Incredible *New* Stevie Interview-The Guardian
 

Stevie recounts some very harrowing moments. Stories I have never heard before. Powerful stuff.

Stevie Nicks: The men, the music, the menopause | Music | The Guardian

Stevie Nicks, legendary singer-songwriter and hard-living Fleetwood Mac frontwoman, is considering her greatest regret. It is not her "huge cocaine period", the 10 years that elapsed between the making of Fleetwood Mac's 40m-selling 1977 album Rumours and the moment, in 1986, when she finally entered the Betty Ford Center. Nor is it her complicated history with band members: she joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974 with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, subsequently detailing their split in the hit song Dreams, and went on to have an affair with drummer Mick Fleetwood, which inspired the 1983 solo song Beauty And The Beast.

It is not even the eight years she lost to Klonopin, a prescription tranquilliser to which she became addicted in the late 80s and early 90s, when she was "just a sad girl, sitting in a big, beautiful house, going, 'What the f- hell happened?'"

The regret that has really stayed with her is her marriage, in 1983, to Kim Anderson, widower of her best friend Robin Snyder. Snyder's baby Matthew had been born two days before she died of leukaemia. Three months later, Nicks and Anderson were married.

"It was insanity," the 62-year-old says now. "Everybody was furious. It was a completely ridiculous thing. And it was just because I had this crazy, insane thought that Robin would want me to take care of Matthew. But the fact is, Robin would not have wanted me to be married to a guy I didn't love. And therefore accidentally break that guy's heart, too."

Nicks, now a multimillionaire, may have remarkable recall for details and dates from her four decades in music, but she also betrays the hallmarks of 70s cosmic thinking. She describes how she became aware of Snyder's displeasure: "One day when I walked into Matthew's room, the cradle was not rocking," she says. "I know that sounds crazy, but it was always rocking whenever I'd walk in, and I knew Robin was there. And one day it wasn't rocking and it was very dark and the baby was very quiet. And I said, 'Robin wants this to end – now.' I felt it as strongly as if she'd put her hand on my shoulder."

So it was a sign from beyond the grave?

"It was absolutely a sign."

Nicks had visited Snyder during her cancer treatment. "I was so high on coke. I'd drink half a bottle of brandy on the way there, 'cause I couldn't stand it. She was so sick. And she said to me, 'Don't come back until you're not high – don't come back into this place where everybody is dying.'"

Nicks shrugs. "So that was the Robin who would have said [of the marriage], 'You've lost your mind. What were you thinking?'"

Nicks and Anderson divorced after three months.

Stevie Nicks is holding court in a hotel suite with spectacular views of the ocean off Miami, as her tiny terrier, Sulamith, yaps about in a blue sweater. She is here for the Heart & Soul tour, a month-long series of concerts with Rod Stewart. The tour, billed as "Two legends – one stage", starts three days from now, but Nicks and Stewart have yet to rehearse together.

Stewart has been in the UK playing the proud, new, 66-year-old father to his eighth child. Nicks has been at her LA home, putting the finishing touches to her seventh solo album, In Your Dreams. It's her first new record in a decade. She and her producer/collaborator, former Eurythmic Dave Stewart, have spent a year in the mansion, writing, recording and filming vampire-themed promotional videos.

This afternoon, Nicks – 5ft 1in ("and a half"), blond and well-preserved – is agitated at the prospect of driving to Fort Lauderdale for her first practice with Rod the Mod. "Two hours it takes to get to! For probably 15 minutes of rehearsal!"

Only 15 minutes?

"Yeah, he's not a rehearser. He. Is. Not."

Because he doesn't need to?

"He doesn't care. He's just not like me. I'm like [I'm in] sixth grade: totally prepared, meticulous."

She is also relatively concert-ready: in 2009, Fleetwood Mac undertook a reunion tour of 83 shows around the world. Nonetheless, she says, "I'm scared, that's what I am. Rod's not scared. I have fear, he has no fear. And some people – me, Mick – we get panic attacks. Christine [McVie], too. That's why she quit." McVie, singer and ex-wife of bass player John McVie, left Fleetwood Mac in 1998 and now lives in the Kent countryside.

Since the tour, Fleetwood Mac's 1975 song Landslide – written by Nicks – has appeared in the US charts, though not in its original incarnation. "It's on Glee: Gwyneth Paltrow's done it," she says. "And it's number one!"

Nicks loves Glee, and American Idol ("My friend Steven Tyler's a judge now. I tell people, 'Two hours, don't call me, I'm watching Idol'"). She visited the Glee set during filming of the episode featuring Landslide, and creator Ryan Murphy has claimed Nicks asked him to write her a role in the series. "I did not," she says. "I don't really like to be filmed. But if I was ever going to do anything like that on TV, it would be Glee."

Nicks has strict rules about appearing on film. "I say, 'You gotta remember I'm 62 years old. So you've got to have those cameras up, and I have to have the best lighting in the world.' I'm not asking to look 16, I'm asking to look 40."

In the past, she has described the menopause as "horrible... rock and the menopause do not mix". Is that behind her now? "Well, kind of. My mom is 83 and she still has hot flushes. She just starts to sweat from the very top of her head. So there's parts of it that I feel don't ever go away. It's a way of life and you learn to live with it."

Does that make it harder to go on stage?

"No," she replies briskly, "because when you're on stage you have to forget about it. There is no dizzies, there is no cramps, there is no menopause. All there is, is the audience and what you do. So you feel great for those two hours. And when I come offstage, then I can burst into tears."

The new album opens with a song called Secret Love: "The ode to the rock star," as Nicks calls it.

Which one, though? Lindsey, Mick, Don Henley, his Eagles bandmate Joe Walsh? She shakes her head. "I'm not sure who I wrote it about. I wrote it in 1976. It's so old, I honestly cannot remember. In '75, '76, we were beautiful, fast, sexy, love was everywhere and we were moving from person to person. That's it. Love was around every corner."

In For What It's Worth, Nicks sings about a "forbidden romance that saved my life". It's not about Mick Fleetwood, she says. Rather, it refers to someone who stood by her in 1995, before the release of Fleetwood Mac's live album The Dance and after her stint in rehab for Klonopin.

It was "not a good time... I was freaked out. In rehab, when you're leaving, the last thing they say to you is, 'Don't get married, don't sign contracts, don't buy a house, don't sell a house. Nothing heavy.' Because your judgment is impaired. You're a shell. And you need to go out there and find out who you are, not on tranquillisers.

"So you walk out into the world and you are a different person. And we were going on a tour and I was terrified. Terrified. And this person just sort of hung with me through that tour and buffered me from the world. And he did save my life."

The Klonopin was prescribed by a psychiatrist to wean her off cocaine. While on it, her skin peeled off and her hair turned grey. "If someone ever says to you, 'I think you should take some Klonopin', you should get a gun and shoot yourself," she says.

As for the song Everybody Loves You ("We cause each other such pain... at home or on stage"), the music and chorus were written by Dave Stewart. He based it on one of 40 poems in Nicks's journal that she concedes is about Fleetwood Mac's guitarist. "And the reason Dave wrote the chorus the way he did was because of his relationship with Annie Lennox. So we had two duos. Dave understood. He's the same way with Annie – 'Everybody loves you... no one really knows you, I'm the only one' – I'm the only one that knew you before you were famous. So I let the song go ahead and be about Lindsey, and he let the song be about Annie."

Nicks and Buckingham met at high school in California and started out as a duo. Had Fleetwood Mac, fame and drugs not entered the picture, she believes, the couple would have stayed in San Francisco and had success anyway. "And we would have married and had children, 'cause we were headed that way. We didn't really mess up till we moved to Los Angeles. And that was when the whole world just ripped us apart."

Still, she says, "Fleetwood Mac was our destiny." But Buckingham doesn't feel the same way. "I think he regrets it totally. I think he wishes we hadn't ever joined Fleetwood Mac and had just stayed together. Even though his life has now wound around to where he's married to a lovely girl and he's got three absolutely beautiful kids."

Nicks, meanwhile, is happily single. "It's a decision I made, to not get married and have children," she says, "because I want to always be free to follow my art wherever it takes me."

She has no plans to retire, and thinks there will be another Fleetwood Mac album next year. She spends the rest of her time drawing, writing poetry and reading; her current obsession is the Twilight series.

One of her best friends, Sheryl Crow, recently adopted two boys, but Nicks isn't tempted by family life. "I want to have complete freedom. Sheryl does not have complete freedom now. She doesn't! But that's what she wanted. She wanted a baby. And I have a Yorkie Chinese crested dog. I'm happy with that."

• In Your Dreams is out on Warner Music on 27 June. Stevie Nicks will be at London's Hard Rock Calling on Sunday 26 June.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011...medium=twitter

Thanks, Christopher!

BTW, I watched the movie clips...

I can't stop crying for even five minutes, that last song is so beautiful...

So, "forbidden love" in 1995?????

WELL, I think those of us who said "T.P." in 1995~1996 were RIGHT! The Star and Globe were RIGHT! ;)

"Everybody Loves You" recycles some lyrics from "Not Make Believe"...

"Secret Love" OPENS the album! Good! Very nice intro, IMO!!!!

Very interesting read! I think that's the most Stevie has ever really said about her marriage to Kim, at least in recent years. A far cry from the woman who "never married, and never had children."

"If someone ever says to you, 'I think you should take some Klonopin', you should get a gun and shoot yourself." :shocked::lol:

Well, she said even more about it in 1991 in that BBC interview, one of her MOST revealing interviews EVER.

I know, Stevie & Dave, but mainly STEVIE & her preview of new songs blew my mind! I'm still rattled. I'm not ashamed to say I was in tears too. It feels like Stevie is coming full circle to me. 30 yrs ago, when Jimmy Iovines main objective was to tame Stevie's fairy-tale/gothic image into a straight ahead rocker. Today Stevie rears her head on this ambitious project FULL THROTTLE all out gothic, mythological and grand romance!! Pure BLISS:angel:

This part of this new interview was pretty heavy. What a low point for Stevie, I can only imagine the book Stevie has in her!

"Nicks had visited Snyder during her cancer treatment. "I was so high on coke. I'd drink half a bottle of brandy on the way there, 'cause I couldn't stand it. She was so sick. And she said to me, 'Don't come back until you're not high – don't come back into this place where everybody is dying.'"

I do think that is just about my favorite line, ever!

looking forward to for what its worth! who could that
be about? glen parish? carlos rios? carlos deserves
a song for gods sake!

I don't care for the snippet of italian summer. its like,
I didnt care for call on me for magic, and it almost
sounds like that.

smoke and flames sounds like everybody finds out.

Those two are exactly who came to my mind! I remember the SA tour well, I traveled to the see her play the GREEK 2 nights, and Glen was very very tight w/ Stevie during this time. But then there's also Carlos. Hmmmm, very interesting. But I think it's the former.

"FORBIDDEN love" ~ Tom Petty!!!!!!!! It's SO obvious, and the tabloids pegged it in 1996!

Or Rick Vito!!!!

FM77 said that it did..how in the hell could he/she have known that or even guessed it if they had not heard the album..I think i'll go put my douche cap on now..aplologies FM.:sorry:

FM77 ~ Take a BOW!!!!! :) :xoxo:

Actually, I'm interpreting "the new album opens"- to mean the lead off song/single:shrug:, not meaning the actual 1st song on the record literally.
From the sounds of the "Moonlight" preview, that sounds like a more substantial song to kick off IYD. :nod: I guess we'll know soon enough.

Yeah I was thinking "Moonlight"oh well even if it's not I'm so happy and excited with hearing the snippets I apologize anyway.;)

O.k. so I haven't cried over anything the last few days until I read this...nothing in particular, just full of emotion over her words and I swear I can hear her saying them. I effin love you, Stevie Nicks and truly hope you are happy in your heart. *swoon* :xoxo:

I knew it I knew it !! When i used to be on another board, which shall remain nameless, i got into a pretty nasty argument w/ some idiot about this EXACT subject. He claimed that TP and SN were just friends and had never been anything more. Needless to say, i wish to hell i could find him now !! :lol: To tell you the truth, i am very surprised Stevie gave up this info ! I am mean anybody could put the timeline together and figure it out. I hope she doesn't upset anyone by this. Does anyone here know the reason for TP 's divorce ?

I love how she practically says 'Yeah, Lindsey's marriage is nothing compared to what ours would have been like'.

Love it.

Ha! So basically "We were all f*cking eachother in the 70's, so who knows who I was talking about?" :laugh:

Oh please. You would not have. You would have imploded at some point, eventually.

This I believe. Not in regards to their relationship, but as far as his music goes.

goosebumps.

destiny rules.

Ooh Scandal! I remember all those tabloid articles circa 1995-96-ish about Tom steppin out on his wife with Stevie. She had just dropped all that Klonopin weight, and the tabs were all over that too. I never really use to believe T.P. and Stevie went there, but now I'm wondering. Though, during this time she had a lot of men around her. And on the Enchanted or TISL tour, didn't Stevie introduce Carlos by saying this man has stood by me, through it all, even when I was at my lowest...or something like that. One thing is clear, this woman has many stories to still tell us.

I am feeling really emotional about Stevie right now- this article kind of put me over the edge. :o

Parts of it are very intense.:nod:
Top that off with the exhilaration of seeing, hearing and FEELING the sizzle reel. I've been strangely remote today, along with feeling completely distracted and stuck in my head. Everything and everyone around me may as well be invisible. :xoxo:

Yeah, I have been completely distracted all day too. This happens everytime a new record comes out. I swear it becomes almost a religious experience every time this woman puts a record out. It's like, I'm excited but I get melancholic too, for some strange reason. I think it has to do with the fact that I've followed her since 1981. I was 11. Strange for a kid to be that captivated at such an early age. It's been a LONG time. And I can't believe it's been THAT long and she's still here and about to launch yet another record.

need.to.stay.grounded through all of this. :laugh:

Good lord...high on coke and drinking half a bottle of brandy? It's a wonder this woman is still alive. Just when you think you've heard everything. How the hell did she keep it together at the hospital? I would think an experience like that would sober you up pretty quickly.

And weren't they married 8 months? Not that that's a whole lot better than 3 months lol.

This.is.serious. Great article. I hope there will be tons more with this new era.

True and she's said that herself in other interviews and will say it again. She has said they were breaking up when they entered FM in the first place and she just managed to hold it together for another year. Now, they were going to get married and have kids and be rock stars too, even though she was on the verge of returning to college on her dad's dime, if Mick hadn't called.

It all depends on what time of day you ask her things, I guess.

Michele

Yes, she said that because of the rumors Tom even asked her to keep her distance, which hurt her.

Michele

Yeah, her saying this is a bit far left. It's pretty well known that they were on the rocks when they joined FM. This statement make me think she feels slightly envious/jealous about Lindsey's personal life now. Why else would she say this when she's been saying all these years that they were pretty much almost breaking up when they joined FM? I think it's her way of trying to reconcile or forgive herself for some of the choices that she made.

This part kills me. Can you even imagine? It's hearbreaking on both ends.

Fantastic article. Thanks for posting.

This is my guess.

She did. :nod:

I thought I read some rumor somewhere that Carlos is gay?

Although I have no idea where I read it, so it could be completely false.

And as far is it being Tom Petty in '95-96...certainly it's possible...but I feel like it would have been far too into their friendship for something like that to happen. If they were to have an affair, I feel like it would have happened early on...not so long into their deep friendship. Just pure speculation.

Yes that part was very sad. And I think this may be the first time Stevie has admitted that she used drugs as any sort of emotional need. She's always said that her Coke use was strictly for energy, to get thru her hectic schedule, sort of her 5-hour endergy of that time. She's never once said she used it for any other reason, although I htink we all could guess that wasn't true. Here she's saying she couldn't handle going ot the hospital to see Robin that sick unless she was high on cocaine and drunk.

[QUOTE• In Your Dreams is out on Warner Music on 27 June. Stevie Nicks will be at London's Hard Rock Calling on Sunday 26 June.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011...medium=twitter[/QUOTE]

Why does it say it will be out June 27, i thought it was beginning of May?

Maybe that's a UK release date? Is the interviewer British?

Anyway, I agree with what people have said about being overly emotional about Stevie. I've been swelling with pride the last few days.

Does anyone know what interview mike means and where I can find it?

It's on play.com as release date of 27 June. See, this is why I preordered from amazon.com! I'm guessing they've pushed the UK date back to coincide with the Hard Rock Calling dates but I have to have it before then! I couldn't stand not having the album for almost a month, knowing it was out.

Hasn't Rick been married for 25 years or some such? Not that it means anything...

All these theories make sense. I was thinking it could also be Waddy; 1995 was not long after she fought with the producer about whether Waddy should be on Street Angel, which lends additional meaning to the notion that whoever the song is about stood by her through her worst. When did Waddy get married, was he romantically/sexually "forbidden" in that period?

- Jake

Idk, but it is from guardian.co.uk, so I am assuming yes. However, amazon.co.uk has it listed as May 3 still :shrug: