[David]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

1. I've heard Lindsey say two different things relating to how he hooked back up with Mick. One time, he said he ran into Mick and another that Mick called him to say "hi." In both stories, Lindsey says that "over the course of the conversation, I could tell that he had gone through a lot of changes. I had done a solo album and gone through my own period of re-invention, so I was in a much better place than when I left the band back in 1987." Lindsey then went on to add some backing vocals on "Nothing Without You" on "Time."

I think he saw Mick several times throughout those years. He would have seen Mick during the production of the box set in 1992, for which he worked with Stevie on her "new" song, gave the set a "Cradle" outtake (but didn't have anything to do with "Love Shines" or "Heart of Stone").

3. Lindsey's OOTC was, by all counts, a dismal failure. His songs were released as singles. He made videos. The reviews were glowing. He even toured. Of course, he was opening for Tina Turner, but that's part of the story he sort of forgets. In any event, I'm sure he was shocked that a quality album like that would do so poorly. I think he realized that he was going to have a hard time making it on his own and that maybe he needed to be in Fleetwood Mac after all.

I think you're right that he was definitely thinking about the doors that would open by pursuing a reunion project with Fleetwood Mac again & putting his own projects in the queue. He admitted as much a bunch of times in the reunion press. But he wouldn't have bothered if the other members had still been on drugs & as screwed up as they were from the making of "Tango" to the release of the Fleetwood book in 1990. In fact, when Lindsey started recording with Mick again, which was probably prompted by nothing more than musical frustration over the recording he had done with his touring band (I don't know why he was unhappy with that situation -- these were obviously musicians he knew thoroughly in a musical sense & he obviously liked them in a musical sense, so why recording with them after touring would have been so unfulfilling is somewhat of a mystery). When he met up again with Mick at that point, Mick was apparently clean & sane again; otherwise, Lindsey would not have started recording with him again, would not have brought in the McVies, & may not have bothered with the group again after that point.

4. Of course, there was the now legendary Christine McVie AOL chat. Here are a few clippings from that:

JBatman95 : Do you still interact with other members of Fleetwood Mac?

Christine: Very much so, I have not seen Stevie in a while. I have been recording with John and Mick for the last couple years, and just ran into Lindsey at a club a couple weeks ago and had a good chat.

She makes it sound as if it was either before her work on "Gift of Screws" or long after.

6. In Rolling Stone RS 772,from Oct. 31, 1997, with the band on the cover, Christine says something like "I told Mick, you can't go on forever," which tells me she quit Fleetwood Mac at some point during the mastering of "Time" and the band's eventual break up.

Maybe, but to say she "quit" is probably misleading in the sense that she was finished over the course of several years -- she knew it & Fleetwood Mac must have known it. Even recording for "Time" was probably just a "do it & call it final" sort of thing for Christine. She certainly had no intention of going back on the road at that point. She probably figured that recording some tracks & shipping them over -- or whatever she actually did -- wasn't that big a deal.

7. I'm sure the success of "Hell Freezes Over" wasn't lost on any of them. "Out Of The Cradle," "Street Angel," and "Time" were all huge failures. Combined they didn't sell 500K. Their collective careers were in the crapper.

Of course, Steve -- but we ALL knew that & discussed it at the time online & elsewhere. The commercial failure of "Cradle" or "Street Angel" doesn't necessarily mean that those two wanted back in Fleetwood Mac at that point. Neither one of them gave up on solo projects after that: Lindsey pulled together his touring band & started recording, as you know. Plus, in late 1995, Stevie had made plans to record with Bill Bottrell producing, was working with Lifetime on cable for a career special for the "Intimate Portrait" series as well as a newly shot live concert done especially for cable TV to be filmed in January 1996, & was planning on doing a show for VH1 called "Changes." Then she fired her management company, Left Bank, resigned with HK & leased a West L.A. home on the ocean. At that point, Stevie's plans were to air the Lifetime "Intimate Portrait" in Fall 1996, along with the newly shot concert & a 2-CD box set to finish Stevie's contract with Atlantic. The following year (1997) was supposed to be Stevie's new album for Warner (she had signed a three-album deal with Warner in the meantime), & even a solo tour for the Fall was being planned. The only thing she did with Lindsey (& Mick) at this point was "Twisted," & after that she told the press that absolutely no plans had been made for doing anything else with those guys after that & she even seriously doubted anything else would occur (although she did sing with Mick, the McVies & Steve Winwood at the Barnstable-Brown Derby celebrity bash just around the time that "Twisted" soundtrack came out. (That's probably the only time Steve Winwood jammed on "Rhiannon.") It was only at THAT point that Mick began telling the press (papers in Kentucky) that he hoped the fireflies would reunite for the 20th anniversary of "Rumours." I'm sure he pitched the idea to Lindsey, Stevie & the McVies at that point. Lindsey's response was to stay in L.A. working on his own album (he was expected at the Kentucky Derby gig), the McVies both left the Derby gala early, & Stevie continued full-steam on her plans for new studio album, TV specials & box set. That kinda tells you something about just who in the band wanted the reunion in 1996, although it's possible that the rest of the band was at least amenable to the idea -- even as early as late 1995.

CONCLUSION: During the recording of "Time," Christine met with Lindsey and Mick met with Lindsey. Given his lack of success and his displeasure of the direction of Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey started pressuring Mick to break the band up, with the hopes of a "Rumours" reunion.

That's an interesting hypothesis, Steve, but we'll have to agree to disagree. I think Mick pushed the idea -- possibly for at least two years -- to everyone in the band, & Lindsey just figured he may as well do it as a sort of one-time thing (whether a single TV show or a short tour). I don't think Lindsey cared one way or the other whether Fleetwood Mac's then-current incarnation continued or not. And I doubt Stevie cared.

Lindsey wanted the spotlight, which was only going to happen in the context of Fleetwood Mac. Christine told Mick she was out, and she pressured him to break the band up, as she obviously didn't care for Dave Mason. Then, Bekka and Billy were already planning on doing a country album once their commitment to Fleetwood Mac was finished, which I'm sure wasn't a secret. So, Mick was getting pressure from Lindsey and Christine and was having a hard time keeping Bekka and Billy focused on being part of a rock band.

Again, an interesting idea that Lindsey was the guiding force of pressure behind the reunion, but I'm not sure it really fits. When Lindsey did "Twisted" with Stevie & Mick, according to Stevie he sure didn't lay any groundwork for future reunions. In fact, Stevie says he flew in & flew out, & she told interviewers months later that she didn't hear anything from him after that short two- or three-day session. Doesn't sound as if he was hankering for a fireflies reunion at that time.

If "Time" had been a remote success, I seriously doubt Mick would have gone back to the "Rumours" band.

Well, that's a pretty wild conjecture. It doesn't fit any profile _I_ know of of Mick Fleetwood.

My HUNCH is that Lindsey said to Mick at some point "if you split the band up, you can play drums for me."

I think it's more likely that Lindsey said to Mick, "If you're clean & sober, come play some drums for me."

Mick then saw the writing on the wall, and split the band up. I mean, nobody tours for nearly two years and breaks up less than three months after the album is FINALLY released without so much as a short tour. Especially a band known for its live shows like Fleetwood Mac. This is why I say "Time" was DOA.

You do if you're getting tired of playing supper clubs like the Konocti Harbor Spa, where people gab with one another all through your show over their plates of roast beef & potatoes au gratin. I think Fleetwood Mac's lowly status during those two years HAD to have grated on Mick -- & possibly even some of the others in the band.

As for the rest of the “conspiracy,” I think Mick was feeling uneasy about having split Fleetwood Mac up after it had already been done. Lindsey, trying to keep Mick focused, asked Mick about the possibility of getting a bass player for the project. Of course Mick was going to suggest John. Shortly thereafter, Christine just shows up.

I doubt she just showed up. I imagine Lindsey called her & asked her.

So 80% of the band was there, and wouldn’t you know it, Stevie magically shows up and has Mick and Lindsey help her with “Twisted.”

Again, not so "magical" -- & certainly the vibe afterward wasn't one of "reunion is definitely on," at least according to Stevie.

So, Mick was working with John, Chris, and Lindsey on one project, and Stevie and Lindsey on another so shortly after splitting Fleetwood Mac up. The next step was obvious, and I suspect totally welcomed by all involved. I don’t think that any of these events would have happened if OOTC, SA, or “Time” were successes.

I think OOTC, SA & Time would have had to be GARGANTUAN successes in order for a fireflies reunion not to have been organized & carried out.

It's akin to asking a musician: "Would you rather have $5 million or $25 million?"