Mike Campbell admits it felt like a blip

[Villavic]

Just found this article. This answer caught my attention:

How was the Fleetwood Mac experience? It was a blip in your career, but you did some significant shows with them in what seems like it would have been a tough situation – although you have a long history with Stevie Nicks.

“It’s interesting that you use the word blip because we went around the world for two years and played a lot of shows. It was actually a beautiful and long journey – but now when I look back at it, it does feel as you described it. It went by and became something that happened but is hard to believe. Like, I went to high school once and I toured the world with Fleetwood Mac. [Laughs]

https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/mike-campbell-tom-petty-fleetwood-mac-career

[HomerMcvie]

With a big thanks to Old Goatsy for ruining the last tour of FM.

[bwboy]

I don’t think anyone would disagree with that assessment.

Even if they had recorded an album as Fleetwood Mac, it still would have just been a blip.

[DownOnRodeo]

Unfortunately it was the last erratic blip before the terminal bleeeep of the band's ECG machine.

[Villavic]

Unfortunately it was the last erratic blip before the terminal bleeeep of the band's ECG machine.

You couldn't have described it better. Definitely unfortunate.

[BigAl84]

I always got the impression that it had been a few years since Mike had spent time with Stevie and once he agreed to tour with Fleetwood Mac, he may have received a rude awakening in regards to Stevie. I genuinely think he thought it was going to be at least a tour AND an album, but he and Neil really turned out to be nothing more than hired stand-ins. He always did these great instagram videos of himself, Sharon, and Marilyn singing together before the shows. Not once did Stevie ever join them.

[cascade13]

It's a really interesting question, isn't it? I suspect future projects were discussed early on, but the odds were never great given Stevie's opposition to recording with FM (eg, LBCM), Christine's and John's fragile health at the time, Mike and Neil having established bands to fall back on, and the lack of success of previous post-LB lineups. COVID and Christine's passing just cemented the outcome. If Mike had any sort of rude awakening, perhaps it was due to working with Stevie in an FM context, which undoubtedly has different dynamics for her than her solo work.


I always got the impression that it had been a few years since Mike had spent time with Stevie and once he agreed to tour with Fleetwood Mac, he may have received a rude awakening in regards to Stevie. I genuinely think he thought it was going to be at least a tour AND an album, but he and Neil really turned out to be nothing more than hired stand-ins. He always did these great instagram videos of himself, Sharon, and Marilyn singing together before the shows. Not once did Stevie ever join them.

[SteveMacD]

It's a really interesting question, isn't it? I suspect future projects were discussed early on, but the odds were never great given Stevie's opposition to recording with FM (eg, LBCM), Christine's and John's fragile health at the time, Mike and Neil having established bands to fall back on, and the lack of success of previous post-LB lineups. COVID and Christine's passing just cemented the outcome. If Mike had any sort of rude awakening, perhaps it was due to working with Stevie in an FM context, which undoubtedly has different dynamics for her than her solo work.

I don’t necessarily think it’s a matter of Stevie being opposed to recording with FM. The well dried up. Since IYD, the only other album she made consisted of new recordings of leaked demos that was recorded in two weeks. If there WAS any hesitation, it would have been having her forced songs go up against whatever Christine and Lindsey (or Neil and Mike later) brought to the table. No need for another TITN from her perspective, especially given the surge in popularity she gained from AHS.

That said, having heard the first Dirty Knobs album and the Crowded House album that had songs intended for Fleetwood Mac, an album from that lineup would have completely destroyed BTM, Time, and SYW.

[BigAl84]

Along the same lines of the well drying up...I think the ambition and drive is what dried up more than anything. I'm sure she had 3 tracks she could come up with for a Fleetwood Mac album if she really wanted to do it. I don't think she found the juice worth the squeeze. She can practically invite herself to sing on other peoples tracks and get just as much publicity for a third of the amount of work.

I question how much she truly didn't want to work with Lindsey (and Christine) I think pulling rank and getting some form of revenge was more appealing to her than anything else. She's still grinding the axe in the press for pretty much no apparent reason other than to be vindictive.

Her admission that she didn't really write anything during the entire covid lockdown is pretty telling, that's for sure.

[UnwindedDreams]

Along the same lines of the well drying up...I think the ambition and drive is what dried up more than anything. I'm sure she had 3 tracks she could come up with for a Fleetwood Mac album if she really wanted to do it. I don't think she found the juice worth the squeeze. She can practically invite herself to sing on other peoples tracks and get just as much publicity for a third of the amount of work.

I question how much she truly didn't want to work with Lindsey (and Christine) I think pulling rank and getting some form of revenge was more appealing to her than anything else. She's still grinding the axe in the press for pretty much no apparent reason other than to be vindictive.

Her admission that she didn't really write anything during the entire covid lockdown is pretty telling, that's for sure.
And three years ago to The New Yorker, she said she had written her best song during lockdown. Where is it? Show Them The Way was in her top three best songs. Has anyone ever heard her sing it in public? She can’t keep her facts straight and I don’t know if she believes in facts.

[BigAl84]

I don't have the exact quote, but she said she hadn't written anything until the very tail end of the covid lockdown. I should have been a little more clear in my original post.

[Villavic]

And three years ago to The New Yorker, she said she had written her best song during lockdown. Where is it?

That doesn't impress me. I've heard many bands and singers ridiculously announcing "This is the best song I've ever written" or "This is the best album I've ever recorded", just to generate expectations. At the end they just sing a couple of song in the respective tour.

[UnwindedDreams]

That doesn't impress me. I've heard many bands and singers ridiculously announcing "This is the best song I've ever written" or "This is the best album I've ever recorded", just to generate expectations. At the end they just sing a couple of song in the respective tour.
For sure Villavic. But Stevie just lies without regret. She promised when touring returned she would sing Show Them The Way live because it was in the top three solo songs she wrote. She toured from May 2022 to September 2024 (with breaks) and did not sing that song ONCE. I have a feeling she’ll sing The Lighthouse as resistance to the failed election over-turner. However, I also think she might not sing those two recent compositions because 1) Lighthouse didn’t convince people to vote for VP Harris so her intention for releasing the song was not successful and 2) the two songs tanked by not even charting in the Billboard Hot 100.

Thank God we have the SNL and JKL performances of Lighthouse.

[HomerMcvie]

Lighthouse didn’t convince people to vote for VP Harris so her intention for releasing the song was not successful and 2) the two songs tanked by not even charting in the Billboard Hot 100.

My god, it boggles my mind that ANYONE would give a sh1t about what Stevie thinks about politics. She never even voted until her 70s, and "has been(tee hee)" the poster cold for bad decisions, her entire life. Drug addiction, sex addiction, and abhorrent behavior in general.

"Yeah, let's follow her lead!":lol:

[jbrownsjr]

My god, it boggles my mind that ANYONE would give a sh1t about what Stevie thinks about politics. She never even voted until her 70s, and "has been(tee hee)" the poster cold for bad decisions, her entire life. Drug addiction, sex addiction, and abhorrent behavior in general.

"Yeah, let's follow her lead!":lol:

well at least there is a dream left!!!

[HomerMcvie]

well at least there is a dream left!!!

I wonder when she stopped sleeping around so much?

I have an aunt that we called "Blanche" for a couple of decades. She got divorced at about 45yo, then wore that thing out. When she hit 60, she was tired of wearing it out....and stopped. Sigh....

[aleuzzi]

I wonder when she stopped sleeping around so much?

I have an aunt that we called "Blanche" for a couple of decades. She got divorced at about 45yo, then wore that thing out. When she hit 60, she was tired of wearing it out....and stopped. Sigh....

I’m not going to judge anyone for the amount of sex they’re having or not having. Few, if any, care about the presumed promiscuity of male rock stars.

Re: Stevie’s songwriting is another matter. If she thinks “Show Them the Way” ranks among her best songs, then she may need a psych consult.

[UnwindedDreams]

I’m not going to judge anyone for the amount of sex they’re having or not having. Few, if any, care about the presumed promiscuity of make rock stars.

Re: Stevie’s songwriting is another matter. If she thinks “Show Them the Way” ranks among her best songs, then she may need a psych consult.
Yet Stevie is given a pass for judging male rock stars for having children in their 50s (Mick and Lindsey), 60s (Rod Stewart), 70s (Mick Jagger) and this board makes excuses for Stevie at the age of 55 excoriating Madonna for kissing Britney and Christina when Madonna was known at that time to be bisexual for at least 10 years. But Stevie is heralded as a feminist and champion, yet she has no problem putting women in the same industry down to be a champion.

4 years plus and Show Them The Way has never had a live performance.

[aleuzzi]

Yet Stevie is given a pass for judging male rock stars for having children in their 50s (Mick and Lindsey), 60s (Rod Stewart), 70s (Mick Jagger) and this board makes excuses for Stevie at the age of 55 excoriating Madonna for kissing Britney and Christina when Madonna was known at that time to be bisexual for at least 10 years. But Stevie is heralded as a feminist and champion, yet she has no problem putting women in the same industry down to be a champion.

4 years plus and Show Them The Way has never had a live performance.

Well, I’m not one of those Stevie apologists by any means. Homer knows this :)

She can make snarky comments about famous women kissing or men having kids in their 50s. That only makes her look intolerant and foolish. But I’m not about to judge someone for having a sex life in the way she wants or has engineered it.

She’s definitely off her rocker about her songwriting—whatever little there is of it these days.

[UnwindedDreams]

Lindsey's final performance as a member of Fleetwood Mac was 7 years ago - January 26.

Sadly the last album that contains a majority of FM members, Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie, is now 7 years old as well.

[Villavic]

Really sad.

Does anyone know if this video exists in better quality?

Little Lies January 26, 2018 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1s49i2Kw2I)

[UnwindedDreams]

^ That’s the only video of Little Lies I’ve seen from that night. There is no video of Go Your Own Way out there.