New Mick interview with Alec Baldwin
 

Really enjoyable interview. What he says about Lindsey and Stevie joining the band is very sweet.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/heres...ing-23562128/#

Great interview! Alec knew his stuff. Impressive.

^It was. Alec's a true fan.

I was so surprised Mick actually said it's true he only was interested in Lindsey and that Lindsey was incredibly loyal to Stevie. He might be getting or has already gotten a phone call from Santa Monica:laugh:

It would be great if they hired Lindsey back and said, "You know what, we're sick of you're overinflated ego, you're fired!

One last FAB 4 tour and album!! And she can finally Go Her Own Way!
It would get publicity like you wouldn't believe!! Homer would dance across the stages of the world!!

Why surprised? Mick said so since 1990 or so I read:
I told him I wanted Lindsey Buckingham to be the new guitarist in Fleetwood Mac, and what did he think? Olsen replied that Lindsey was part of a team, the other half of which was his girlfriend, Stevie Nicks. They had a band called Buckingham Nicks and were very much a pair. Keith said he didn't think Lindsey would be interested in joining Fleetwood Mac without Stevie. Without hesitating, I told him that I wanted them both. Then I called Mickey Shapiro and said, "I met these guys and am asking them to be in the band."

Now if he changed the story in 2018 or any other moment, just to please Stevie, or for any other reason, it was too late, cause he already wrote he wanted Lindsey. And in the Rumours Classic albums video (1997), Lindsey said he answered he and Stevie were a "package deal", too.

He has always said that. Stevie knows that as well. She has said countless times the band needed a guitarist so bad they were willing to take a chance on his girlfriend.

Also, this is why Stevie referred to herself as the "house cat."

Unfortunately, the above would never happen. Just like the many gallons of filler in her face, $he is the seat filler in the venues. Poor old Dick is only one tour away from bankruptcy!

BuckVie was my dream come true. If only Dick and John had toured it.

Shirley to god $he won't live to be 100. Someday......I'll be able to dance across the stages of the world!:];):wavey:

I was surprised because he said to Alec it's true he only wanted Lindsey. I heard what you shared which is he wanted them both. He did hire Stevie so ultimately he did want her.
And then he told Alec that Lindsey was loyal and merciful to Stevie and did not desert her. And I like how he said it was clear that their sound was a duo, like The Everly Brothers.

Just a fantastic interview.

And Homie... you should watch The Naked Gun Trilogy. O.J. was at his acting apex in those films!

Which essentially the same thing Keith Olsen said.

“Then I got a call on New Year’s Eve, and Mick says, “I’ve had some bad news. Bob Welch just decided to leave the band. So, that fellow in that band you played me—would you see if that guy would like to join my band?” And I said, “Well, they’re going to come as a set. Because they’re very much into their own thing, and the only chance of getting them to drop that would be to bring them both on.” And he says, “Well, maybe that will work. Can you see if you can convince them to join my band?”

https://www.premierguitar.com/articl...ds_Keith_Olsen

Yeah, he went into the call wanting the guitarist he’d heard playing the solo that reminded him of Danny Kirwan. He wasn’t aware that it was a package situation. Once he was, he wanted them both. Not only did Fleetwood Mac need a guitarist, but they needed to fill up 2/3 of an album, since Bob had been the band’s main songwriter.

Lindsey may be the one who’s embellished the story a bit. Because according to Mick’s 1990 account and Keith Olsen’s, I don’t see where Lindsey was ever offered the gig without Stevie.

In Stevie's bitter Street Angel days when she was both pissed at Mick and Lindsey and just bitter her record was not selling, she unleashed her feelings how she was never originally wanted in Fleetwood Mac in multiple interviews.
This is why Lindsey was so instrumental to her big career. Not only did he make her songs beautiful but he insisted Stevie come along. It would have been easy for Lindsey to say, let me try this out. If I dont like it, I will leave and make my own band or something. He was very daring to insist his gf come along. Not many musicians would risk blowing such a deal. I think Stevie said they were paid $400 per week once they joined. In 1975, $1600 per month was a pretty good salary

That would have been daring, but he was never offered the gig without Stevie and his instinct was to turn down the offer. It was Stevie who had to push him into joining the band, just like it was Stevie who pushed for them to move to Los Angeles. Without Stevie, he would have blown the deal.


ETA: More from the Keith Olsen interview about NYE 1974:

“So I drop what I was going to do on that New Year’s Eve, take my date, and we drive over to Stevie and Lindsey’s house. I said, “Hey, Happy New Year” and all of this—I brought over the obligatory bottle of bad champagne—and I said, “Can we talk? Mick Fleetwood would like you to join Fleetwood Mac.” Immediately, Lindsey said, “Oh, no, no—I couldn’t possibly play anything as good as Peter Green did. How am I supposed to get up there and play ‘The Green Manalishi’?” Finally I get them, by the end of the night, to try it on a trial basis for eight weeks.”

Man you love to dissect things a million ways.
Bottom line, they needed a guitarist. They wanted Lindsey. They had no idea about Stevie until Mick was told about her. He could have jumped without Stevie but he didn't.
Its that simple. End of story. Its what Mick and Stevie has said for over 40 years.

I predict 104..maybe if we're really lucky and blessed she'll come and croak out Landslide for us as we lay on our death beds.:lol:

Interesting that he said Stevie joined by default because Mick was only interested in Lindsey but that then she didn't join by default because Mick got to hear their sound as soon as they became members of FM. The Stevie/Lindsey sound is my favorite in music. Too bad Without You was the last we'll ever hear

Talk about the grim reaper!:lol:

There will be little doubt that you're headed South instead of North!:woohoo::wavey::lol:

Per Dick's book, it was $200/week. I'm 99% certain.

(the book is upstairs in my office - and I'm too lazy to go find it and look it up!)

yes, pretty sure Stevie has given that same figure before as well...

And, I think it was $200 combined, not each.

My memory is pretty photographic. I'd wager on it. Maybe not wager $200, but I'd wager $20!

Bottom line, Lindsey was never asked to join without Stevie. The time between Bob quitting and Mick learning the equation that Lindsey was part of a package deal was pretty short. It’s very likely that within an hour of Bob leaving Mick told Keith to see if he could convince Lindsey AND Stevie to join the band. The second Mick understood the equation, which was during that call, the offer was for both of them. It’s not that they didn’t want Stevie, it’s that they didn’t know about her.

Except he was never offered the Fleetwood Mac gig without Stevie AND his inclination was to decline the offer. He wouldn’t have jumped without Stevie. Keith and Stevie had to convince him that joining the band was in everyone’s best interest.

You keep talking in circles. I cant keep up ;)
you see life in only black and white. While they may have gotten drunk over margaritas on new years eve and asked THEM to join, you are brushing off the interest Mick had in Lindsey after Bob left. It was a process that led up to New Years Eve but fairly quick since Bob was still playing with the band in October 1974

I think you are right. When Stevie said they were paid $400 per week, that definitely implies (together). I interpreted it as separately. I am recalling what Stevie said in interviews. I dont recall if Mick would remember to put in his book but Stevie has told the story a million of times how the Mac rolled up in this big fancy white Cadillac and paid them $400 per week.

You actually put faith in ANYTHING $he says? $he's delusional.

Help me: Before the Mexican restaurant meeting, did Mick call Lindsey and ask "Would you and Stevie like to join Fleetwood Mac?"

The margarita night was later, not NYE, 1974.

On NYE, 1974, Fleetwood Mac had some type of get together/band meeting where Bob snapped at Christine, she told him to eff himself, and he announced he was leaving the band. After that, Mick called Keith Olsen and asked him if he thought Lindsey would join the band, Keith explained the equation, and Mick asked him to convince THEM to join. So, Keith went over to their place and spent all night trying to convince them (Lindsey) to join.

I don’t dispute the initial interest was in Lindsey, but within the span of a short phone call shortly after Bob quit, Stevie was part of the equation. Lindsey was never offered the Fleetwood Mac gig without Stevie. He was never actually in a position where he had to say “I won’t join without Stevie.”

The notion that he wouldn’t have joined without Stevie because he was noble or whatever is laughable. He wouldn’t have joined had Stevie not been there twisting his arm. Lindsey didn’t want to be in Peter Green’s old band. He didn’t want to play the old Fleetwood Mac songs. He had a chip on his shoulder that their music was going to get lost in Fleetwood Mac, that they were going to lose their identities within the band. And, by all accounts, he wasn’t easy to work with in the early years. Lindsey oozed resentment, which is something I doubt he’d disagree with.

Bob was playing with them up until mid-December, close to the time Mick went to Sound City. So Mick had only known of Lindsey for a couple of weeks at most, but wasn’t immediately thinking about augmenting the band with him or anything.

No. He sent Keith Olsen over to convince both them to join.

And then Mick called Lindsey after Keith spoke with Stevie and Lindsey?

Thank you.

It’s never been mentioned if it did. Other than the day Mick met Lindsey while studio shopping at Sound City, the first contact was the Mexican restaurant night.

^Oh okay. It's interesting, in this new interview Mick says that when he asked Lindsey to join the band, Lindsey made it very clear that if he was to join, that Stevie would be joining too.

Then he goes on about loyalty and mercy.:laugh:

Ever since 1997, they’ve been fuzzy with their history. They’ve embellished and romanticized some parts of their story while minimizing or flat out ignoring other parts. Mick’s 1990 comments mirror what Keith Olsen said, which leads me to believe that accounting.

Here I was thinking that Stevie joined FM on NYE 1974. But the Mexican restaurant dinner was in 1975!
Gees these seniors are not doing well upstairs!

Yep. And, not to shatter anyone’s illusions about the band, but Mick’s first phone call after talking to Olsen was to Mickey Shapiro, not the McVies.

^Holy smokes, so there may never have been a phone call from Mick to Lindsey.

Maybe he's speaking this way about Lindsey because he spoke with him last year and might want to be creative with him outside of FM.

Good lord, as others have noted, one could split hairs or count how many angels can stand on the head of a pin, or whatever, but the bottom line is the ONLY reason Buckingham Nicks were even considered for FM is because of Buckingham. Stevie was part of the package, an accessory that turned out to be essential.

The fact that Christine was given the chance to decide their fate over margaritas later on further demonstrates how much of an after thought Stevie originally was: Mick sought out Lindsey and only learned Stevie was there. In his recollections, he never once mentions either of the pair’s voices when he heard “Frozen Love.” He was listening to the guitar. End of.

Has Christine ever backed this up?
I think I remember Stevie or Mick saying that FM wanted to see how Christine and Stevie "would get along" at the Mexican restaurant dinner.

Exactly. Even the people who were there don't remember exact details, 46 years later. Claiming to know EXACTLY what happened is like claiming who did the last line of blow on any of those evenings.

In Dick's book(even though he's a card carrying LIAR), he does say that they got together to see if Chris and $tevie would get along, because nothing could be worse than if they didn't.

See, $tevie was humble and real, and not an complete egomaniac back then, so Chris liked her just fine. Hell, I LOVED her back then. Talk about someone doing a 180! I guess I mean me, as a result of her(180). $tevie and Homie - polar opposites! :lol:

I don’t believe anyone argued otherwise. That’s the one constant.

Where I have an issue is this notion that Lindsey, out of loyalty to Stevie, bravely and nobly stuck his neck out to insist that she also be included when, by what Mick said in 1990 and Keith Olsen said in 2012, there’s no evidence that he was ever offered the gig without her.

Furthermore, Lindsey was apprehensive about giving up Buckingham Nicks to go play Peter Green songs. His instinct was to turn them down. Stevie, Olsen, and even Waddy have all said that they had to convince him, sometimes in hours long conversations, that joining Fleetwood Mac was in their best interest.

See, that’s why I think the first call after Olsen was to Mickey Shapiro.

Which makes me wonder if Mick even knew if Lindsey was a singer-songwriter when he called Olsen. The first thing the band needed was a guitarist, but they also needed songwriting, since Bob Welch had about 2/3 of the songs on MTM and HAHTF. This is another reason why I think too much has been made of them “only wanting Lindsey.”

Let’s just hypothetically say Lindsey alone was asked to join the band and he agreed joined, without Stevie.

The first thing stands out to me is that Buckingham Nicks made an album. Once the Brits eventually heard it, of course they would have heard the immediate potential of having those harmonies in their music. It’s not as if Fleetwood Mac’s songs didn’t have a lot of harmonies already, especially Christine’s songs. Wouldn’t adding even more complex harmonies to the songs make them even better? Also, wasn’t the remake of “Crystal” John’s idea?

If that didn’t happen, Keith Olsen was the one who encouraged them to leave Fritz and become a duo. It’s like he saw them as a singular entity that couldn’t be separated. At some point in the recording, I have no doubt that he’d suggest to Lindsey that Stevie’s harmony would add a lot of dimension to the chorus here or there.

If neither of those happened, do you really think Stevie wouldn’t have been hanging out in the studio all up everyone’s ass trying to weasel her way in the band? Like, when Christine and Lindsey would be working on harmonies that she wouldn’t have just started singing along? Or that she wouldn’t have been flirty with Mick? Or that she and Christine wouldn’t have gone out for girl talk over tea?

So, this notion that Lindsey could have just joined without Stevie is pretty unrealistic.

There's a reason I've never married...:p