Did the band still do cocaine during Tango in the Night?

[Wdm6789]

I apologize if anyone doesn't like this topic, and/or if it's been discussed before. I always find the band's cocaine use interesting.

Christine, I read that she quit doing coke in 1984 during the production of her solo album from that same year. I have also read or seen in interviews that Christine was a seasoned drinker, I remember something about cases of Dom Perignon for her being in their tour budget. She loved her wine and champagne. It's never implied that Christine formed any addictions though.

Stevie, I have read a couple different things. We all know the story about the hole in Stevie's nose. Actually I think I might have watched these in interviews on YouTube, either way, I recall two different stories.

Story one: The doctor tells Stevie about the hole in her nose and she quits doing coke immediately.

Story two: Hole-nose.... Stevie carefully weens herself off by only doing a little bit just to get through the rest of her solo tour that year, before going to rehab, I think 1985-86, correct me if I'm wrong though.

Mick, I have read he kept doing coke until the mid 90s. That's crazy, he didn't have a hole in his nose? I'm assuming he probably had an addiction because he was doing it for 20 years. Mick was almost 50 years old in 1995 and still doing coke. Also, cocaine was not as trendy in the 90s as it was in the 70s and 80s, it was no longer the glamorous powder it was back then, it had a much more negative stigma by the 90s.

John, I know John had a drinking problem and he did coke with the rest of the band, Im not aware of any detailed information on John's cocaine use other than he was definitely partaking. Does anyone know when John quit doing coke? And how severe was his alcohol abuse? I remember he got arrested or almost arrested for something, wasn't it guns and/or cocaine possession?

Lindsey, I plan on reading Carol Ann Harris's book so I'm sure I will read all about it. There are few details to find, having not read Harris's book, in terms of Lindsey's coke use, other than he did it with everyone but he claims to have never purchased it. I like to think that Lindsey was doing a lot of coke in 1978-79 while working on the Tusk album. You have to admit, it's a pretty weird album. That's just my theory though.

I was just wondering if anyone knew of any information about cocaine use or lack thereof during Tango in the Night? During production of the album, wasn't Stevie in rehab for most of it? She probably wasn't doing any. Christine said in an interview that she quit in 1984, but could she, or anyone else in the band, have perhaps done a few lines here and there in the studio, or on tour or during the music video shoots? You know, just for old times sakes. Apparently Mick was still doing coke in 1987, maybe he liked to jokingly peer pressure the band members who had already or were trying to quit doing cocaine at that time, to blow a little bit with him sometimes, but he wasn't actually joking. Maybe Mick was the only one in the band still doing cocaine, so he had to hide it from everyone. Lindsey only worked on album production and the music videos, do you think maybe he started feeling distressed, because he was reluctant to rejoin the band for this album, so occasionally he would snort a line or two to take the edge off and perk him up? Or if anyone was doing coke, did they try to hide it from Stevie? She was fresh out of rehab in 1987.

^These are just hypothetical scenarios.


The band members were all about 40 years old in 1987. There was a five year gap between albums. 1987 was the start of the late 80s and cocaine was slowly going out of style. The band was a little bit older. But it was still the 80s and Fleetwood Mac has a reputation for being very indulgent.

[michelej1]

Mick did as both Lindsey and Mick have discussed it and how crazy it was in the trailer at Lindsey's home and how Mick says, in retrospect, he realizes how distressed Lindsey was.

Michele

[PenguinHead]

I couldn't care less about their cocaine days, and whatever indulgences and addictions they had. It's history. I'm just glad they are relatively healthy today and still active.

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by Wdm6789

I like to think that Lindsey was doing a lot of coke in 1978-79 while working on the Tusk album. You have to admit, it's a pretty weird album. That's just my theory though.

I think I recall from Carol Ann Harris' book (and other sources) that Lindsey was never a particularly big coke user. That's not to say he didn't do it- but he was mainly a big, big pot-head. Tusk was weird in places but I don't think coke was the main reason it sounded as it did (not on Lindsey's part at least). Not sure where he was in this regard by 1987.

[Wdm6789]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

I couldn't care less about their cocaine days, and whatever indulgences and addictions they had. It's history. I'm just glad they are relatively healthy today and still active.

I think it's kinda cool. I like the old sex drugs and rock n roll stuff.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by FuzzyPlum

I think I recall from Carol Ann Harris' book (and other sources) that Lindsey was never a particularly big coke user. That's not to say he didn't do it- but he was mainly a big, big pot-head. Tusk was weird in places but I don't think coke was the main reason it sounded as it did (not on Lindsey's part at least). Not sure where he was in this regard by 1987.

yeah my sense (and this is based on nothing concrete just my sense) is that Lindsey probably didn't do coke so much when in the studio (plenty of pot) but more likely on the road. The road is exhausting, lots of travel, different time zones, up late all night unwinding from the adrenaline rush of a show, then things like interviews and media and signings, photo shoots, and whatever else. Stevie has actually said that at first you start doing coke just to keep going. She used a similar scenario-- photo shoots, stage costume fittings, interviews, etc and that you use coke to stay able to cram all this activity in,and then of course it bites you in the butt as you get dependent on it and out of control.

But Lindsey's been rather cagey about his drug use in terms of specifics so it's hard to know. One wonders if Stevie would talk about it at all if it hadn't been so obvious and the media covering her trips to rehab. Like a lot of the real nitty gritty of her life she probably would have kept this under wraps if she could have.

[Villavic]

From books, articles and documentaries, I deduce probably it was Mick the last one who quit coke

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by Wdm6789

I think it's kinda cool. I like the old sex drugs and rock n roll stuff.

I do too, but the stories have be rehashed over and over and over, and run into the ground like a sordid tabloid story. It's a just a small notation in their vast history and accomplishments. Is it really worthy of a microscopic dissertation?

And regarding the some of the comments...

Not everyone who has a cocaine habit gets a hole in their nose.

Some people can dabble with coke and not become a full-fledged addict.

Stevie knew she needed to go to rehab, but the Rock a Little tour was pending. She agreed to kick the habit only after the tour. I completely understand that. She was fairly practicable about it.

[peer_gynt10]

Stevie knew she needed to go to rehab, but the Rock a Little tour was pending. She agreed to kick the habit only after the tour. I completely understand that. She was fairly practicable about it.

But didn't she also say at one point that she really disliked the way she was "pushed" into rehab? I think I once read an interview in which she complained about the way management team handled the situation (the same team one she name-checks in "Welcome to the Room..." and fired right after her stay in the Betty Ford Clinic).

[Wdm6789]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

I do too, but the stories have be rehashed over and over and over, and run into the ground like a sordid tabloid story. It's a just a small notation in their vast history and accomplishments. Is it really worthy of a microscopic dissertation?

And regarding the some of the comments...

Not everyone who has a cocaine habit gets a hole in their nose.

Some people can dabble with coke and not become a full-fledged addict.

Stevie knew she needed to go to rehab, but the Rock a Little tour was pending. She agreed to kick the habit only after the tour. I completely understand that. She was fairly practicable about it.

Yes it is just a small part of the band's history, but it's my favorite part. We all have our weird interests and guilty pleasures that we would like to discuss, that's why we're on here right? One of mine happens to be the 70s-80s Hollywood and rock n roll era. I love the movies and music and the cocaine use of that period, I find that period kind of romantic, in a grander sense. It was all about glamour and indulgence. I'm very fascinated by the culture of that time period. I think my coke interest comes from seeing Scarface at such a young age, and then I played Grand Theft Auto Vice City and this was also around the time I Love the 80s and 70s came on tv. So I just became really intrigued by it all and started reading more books and watching movies from and/or about that era. Fleetwood Mac has always been one of my favorite bands and they fit right into everything I was just talking about. So to me it is worth a microscopic dissertation. If you're tired of the topic, please feel free to refrain from further comments in this thread. But you're welcome to keep commenting if you would like.


When I was summarizing what I have read about the individual band member's coke use, I did not say they all became addicts.

I have read an interview with Carol Ann Harris I wish I had bookmarked it, but it was from 1984 or 1985, it was after her break up with Lindsey. In that interview she said that one vice she had from spending so much time with the band was coke.

My initial reason for this thread was just to discuss or maybe find out some new details about the Tango era substance use, 1985-87. The band had a three year hiatus between the time they finished the Mirage tour and when they started working on Tango. Some band members were just tired of running on coke for the past 7 or 8 years, some might have been fighting addictions. I was just wondering how the five of them making an album in the middle of that influenced their coke and alcohol use.

[HelloMonster]

You had already made an entire thread dedicated to cocaine and alcohol, and it didn't last long then. It doesn't seem like this topic is one that wants to be talked about. Perhaps try the archives. There is just SO much more to the band than their old drug habits.

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by Wdm6789

I plan on reading Carol Ann Harris's book so I'm sure I will read all about it.

There seem to have been quite a lot of past discussion on The Ledge about 'Storms'. In short, if you haven't read it yet then judging by your interests (each to their own) you should read it ASAP. I found it difficult to get into- I probably didn't get beyond the first 50 pages after the first two weeks but I got into her writing after a while- she grew on me (initially her lovey-dovey devotion to her 'man' read like a Mills and Boon novel- yeeuuuchhhh). She details the drug use quite considerably. Be warned, Lindsey doesn't come across too well as a person. As far as 70's/80's Rock & Roll the story of their visit to Eric Clapton is well worth reading alone.

If you haven't yet read it I'd also thoroughly recommend Ken's book. The band's studio 'transcending' is probably even more well documented and there are some really funny drug-related anecdotes.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

I couldn't care less about their cocaine days, and whatever indulgences and addictions they had. It's history. I'm just glad they are relatively healthy today and still active.

I can certainly relate to this sentiment. I often worry that the band's drug usage is mythologized to the point where it is glorified. I think the band has been so open about their drug usage so they can use themselves as a cautionary tale to others. Instead, I think some people see glamor in all the drugs & excess.

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

I do too, but the stories have be rehashed over and over and over, and run into the ground like a sordid tabloid story. It's a just a small notation in their vast history and accomplishments. Is it really worthy of a microscopic dissertation?

While I agree too much attention is directed at the band's drug usage (I seriously doubt Fleetwood Mac did considerably more drugs than other '70s & '80s bands), to dismiss it as a small piece of their story is probably even bigger of a mistake. Their drug usage informed absolutely everything they did. It undoubtedly sped up the dissolution of the McVie's marriage & the Buckingham/Nicks relationship. It undoubtedly fueled the affair between Stevie & Mick. There's no doubt in my mind that the band would have been vastly different live without all those drugs coursing through their veins. Each of the singers wrote songs about drug usage, too. Cocaine vastly altered Stevie's voice... and pot altered Lindsey's, to a smaller extent. Mick's drug problems most certainly led to his financial ruin back in the '80s. In other words, to marginalize the impact of drugs upon Fleetwood Mac would be dead wrong. And I'm not even bringing up how drugs hugely impacted the band in the pre 1975 days- that's an entirely different story. You could almost argue drugs were worse to those guys than it was the Rumours crowd.

Originally Posted by peer_gynt10

But didn't she also say at one point that she really disliked the way she was "pushed" into rehab? I think I once read an interview in which she complained about the way management team handled the situation (the same team one she name-checks in "Welcome to the Room..." and fired right after her stay in the Betty Ford Clinic).

Yeah, it's been inferred rather plainly that Frontline (her management company) had an intervention with Stevie and basically forced her into rehab. If that really was the case, it's very surprising to me that Stevie was successful in kicking her coke habit. The addict themself has to decide they have hit bottom and are ready for help. So many times (I speak from vast personal experience with family members) when addicts are intervened upon against their will, they end up resisting sobriety, and spiral back into addiction.

In a way, I guess that's what DID happen. After all, Stevie ended up replacing her cocaine addiction with a Klonopin addiction. She can blame her doctor all she wants, but as an addict who had been through rehab, she had to of known she was replacing coke addiction for a prescription drug addiction. Perhaps she did it as an act of defiance, who knows. Either way, she should have known that being on Klonopin indefinitely wasn't legit.

Originally Posted by FuzzyPlum

I think I recall from Carol Ann Harris' book (and other sources) that Lindsey was never a particularly big coke user. That's not to say he didn't do it- but he was mainly a big, big pot-head. Tusk was weird in places but I don't think coke was the main reason it sounded as it did (not on Lindsey's part at least). Not sure where he was in this regard by 1987.

That's what has been inferred by multiple sources- Lindsey dabbled in coke in the '70s & early '80s, but preferred pot. Thanks to Destiny Rules, we know he was still smoking grass into the 21st Century, as was Stevie. But I'm thinking Lindsey's coke usage probably stopped in the hiatus Fleetwood Mac took in between Mirage & Tango.

Regarding the others, it sounds like the McVie's substance of choice was always alcohol, first and foremost. Again, they seemed to have dabbled in coke back in it's heyday of the late '70s/early '80s, but booze was always their mind alterer of choice.

Mick & Stevie were the "cocanuts," but Stevie was done by Tango In The Night, and it sounds like Mick soldiered on through the Time era.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by Wdm6789

I have read an interview with Carol Ann Harris I wish I had bookmarked it, but it was from 1984 or 1985, it was after her break up with Lindsey. In that interview she said that one vice she had from spending so much time with the band was coke.

Carol Ann's extensive drug usage is why many fans write her recollections off. They figured if she was strung out through the '70s & '80s, how could her knowledge be trusted to be accurate? That is an absolutely valid point. My parents were pretty heavy coke users for nearly 20 years. Their cognitive abilities were most certainly impacted by it. When Stevie sings the line: "long nets of white cloud my memory" in the song Rooms On Fire, she's almost certainly referencing the effect cocaine had on her memory.

On that same notion, it's hugely hypocritical for those who dismiss Carol Ann's stories to believe any of the band members stories are more credible than hers. After all, given her financial situation after splitting with Lindsey, it's highly doubtful Carol Ann did more drugs than Stevie or Mick did, for instance. Proof is in the pudding, too- just look at how horrible Stevie is with specifics like dates & quantities. Part of that is her exaggerated personality, for sure. But part of that is a side effect of her decades of drug abuse.

[madeline]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Mick say in his book that everyone had quit coke by the time they started the Tango sessions. Didn't he say that album was recorded in a blur of Brandy and possibly other alcoholic beverages. I don't have that book anymore so I can't check.