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Old 09-28-2014, 09:03 AM
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Default CBS News - Christine & Stevie Q&As

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/stevie-n...ick-fleetwood/

Stevie Nicks on Mick Fleetwood

Singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks began performing in bands in high school in California, and later joined Lindsey Buckingham's band, Fritz, opening for such artists as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane. After three-and-a-half-years Fritz disbanded, and in 1973 Nicks and Buckingham recorded the album, "Buckingham Nicks."

Soon after, they joined Mick Fleetwood and Christine and John MvVie's band on their eponymous 1975 album, "Fleetwo0od Mac." Nicks would continue with the group to this day, recording eight albums, while also recording eight solo albums, including the 2014 release, "25 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault."

CBS News correspondent John Blackstone recently talked with Nicks about her relationships with members of Fleetwood Mac, who are regrouping with former member Christine McVie for a new album and tour.


John Blackstone: You're a better singer now than you were in the 1970s, Stevie.

Stevie Nicks: So much better. So much better. I'm really trained. I could teach voice now.

Blackstone: Mick said, "As much as Stevie said she'd like time off, that girl just keeps workin'." You got a new album comin' out. You're doin' this tour. You can't stop. You don't wanna stop.

Nicks: You know what? It's kind of like, what else would you do? This is my job. This is what I've been doing since I was a senior in high school, and I joined my first band with, you know, three girls and five guys [singing] Bob Dylan songs.

And I learned to play the guitar, not very well, but well enough to play for my mom and dad and convince them that I was gonna be a singer. And so it's what I do. I enjoy it. I think I would be probably better served to take a little bit of a break once in a while. The last time I actually had a real vacation was 2008. And I went to Mexico for three months. And I should do that every once in a while.

But it seems that every time I almost get to booking that trip -- we were not supposed to come back out on the road this year. And then Christine called and said, 'I'm back.' And then all of a sudden, shows went on sale and sold out in the beginning of February. So there was no time for that. So I kind of look at it as, well, I guess it's better to have a job than to not have a job!

Blackstone: Let me just ask, for you, the significance of having Christine back in the band now.

Nicks: Well, when she left in 1998, it was very significant. Because we had only just reunited to do "The Dance" tour and "The Dance" record. And it went swimmingly well. We hadn't played together since the "Mirage" tour, which was somewhere in the beginning of the '80s. It was after "Belladonna" and before "Wild Heart." It was really a long time ago that Fleetwood Mac, as a band, this five, played. Because when we did "Tango in the Night" in 1987, Lindsey quit before that tour. And we had to hire Rick Vito and Billy Burnett to take his place. Because we were already so booked that there was no getting out of that tour.

So "The Dance" was the first time that this five had played in a long, long time. So when that tour finished our 40th show, Christine, after the Grammys in 1998, came to me and said, "I'm quitting," I'm like, "Why? We've just done 40 shows. And we have, like, the potential to do another 100 shows."

And she said, "Because I wanna go back to England. I don't wanna fly anymore. And I don't wanna live in hotels anymore. And I don't wanna do this anymore." And there was something in her eyes that was so serious that it really is like somebody breaking up with you, when they say, "I'm leaving you." And you don't even go, like, "Why?" She was done.

And so the fact that she made the phone call last year, right before we got to Europe to do the the last leg of tour that we did last year, and said, "How would you feel if I came back to the band?" I'm like, "Are you serious?" Because I never would've thought she would. I really believed her from the very beginning. And 16 years slowly went by. And there was never a phone call saying, "I'm thinking about it."

And I said, "I think it would be amazing. But you should come and see us play. It's a three-hour show. It's very physical. And you should hire a trainer." So she did come to see us play. She hired a trainer. And she is now stronger than any of us. She's been working out solid since then. I've never even had a trainer in my life. So she's, like, left us in the dust. (laughs) So she's totally, really strong. And she's ready to go. So she slipped right back into the band as if she never left.

I mean, I look over, and I think, "I don't think she ever left. I think that was a dream, a bad dream that wasn't true. And she's really never been gone. She's actually been here all this time," or we left. And it's the "Twilight Zone." (laughs)

So it's really wonderful to have her back. And she brings the funny. And the funny is very, very important. And that is what is really, to me, besides her beautiful songs and her beautiful presence, the fact that she's such a comedienne, and she just makes us all laugh is, to me, the most precious part of the whole thing. What you do notice is how much you missed that. Without her, it was a much more serious band. With her, it's it's much more lighthearted. So that right there makes the whole thing easier.

Blackstone: When you're up there now, does it seem like 40 years since the five of you all started?

Nicks: No. It really doesn't. I can remember going to dinner with them. They called us. Mick called Lindsey and I on New Year's Eve 1974 and asked us if we would have dinner with them at a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles and alluded to the fact that he was interested in Lindsey and I joining Fleetwood Mac.

Now, we really didn't know much about Fleetwood Mac. But we did know that they were fairly well-known in Europe. So we went, like, two days later and had dinner with them. And in that 24 hours ran to Tower Records and bought every record that they had ever done and listened to all, back to front, all their records. They [had] a mystical quality with "Bermuda Triangle" and the Bob Welch things.

And I said to Lindsey, "You can totally fit into any one of those guitar players' world if you want, if you so choose. And it's a great band. What more could we ask for? And, if we get in the band and we don't like it, we save some money, I put it away, and we can quit. What's not to love about this?"

So we went to dinner with them, had a raucously great time, just laughed ourselves silly for three hours and went home. And I said, "We need to join this band." And he said, "Okay." And that was it.

Blackstone: A lot has happened in that 40 years. And much of what's happened has ended up in your songs. On your new album comin' out, "24 Karat," a couple of those songs are about Mick.

Nicks: They are. Two of them are. "24 Karat Gold" and "Watch Chain." Thank you, Mick, for that. (laughs) You know, a girl has to have stuff to write about. And I have had a lot of really interesting men in my life who have inspired me to write, like, some pretty amazing poetry, I think. And I don't think you write amazing poetry unless you're inspired by somebody who is amazing-- and who really affects you.

My songs always start as formal poems. And then I go to the piano with my formal, finished poem. So those were just two songs that, well, they were all demos.So when I called up Dave Stewart and said, "How do I make an album in 2 1/2 months," he said, "We go to Nashville. 'Cause those guys will take your 17 really, really well-done demos, and they will copy them exactly, except they'll play them way better than you did. They'll play them like great musicians." And I'm like, "Seriously?" And he said, "Yeah." So that's what we did.

And we were able to record a record in exactly two months -- a month at my house here in L.A., and a month in Nashville -- and then under a month to put together all the art, which was old Polaroids that I had taken. This little record all came together very easily, because I had so much of it already done.

Blackstone: You'd written a couple of those songs about Mick, as you said. Mick isn't a songwriter. So as you know, he's written a book.

Nicks: Yes.

Blackstone: Has he shared the book?

Nicks: I have not read his book yet, only because there hasn't been one minute to sit down and read a book. But you know, I trust that Mick has written a good book. He's had a very, very interesting life. He's a very interesting man. And I've been there, since -- I mean, he was 29 when we joined Fleetwood Mac. So I've been there from 29 on to watch his life. I'm sure that he has a lot of wisdom to impart to the world.

Blackstone: I've had a chance to read some of it, and he writes, "My love with Stevie was the perfect underground liaison. It was a true love affair. There was tremendous passion. And then the game was called off."

Nicks: True.

Blackstone: Does that all sound accurate?

Nicks: Pretty accurate.

Blackstone: Who called it off?

Nicks: Mick did. And this is something that I always, as a songwriter, said that I would never -- I would never change it around. So if somebody left me, I would never say that I left them, you know? I would never not be truthful. What happened was I had a very dear friend, one of my top two or three friends, whose name was Sara. When I fell in love with Mick, I think that she fell in love with Mick, too. And she really will readily admit to you that she just went after him. And she got him. And there was really, you know, nothing I could do except basically stop speaking to both of them.

And then three months later, I forgave Sara. Because I just really kinda missed my friend almost more than I missed Mick. Because sometimes friends, you know, are like almost more missable than lovers in a lotta ways.

So and eventually, during the next couple of months, I forgave Mick. I didn't feel that either of them set out to hurt me. And it just played out the way it was supposed to play out. And Mick and I both knew, from the very beginning, because Mick was married to somebody that I loved very much, to his wife, Jenny, and had two little girls that I adored, our relationship was just a fluke anyway. And it happened in Australia after a super-drunken party, where Mick and I ended up to be the last two people in the suite. And all of a sudden, Mick and I were goin' out, you know, and discretely, super discretely. Because he was married.

And I believe in my heart that when you accidentally set upon to break up somebody's marriage, you're gonna pay in the end. And so there was a big price to pay. It was very hurtful to his wife and very hurtful, down the road, to his children and to all his relatives that I knew really well. So I paid a price for that. And I learned a very valuable lesson in that.

Blackstone: And yet, does all that disappear when you're on the stage now, all that history?

Nicks: Because Mick and I had the kind of relationship that allowed us, once we got past that year, 'cause that was the year of "Tusk," that was 1979 -- it was 13 months -- Mick left me for Sara, and he ended up marrying Sara and being married to Sara for, like, 18 years. So I would never have married Mick if he --

Blackstone: You wouldn't have stuck around that long?

Nicks: No, I wouldn't have. So the fact is that it was 13 months. By the end of the 13 months, when we got done with "Tusk," Mick and I were okay. We had put it all behind us. And because we both knew that Fleetwood Mack was gonna go on probably longer than anybody's marriage and that it was important that we be friends.

So Mick and I just put our friendship back together and have been really the kind of friends where, you know, I fly to his house and we hang out. And we all go on vacation together. Some people, you can have that relationship with. Some people, you can't have that relationship with. I'm really glad that, with Mick, it worked out that way. Because it would have really been sad over the last 30 years if Mick and I hadn't been able to -- you can see what good friends we are. It's just very seeable. And we make each other laugh. And we just really love each other. You know, long after Fleetwood Mac is over, Mick and I will still be best friends.

Blackstone: Looks like Fleetwood Mac is never gonna be over.

Nicks: Well, I know. But if it ever is, we'll still be really good friends.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/christin...fleetwood-mac/

Christine McVie on rejoining Fleetwood Mac

Born in England, singer, songwriter and keyboardist Christine Perfect joined the band Fleetwood Mac in 1970, after marrying the band's bass player John McVie. She performed with the group through it's most successful years, which saw the release the such top-selling albums as the 1975 "Fleetwood Mac," "Rumours, " "Tusk," and "Mirage."

She left the group in 1998, but this year has rejoined Fleetwood Mac, recording songs for an upcoming album and heading out on tour with her bandmates -- Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and ex-husband John McVie -- for the first time in 17 years.

Correspondent John Blackstone recently talked with McVie about her return to performing with Fleetwood Mac.


John Blackstone: On that rehearsal stage, does it seem like you were never gone? Or-- or is it a struggle sometimes?

Christine McVie: I thought it was gonna be a struggle, to be honest. I was a little anxious. But actually walking onto the stage, I mean, we started off in a smaller room that didn't have a stage, that was just one big flat room all on the same level. And it was much more of a laid-back rehearsal atmosphere.

But the moment you find yourself playing with these fantastic musicians and friends, it just melted away. And now I feel completely comfortable, really, surprisingly so.

Blackstone: Surprised yourself?

McVie: I surprised myself, indeed. I thought I was gonna be much more nervous. And we did a bit of recording beforehand as well earlier this year, which I had a little trepidation about. But that ended up being a magical time for us all. And hopefully, we'll finish the album next year. And now looking forward to the tour. (laughs) It's gonna be fantastic.

Blackstone: This all started with you climbing on a plane to Hawaii, having the nerve to climb on a plane to Hawaii.

McVie: Well, yeah. I've told quite a few people this story. But still, I mean, it's worth a tell. I did have a phobia about flying. And I had the phobia when I left Fleetwood Mac. It was a multiple of different reasons that led me to leave -- my father had died in England, and I wanted to be close to my own family there. So I bought a house.

The earthquake happened in '94. I developed a phobia about flying. It was multiple reasons why I thought, "I've had enough. I wanna go home, and live in the country and get a Range Rover and get the dogs, the wellie boots and the scarf and cook for the YMCA," or whatever.

And I sort of had this misguided idea that that was the life that I wanted, you know? And to some degree, I enjoyed it for a few years. Moving onto more recent times, I've then gone for therapy. 'Cause I found that I couldn't go anywhere except by boat or train.

So I was okay if I wanted to go to the Med or something, I could sail there. But I couldn't really go to anywhere exotic because I was frightened to fly. So I went to a therapist, had that dealt with, and in the end, bought myself a ticket to Maui and called Mick and said, "I'm gonna come to Maui to visit you."

And he said, "You're gonna get on a plane? Oh, my God!" he said. "But I'm now coming to England in about 10 days to promote the European leg of Fleetwood Mac's tour," last year, two years ago. "And so you stay there. And then I'll come back with you."

So that's what happened ultimately. We met up in London and hung out together for a few days. And then I joined him, or he joined me, to go back to Maui. And I got on the plane. And I swear, it was completely effortless. I didn't even think when we took off, you know, I was so busy chatting. "We're in the air. And do I care? No." I didn't.

Blackstone: Had a lot to talk about with Mick after all that time.

McVie: Oh, yeah. Mick always has a lot to talk about. (laughs) Great guy.

Blackstone: When you got to Hawaii, there came a time they delivered a piano to your hotel suite.

McVie: Well, yeah. Because Mick had a blues concert, one of his blues bands that he runs in Maui just for fun, keep his chops in and everything. I think that it was me that tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Well, how about me going in and sort of doing a couple of blues with you or something?" And he said, "You're kidding. Yeah, great."

So they delivered a piano to my room. And I practiced, and so we performed. And that was sort of the very embryonic stages of when I thought, "Crikey. If I could play again, who would I wanna be playing with?" And of course, there was only one answer to that. So the seed was planted pretty much in Maui.

Blackstone: And then back to '02.

McVie: Yeah. Well, first of all, we stopped off in L.A. and met up with Stevie, Lindsey and John for dinner, just the five of us, literally no peripherals. Just the five of us had a private room and had the most lovely, lovely evening together. We were just going, "How weird is this, the five of us back together again?" And then I went back to England. And then conversations started. And I'm pretty sure it was me that ventured forth to Mick and said, "Well, what would be the chances, you know, of me getting back with the band?"

And he was going, "Well, I mean -- " there was a bit of hemming and hawing and conversations between all those guys, and ultimately we ended up having a conference call with Mick and Lindsey at the time. And I called Stevie, who was then in Paris, and said, "What would you think, hypothetically, if I was to come back to the band?"

And she just jumped for joy and said, "Are you kidding? Absolutely." So that's kind of what happened. I had a conference call with Lindsey and Mick. John was absolutely fine with everything. And Lindsey said, "What are you doing now, if you're coming back? You can't be coming and going. You've gotta, like, commit, you know?" And I said, "I commit. I commit. I do. I do." And so then we started exchanging tapes and things back and forth, Lindsey and I, my horrible little demos that I'd written.

And he then listened to them and rebuilt them in Buckingham style. 'Cause Lindsey's always produced my songs. And I love the way he plays and works with my songs. And so he sent them back to me, his version of my demos, and loved them. And so we set a date to start doing some recordings in March this year.

Blackstone: After all of the ups and downs -- everybody knows the history of Fleetwood Mac by now, the ups and downs, the breakups, the heartbreak -- when you're standing onstage, lookin' around, does it amaze you that, after 40 years, here you are all still doing it?

McVie: Well, for me in particular, because I've had that rather long vacation, as you know. These guys have been doing it for the last 18 years. So for me, it's extraordinary. Because one minute, I'm just completely relaxed and flippant about it almost. And then the next minute, I'm jabbed with the surrealism of it, you know? "God. I'm really actually on this black carpet with these fantastic musical friends of mine and really enjoying it, you know? It's been really profound.

Blackstone: Mick has written a book, largely autobiographical --

McVie: About himself. (laughs)

Blackstone: About himself, but about the group as well --

McVie: Yeah, no, I'm kidding.

Blackstone: Has he invited you to read it, any of it?

McVie: No, he hasn't. I don't know why not. But I'm sure he will at some point. I don't think it's in print yet.

Blackstone: Not quite published yet.

McVie: But I'm sure I'll be one of the first to get it.

Blackstone: Well, I already have a little bit. (laughs) And one of the things that he says is that he described you as being like a fly when you were back in your home and garden in England, like a fly buzzin' around in a champagne glass.

McVie: Well, my brother always described me as a fly in a jam jar. Because I did suffer from a bit of agoraphobia. I went through a few little problems along the way because of the isolation that drew me to seek some help along with my fear of flying. So I got that all sorted out. Yeah. I was a bit like a fly in a jam jar. But my brother calls me a butterfly now.

Blackstone: One of the other things that he says is that, you know, Chris knows all the shenanigans in and out, and that she's like, "We're back. We're gonna have a ball. We're gonna have a ball this time."

McVie: Yeah. I mean, I think that's the whole object of the exercise this time around. We have had some pretty hairy times on the road. And coming back, my full intent is to really squeeze all the fun that we can get out of it and just really enjoy each other. 'Cause this is sort of pretty unprecedented, really, that someone should leave such a high-status group as Fleetwood Mac and then return 18 years later. If you're not gonna have fun then, you're never gonna have any fun. So I'm sure that the whole band is in agreement that we wanna have a really good time and celebrate our friendship and our lives together.

Blackstone: One of the things Mick writes about as well is that at this stage in life, that it's sort of time to get it all together, I guess, to --

McVie: To finally grow up. (laughs) I don't think we'll ever grow up. We're all kids, really, the lot of us.

Blackstone: I guess that's another thing. Does it amaze you when you look back and think it's been 40 years? Does it seem like 40 years?

McVie: No. No. I mean, the gap since I left and rejoined seems to have sort of vanished like salt on a slug, you know? I'm starting to wonder what the heck I did do for those 18 years? 'Cause it seems to have melted. It's as if I never left.

Blackstone: And the songs you wrote back then are still much loved, still big hits. Are you amazed at what you did at such a young age, sometimes, when you look at that?

McVie: I don't think I ever looked at it quite that way. Amazed? I don't know if that's the right word. I'm amazed not at what I did. 'Cause I attribute my songs largely to the group as well.

Blackstone: Does Mick need Fleetwood Mac more than the rest of you?

McVie: Well, Mick is a drummer. And drummers don't make the habit of sitting in their living rooms just playing the drums. I can play piano. Lindsay can play guitar. Stevie can hack out a tune on a piano and sing and stuff, you know? But a drummer really needs the stage and people to play with to get the full kudos out of it.

I don't think he needs Fleetwood Mac in that sense. But of course, he being a drummer, he wants people to play with, you know?

Blackstone: One of the other things he does say [in the book] is that he sold his soul to the company store. You certainly didn't do that. You decided to get off that merry-go-round. Did Mick sell his soul to the company store? Dedicating himself to Fleetwood Mac and whatever?

McVie: Well, you could argue that a lot of us have, but Mick to a larger extent, yeah. But I don't think he sold his soul. I think he did it out of love, you know? I think that he carries the banner for the band and probably always has. Because he somehow is determined that Fleetwood Mac will never die, in one configuration or the other. This is the most successful configuration of all. Fleetwood Mac is Mick's love. He loves Fleetwood Mac. And I don't think he's sold his soul to the company store.

Blackstone: Did it for love anyway.

McVie: He did it for love.
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Old 09-28-2014, 09:24 AM
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Interesting. Lots of typos, but interesting.

Thanks for sharing

So who is "Starshine" about if only "Watch Chain" and "24 Karat Gold" are about mick
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Old 09-28-2014, 09:56 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by welcomechris View Post
Interesting. Lots of typos, but interesting.

Thanks for sharing

So who is "Starshine" about if only "Watch Chain" and "24 Karat Gold" are about mick
Copied and pasted straight from their website; didn't clean it up, sorry.
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Old 09-28-2014, 09:58 AM
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I know, I'm just saying they made a lot of typos

25 Karat Gold
Fleetwoo0d Mac
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Old 09-28-2014, 09:58 AM
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Thank you Nicole.
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Old 09-28-2014, 10:00 AM
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Thanks for these. Looks like they go with the CBS Sunday Morning profile on Mick, which I recorded but watched only briefly. Nice to have the text whilst I wait to watch.
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Old 09-28-2014, 10:05 AM
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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mick-fleetwood-plays-on/

Mick Fleetwood plays on

"Don't Stop" is the tune that rock band Fleetwood Mac serenaded Bill and Hillary Clinton with at the Inauguration Gala back in 1993. And "Don't Stop" is the band's guiding principle today , as its leader tells our John Blackstone . . . For The Record:

At his mountainside estate in Hawaii, Mick Fleetwood could be mistaken for an eccentric country gentleman, spending quality time with his pet pig, Tilly. "Sit! Sit!"

But Fleetwood is better known as the drummer of the group that shares his name: Fleetwood Mac.

In a rehearsal hall in Los Angeles, the five members responsible for the group's biggest hits are preparing for their first tour together in 17 years.

Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood have been rejoined by Christine McVie, who left the band in 1998, swearing she would never come back.

"She called me and said, 'How would you feel if I came back to the band?'" said Nicks. "And I'm like, 'Are you serious?'"

McVie said, "God, I'm really actually on this black carpet with these fantastic musical friends of mine and all just having, really enjoying it, you know, really enjoying it."

For Mick Fleetwood, having the band complete again has come at the right time.

"I think it's about getting your house in order, without being overly heavy," he told Blackstone. "The reality is, I'm sitting here, I'm 67 years old, I'm certainly not planning on leaving anytime that I know of, but you do see the picture in a different way just because you're older."

As part of "getting his house in order," Fleetwood has just finished his autobiography, "Play On," out next month. Why a book now? "I don't write songs," he said. "So this is a version of me writing a song."

He writes about his divorces from three wives, and his failures as a father to his four daughters.

"I would imagine that someone reading this document would say that he's sort of sold his soul to his band," said Fleetwood.

"I don't think he's sold his soul," said McVie. "I think he did it out of love."

Fleetwood fell in love with the drums as a boy. Self-trained, he moved to London at just 15, determined to make a living as a drummer

Asked to describe his drumming style, Fleetwood said, "I'm not being overly humble -- the easiest way, I don't really know what I'm doing. I do, but if I start thinking about it, I don't really do it horribly consciously, and I'm not super slick."

But he is a slick dresser. That started when he was a a struggling musician, and his friend Rod Stewart told him to spend whatever he had on one good suit.

"And then you're styling," Fleetwood said. "To this day I love, I love clothes. And I'm a shoe freak."

"You're certainly known for being colorful, interesting," said Blackstone.

"That makes me feel good, working so hard at it," he replied.

By the time he was 20 the English blues band he was in took the name Fleetwood Mac, combining his name with that of bass player John McVie. Over the next few years, other band members came and went.

Then in 1975, a new Fleetwood Mac emerged with a lineup that (along with Fleetwood) included two couples: fellow Brits John McVie and his wife Christine; and the Americans Stevie Nicks and her boyfriend, Lindsey Buckingham.

Their first album together, called simply "Fleetwood Mac," included Nicks' "Rhiannon," and Christine McVie's "Say You Love Me."

The album sold five million copies. Suddenly they were rock stars.

Fleetwood was the band's manager as well as the drummer.

"It was very hard," he said, " 'cause I wasn't the classic dude, the manager, the penny pincher. I just wanted to see everyone happy, including myself. So all our assistants had limos, so we'd arrive at an airport, there'd be, like, 20 limos -- for the lighting director, you know?"

They were making it big, but coming apart. Nicks and Buckingham were breaking up, the McVies heading for divorce, and Fleetwood's marriage was ending as well, just as they began working on their second album, "Rumours."

"Were there lots of problems? Yes," said Fleetwood. "But it was never like, 'Oh my God, you're not gonna get a band.'

"A lot of people around us, our record company, people around us were going, like, 'Okay, Mick, when are you gonna break up, 'cause I don't get how you're pulling this off.' All of us! It was the music. And we weren't about to turn away from it."

The fractured relationships showed up in the songs. "Go Your Own Way" was a message from Lindsey Buckingham to Stevie Nicks; "Dreams" was Stevie's message to him.

And Christine McVie's "You Make Loving Fun" was written about her lover, not her husband.

"Falling in love, falling out of love, being betrayed in love, that's what Fleetwood Mac songs are about," said John McVie, "and that's what Fleetwood Mac is about."

"A lot, yes," added Fleetwood. "As John McVie would say, a living soap opera, 'cause we're all ex-lovers and have shared houses together, and it's a scene."

Among those ex-lovers are Fleetwood and Nicks, who began an affair while touring for "Rumours."

"I was certainly in love with Stevie," he said, "and I think it's fair to say that she was likewise."

Blackstone asked who called it off.

Nicks said, "Mick did. Because we both knew that Fleetwood Mac was gonna go on probably longer than anybody's marriage, and that it was important that we be friends, so Mick and I just put our friendship back together."

Nicks and Fleetwood shared a huge appetite for cocaine that grew to legendary proportions when they were recording "Rumours."

"Drugs. The drugs and rock 'n' roll syndrome was alive and well during the making of that album," said Fleetwood. "Me and Stevie became the wicked partners, I think, in that. I think we spoke about it way too much. Certainly I had to address the stories. I still get, especially in England, 'Oh God, apparently you did enough cocaine to put a straight white line to the moon and back!'"

The drugs, along with the emotional crises, did not get in the way of the music. "Rumours" has sold 50 million copies.

Fleetwood managed the band for a decade, but eventually the excesses piled up. His bandmates fired him as a manager.

"You talk in the book about how you went through too much money, lots of money coming in and you went through too much," Blackstone said.

"Yeah, I love spending money,' Fleetwood replied.

"And you spent too much of it?"

"Me, personally?"

"Yeah, you spent more than you had?"

"Yeah."

In 1984 Fleetwood was forced to declare bankruptcy. Other members of the band would go their own way. Buckingham quit the group for a decade in 1987; Nicks left for long stretches to pursue her solo career. Christine McVie retired.

But Mick Fleetwood played on wherever he could.

These days he plays with a couple of island bands he's put together back home in Maui -- even covering the occasional Fleetwood Mac song.

The stage is all his -- on the rooftop of the restaurant he opened two years ago.

"Why a restaurant?" asked Blackstone, of Fleetwood's on Front Street?

"I love talking, as you've gathered," answered Fleetwood. "And I love meeting people. And a lot of the components of a restaurant are actually very similar to running a rock and roll band, believe it or not. There's always drama. You have to put on a show every night. It's show time!"

And now, it's show time for Fleetwood Mac again. Rehearsals are wrapping up. The tour begins this week.

This time the band that epitomized "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" will be focusing on the rock 'n' roll.
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Old 09-28-2014, 10:36 AM
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Thanks for sharing, Nicole!

There have been some questions as to the chronology of Christine's return, and when it was decided, etc.

It would seem that it was pretty much decided around this time last year, and then they possibly waited to see how everything would go with John's health before announcing it early this year.

Still, that doesn't negate -- as some have suggested -- the fact that Stevie had a solo commitment. Which may have even been negotiated before last year's tour kicked off. That certainly explains Stevie's comments in January of this year, regarding the fact that she wasn't sure exactly what she was going to be doing in the next few months. The logistics probably hadn't all been worked out yet.

At any rate, the Q&A with the First Ladies of Fleetwood Mac was really fun and interesting. And as someone who struggled with agoraphobic tendencies for almost 25 years, it's moving to hear Christine discuss her own struggles with it -- and it's inspirational to see her come out the other side of it.
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Old 09-28-2014, 10:46 AM
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Thanks for posting these great little interviews.

From Stevie's it's clear that she would not have committed to this tour had Christine not come back. She deserves wide recognition for taking one for the team.

And yet, as fate would have it, I don't think her solo album would have come to us in the wonderful way it has had she not been pressed for time. The immediacy of "24 Karat Gold" is one of its strengths. Not overcooked or too polished. There's a fresh energy to it.

On a down note, I noticed Christine is backing away from more concrete commitments about the timeline for the new record. "Try to finish that next year" is not a great endorsement. And in earlier interviews, she was so enthusiastic about the great amount they accomplished, whereas now she says they did "a bit of recording"--still enthusiastic about the results, but she seems to be downplaying the amount...
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Old 09-28-2014, 12:02 PM
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Curious there's not a single quote from Lindsey in this. I mean they even got one from John and he's stopped doing press. I didn't see the show yet, it's on my DVR when I get home, but wonder if they talked to john on camera. After all they were in Hawaii and they did get a quote. Did anyone see it? But zip from Lindsey.
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Old 09-28-2014, 12:40 PM
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Curious there's not a single quote from Lindsey in this. I mean they even got one from John and he's stopped doing press. I didn't see the show yet, it's on my DVR when I get home, but wonder if they talked to john on camera. After all they were in Hawaii and they did get a quote. Did anyone see it? But zip from Lindsey.
I just watched it: no John on camera, Mick interviwed at home, Stevie and Chris interviewed at rehearsal and spliced in. Majority of int is Rumours 5 history via clips and such. It is not as in-depth a profile of Mick as I expected (based on others by this show).

Highlight for me was brief rehearsal clips to see Chris back in position and John back at it.
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Old 09-28-2014, 01:02 PM
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I just watched it: no John on camera, Mick interviwed at home, Stevie and Chris interviewed at rehearsal and spliced in. Majority of int is Rumours 5 history via clips and such. It is not as in-depth a profile of Mick as I expected (based on others by this show).

Highlight for me was brief rehearsal clips to see Chris back in position and John back at it.
some rehearsal screencaps here - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Linds...16708181693361
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Old 09-28-2014, 01:07 PM
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Fab--many thanks! Our CBS HD channel went out and we watched in SD, which wasn't crisp enough to capture.
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Old 09-28-2014, 01:10 PM
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Wait a second. Did they perform on CBS? What happened where is the video!
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Old 09-28-2014, 01:21 PM
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Wait a second. Did they perform on CBS? What happened where is the video!
They didn't perform on the show -- but the segment featured new rehearsal footage of "Go Your Own Way" and "Don't Stop."
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