what could be Christine's next move?
 

The London appearances have ran its course. So the question is...what do you think would happen next for our songbird?

I think she's chomping at the bit to rejoin, but ONLY in a limited capacity. Recording, with maybe a few select shows.


Gigantic CHILD (Lindsey) won't accept that.

But since he won't accept that, IMO the most realistic option is another solo record.

Unless both parties (meaning her and the rest of the band) are willing to compromise and do a shorter tour that does not involve too much flying around. The fact that she flew to places this year is quite significant in that she's at least trying to cope with the fear (with some help, perhaps?)

That's exactly what I think. Since she won't be allowed to do that because of you know who, I think a solo album is possible.

I've loved seeing these Don't Stop videos from London. That's the first time I've seen anything from Fleetwood Mac since that Grammy medley 15 years ago. But those Hawaii videos were even better since Mick let her do more. I think I've seen the Get Like You Used To Be video over 200 times by now. I think if Mick does anything more with his blues band and I assume he will, it wouldn't surprise me if she would contribute in some way with that.

Oh wow, great to see you here, Mary Ann. Read some of your posts while I was still a lurker and I'm glad we have you back here. :D

Don't know how many times I watched the Maui videos. :laugh: All I know is that it's a lot. And good god, she looked, played and sounded great both London nights (okay the first one was a little rough, but that's probably nerves and a bit of rustiness)

I think she'll stay primarily retired, but I don't really like the phrase "go back into hiding" since that's never what she was doing.

She may do the odd bit now and again for fun, but basically these appearances seem to confirm to me that retirement agrees with her.

I was supposed to change it to "go back to retirement" earlier but I couldn't edit it anymore.

God I wish there was at least ONE interview with Chris during this timeframe.

I'm pretty sure I'm just being a total quibbling boob (again!) about it anyway. Not to worry! ;)

Yes, it would be nice to have interviews from that time. But I guess interviews must usually kinda suck, and if you don't actually have a product to push... :shrug:

Maybe she'll get a twitter account.

I only want answers for three question
1. How was it to be back on stage with them?
2. What are your future plans?
3. What's with the hairclip?

:lol:

I would die from happiness if she gets a Twitter. She's got a wicked sense of humor AND seems to be more technologically adept than Stevie is (imagine her livetweeting during Wimbledon or maybe while watching the telly, or post photos of her cooking, or perhaps the dogs). Then again, the lady hates typing.

Her bio could be like this: "I used to be a rock star, now I'm just a crazy dog lady who drowns herself in television, tea and chocolate Hobnobs"

Twitter doesn't really require that much typing at the end of the day, plus she has a reputation for being bitingly sarcastic and often drunk. Sounds like an ideal twitterer to me!

My theory about that hairclip is that she's testing us somehow. I'm not exactly sure what the test is. But it must be some kind of test.

Chris has been sober for the past 14 odd years, but the bitingly sarcastic sense of humor is still there, so yes, still an ideal tweeter.

I wonder what test that is...

There is one. She did a BBC 2 radio interview in late August, but it hasn't aired yet. Somebody named Johnny Walker interviewed her. I've been checking his web page, but no mention of Christine through at least early October.

I have no idea why they didn't air this the week before the London dates. Or at least the Sunday after.

BBC radio 4 woman's hour
 

Here is BBC radio 4 woman's hour - Stevie Nicks talking about the history and the upcoming London show:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bd24b

That would be great, but I think she is retired anyway.

It would seem by the recent flurry of public appearances with her former band, Chris might be showing interest in returning to Fleetwood Mac. However, I can't see her wanting to do it in a full capacity. And now we know that Lindsey wants all or nothing. :mad:

So that seems to leave open her making another solo album. However, Chris has been a recording artist for what, 45+ years? In that time she's only released 3 solo albums. Her recording another solo album seems a bit remote to me. I realize her nephew drew In The Meantime out of her. But what's he up to these days? Maybe he's moved on in his career, has his own family, etc. :shrug:

So it seems to me, the only real option we're left is Chris going back into retirement. :distress:

I'm not defending Lindsey here, but I think we need to stop jumping to conclusions about what he thinks based on a single offhand remark (possibly misquoted) from Stevie in an interview. I think the question here is NOT why Lindsey demands "all or nothing" from Chris, but why would Stevie say something about his attitude that paints him in such a negative light, at this moment in the band's history when everybody should be rejoicing over Christine's appearance with them?

What's Stevie's motivation in representing Lindsey as having such a bad attitude? Is she just trying to make him seem like a jerk, so she will seem like a nicer person? It wouldn't be the first time that dynamic was at play in their relationship.

I personally was annoyed with Stevie for trying to steal the limelight from Christine that first night, when at the end of the song Christine was happily waving to the fans and Stevie grabbed her from behind, and intruded on her moment. (You can see in the videos how surprised Christine was that she did that.)

I guess I'm saying I'm suspicious of Stevie's behavior in all of this. But don't listen to me because I've never been much of a Stevie fan.

You know, I'm the FIRST one to criticize Steve E., and I didn't take it like that at all! When she grabbed her from behind, I took that as GENUINE JOY, in having Chris back on stage!

I thought the joy was genuine too. She was obviously happy to have her there and it's true to her natural personality.

I don't get why all of them don't seem to want to meet in the middle in terms of Chris rejoining. If you want her to join full time, you have to make some concessions for her. Same with Chris having to make some compromises on her end as well. :shrug:

I think the Mac should do an extended Vegas residency. No travel. Lots of money. With Christine.

I was annoyed too. I think Stevie's feelings for Christine are certainly genuine, but I also think that she was also making that 'first time in 15 years' just as much about her as about Christine. Christine had no time in the spotlight alone. I think Christine is very used to Stevie's exuberance, so when Stevie grabbed her from behind it didn't seem to me that she was surprised, but I felt her silent response patting Stevie's hands quickly was, "ok, ok settle down" which is always the role she has had to play with Stevie really. In that sense, she really has taken the big sister approach. I had a little brother and I probably said to him frequently, "Will you be still? Could you be quiet for just two minutes?!"

Friday night, Stevie was much more respectful of boundaries. She wasn't doing that raise our arms in Victory play. After Don't Stop, she didn't rush to Christine. Christine accepted the applause and then John came and escorted her from the piano and Stevie was very patient, waiting her turn to embrace Christine.

Michele

Stevie and Lindsey are just shameless mudslingers. Can't wait do hear Lindsey's side on this thing.

I think Lindsey is Lindsey, so I predict his side of the story won't be helpful to Christine fans, but he has his own petard and can incriminate himself. Stevie doesn't need to hoist him on hers.

I was thinking of SYW and maybe it was Lindsey or maybe it was all of them who said that she shouldn't record if she wasn't going to tour, but we never knew who said it. They just repeated that excuse without pointing fingers or naming names, so it was a joint front and that's the best approach to take, unless you want to create bitter feelings.

It's like, "Son, I really wanted you to go to that concert, with your school friends. I thought you deserved it, but your father said 'No,' because he's an awful man -- although, he adores you." :lol:

Michele

Maybe he could clarify things, but based on previous history... :lol:

He might not have a choice if he wants more Fleetwood Mac albums.

As I said in another thread earlier, I would have loved a two-to-three song mini set with Mick, John, Christine, and Peter Green just doing a few blues numbers from back in the day and maybe “Oh Well” with Lindsey. I get why that didn't happen, but it's not like it's not the 45th anniversary of the first two Fleetwood Mac albums, and Chicken Shack's first album...

I don't think he does either.

That's a splendid idea. Imagine the outrage if Jeremy Spencer isn't involved though. :lol:

I don't know, I think Stevie probably realizes everyone is baffled by the whole situation. Why would Chris return after 15 years? Why just for ONE song for 2 shows? Why those 2 particular shows? If Christine is talking about wanting to record again, why can't she with the band? Why can't she record, but not tour... she did that for the Time album? It's not just fans asking these questions, it's journalists, too.

This time around, I honestly believe Stevie isn't slinging mud at Lindsey. They seem pretty content with each other at the moment. The way Stevie phrased her comments on the subject leads me to believe she was not sharing Lindsey's feelings out of malice. Stevie just seemed matter of fact, and perhaps even understanding of his point of view.

Regarding Lindsey's motivations for blocking a partial return from Christine... I'm a bit torn. We all know how much of a purist & idealist he is. But at the same time, he's also repeatedly expressed his joy of the 21st century Fleetwood Mac dynamic. He likes the more "masculine" sound without Christine, and the fact he has more breathing room in the setlist. His reasons for blocking Christine could be more selfish than idealist this time.

Either that, or he's playing hardball with Christine in attempts to muscle her into a firm commitment to Fleetwood Mac- one she couldn't simply excuse herself from if she changed her mind. :shrug:

While Lindsey clearly enjoys the "breathing room", and the "masculine" sound (your mileage may vary, of course), I think deep down he wants Christine back. She was pretty much an equal to him musically, mainly because they have similar writing styles, and unlike Stevie, she played an instrument. He works best when there's someone else to keep him in check (and as many sources stated, she's the only one who can effectively do that), and Christine works best when someone gives her tunes a little bit of flair.

However, he may have most likely learned from the Tango fiasco that being only partially committed to the band (okay he left them in a lurch, but yeah) may bring more complications than ever (though Christine seems to be okay with that arrangement, and that where she and Lindsey differ), perhaps seeing other people perform with the people he's been with for quite a long time what affected him quite a lot, and he didn't want this to happen again.

So maybe it's a mix of all the reasons you gave.

Yes, he's expressed this many times. Too many times for me to think of it as completely truthful. I think it was partially true and partly false bravado because he was frustrated that she left.

Plus, even though he got to do more experimental things on SYW, Sad Angel and Miss Fantasy aren't masculine. If he has to write songs like that (which I like, mind you, I'm not a person who disparages those songs) to keep Stevie from feeling alienated from his sound, then he really has not gained anything from Christine being gone creatively. If he could make more Murrow, Red Rover, etc. in her absence, then that would be a reason to keep her away. But I actually think his best bet to make those songs is with her back. If they had twelve songs, Stevie and Christine's could be commercial (Christine) and pleasing to Stevie (Stevie's 4) while Lindsey's could be as strange as he liked, without anyone complaining too much, since there would be 2/3 other stuff to balance him.

As for Stevie, by naming Lindsey as the culprit -- when no one was named in 2003 as to why Christine couldn't record when she couldn't tour -- I think she was mud-slinging. She didn't have to say who was the person behind that and certainly didn't have to add that she herself didn't care about such things. I mean, I believe the general truth of what she said, but I don't believe she wasn't trying to make him look bad. Ten years ago they gave an explanation for Christine's absence without pointing the finger at anyone in particular. They made it sound like just a joint band consensus. This time around, it was Lindsey's view.

In fact, Mick said more about Lindsey and Christine being on the phone together and Mick wondering if it was really going to happen, than Stevie ever said about Lindsey perhaps influencing Christine's participation, back then.

Michele

Would you explain this? I need a refresher course. :confused:

I always felt he was saying that more to "talk up" the band after they'd gone forward without her... as if Lindsey was trying to say we've still got the chops, better chops maybe than before? (ie. we're still exciting without her!) Being a salesman, basically. :lol:

Which is the normal reaction when a key member leaves the band. Christine made similar comments when Lindsey left during Tango

See my rant in the Lindsey Forum.

Very vague actually. Basically Mick said he heard Christine and Lindsey talking on the phone and he wondered to himself, "is this really going to happen?" Which led me to think that maybe what he heard between them on the phone didn't sound like it would end in her providing songs on SYW.

So, in my head I thought Lindsey and Christine couldn't agree, but Mick and Stevie never ever said that. They never made it seem like Lindsey harpooned anything. Stevie often said, well she can't record if she won't tour, because what if her songs become hits? Stevie made it sound like that was the entire band's reasoning.

Now, with Sheryl Crow, Stevie would say things like, 'Oh maybe Lindsey will let her sing background on a song.' Stevie did indicate that Lindsey was a road block to Sheryl joining back then. But I don't think that made him look bad, because most FM fans didn't want her to join anyway.

Michele

Salesmanship and/or just being irritated with the person that left in general. Be it 1987 or 1997.

Michele

Buckingham Nicks, Schmuckingham Nicks. Christine and Lindsey's relationship is a more interesting soap opera. :laugh:

The difference is that he thrives on pushing Stevie around, and Christine won't put up with his sh*t.:lol:

But that got blown up on their faces with the re-emergence of Everywhere, didn't it? :laugh: People on Twitter were expecting them to play it.

He hasn't been in a position to push Stevie around since Christine left.

If you mean the way Christine badmouthed Lindsey after he left in 1987, Stevie did that too. In fact, in the interview where she said that Lindsey made her get at the back of the bus even Christine said, "whoa!" like she thought Stevie was being extreme. Stevie has never been less outspoken against Lindsey than Christine. The only difference is people (John, Mick and Lindsey) respect Christine more than Stevie, so they tended to pay more attention to Christine and to ignore Stevie's complaints.

Aside from the drink in the face, I'm not sure what he ever did that Christine didn't put up with. He seemed to have his way on stage and in the studio when Chris was there and didn't have to compromise as much with Stevie back then either. To win an argument with Lindsey, Stevie would have had to have both Mick and Christine on her side back then. Nowadays, to win an argument with him all she has to do is threaten not to tour.

Aside from having 30% less room to do his own thing, I don't see how Christine's absence has helped him any or given him the chance to get away with anything. Take the stage for instance, if he'd wanted Come in the setlist, Christine might have played on it or she might have told him she refused to play on it (just as Stevie left the stage during Come herself), but I don't think Christine would have tried to keep it out of the setlist or off the album. He could have had 6 strange songs he wanted on SYW and wouldn't have had to include BTLH and SYHA again, because Christine would have provided the equivalents to make up for their absence.

Michele