it at that in terms of the dynamic."

He praised Campbell and Finn as he spoke about rehearsals for the tour, and added: "If you know anything about the history of this band, it's sort of peppered with this type of dramatic stuff. It's a strange band, really.

"It's ironic that we have a 50-year package coming out with all the old blues stuff with Peter Green, all the incarnations of Fleetwood Mac, which was not of course planned."

Fleetwood Mac's tour of North America begins in October this year and runs until April 2019.