Stevie's eyesight
 

So my friends mom once told me that Stevie was almost legally blind, but I could never find any actual info. I know she wore hard contact lenses and I believe she had lasic surgery too. Anyway, any info on her eyesight??

I've also been told this by my father in law who I can't take seriously on the topic of Stevie..
I did dig up n interview or something of the sorts which said she had left her contacts in whilst partying overnight and it burnt away her retinas or something like that. And that the lights on stage were almost unbearable so she had to wear sunglasses???
I cant say how much of any of that is credible but it is what I remember finding upon researching (the net I might add).

I think that was from Carol Ann's book...

My parents also told me Stevie was legally blind when I was a kid. If you look back at the Rumours tour, most footage shows her being led onstage and up to her mic (usually by Lindsey). This was part of Stevie's whole allure to me when I was a kid. I thought it was so incredible she could twirl around and not just die :laugh:.

Like Danielle said, Carol Ann Harris' book claims it was because she left in her old school hard contacts too long, and it did serious abrasive damage to her eyes. According to Carol, Stevie had to keep her eyes bandaged and covered for a while afterwards, and the guys in the band would f!ck with her ruthlessly because she couldn't see. ;)

Whatever the case, Stevie's talked before about how she's nearly blind in interviews. She had laser surgery in the '90s I believe, and talks about how frightening it was to be able to actually look out into the audience and actually see faces. I wish I could remember what interview that was from. Obviously Stevie's eyesight is okay now, as she always walks out on stage alone, and in the complete dark. Though as seen in Destiny Rules, she does use reading glasses. But then again, most people over 50 do.

Stevie saying she's almost or practically blind may be her exaggerated way of saying she doesn't have good eyesight....

As for being led onstage, that's not uncommon. It could be more of a nerve calming thing as oppposed to really needing assistance, although I am sure it would be a benefit even to people with perfect eyesight. I watched Stephen Stills almost trip over wires he didn't see this summer and I've never heard of him being almost blind. It's just dark onstage and hard to see!

By the way, CAH - not the most reliable source...

I doubt she's "legally blind." Lots of people say that, but they really mean they just have bad eyesight. Mine is awful - if I want to read something without my glasses on, it has to be about 3 inches from my face.

Oh man, I feel old! I'm almost 19 and need glasses to read. I can only imagine how bad it will be when I am Stevie's age. :eek:

I read this on the Nicksfix in an article about her eyesight a while ago:

"Adversity has its artistic advantages, of course. Vulnerability is an enticing hallmark on much of Nicks' work. For instance, her imaginative images owe something to poor eyesight, she once admitted.

"I do kind of look at the world differently because of that," she once told The Arizona Republic. "I don't see it clearly. I see it like in a dream."

That is such a Stevie thing to say! I love her (and her quotes) Nice find :)

sorry, embedding is disabled

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwdNEECz6mM


1:00 in she's talking about having to squint to see the words on the paper. i remember in some other demos she talks about not being able to see, but i can't think of which ones.

Thanks! I love this quote too, because I'm blind as a bat too, but when you put it that way...maybe it ain't so bad :p

When she played at Jones Beach in 1994 she talked about how she had her eyes fixed and said "I can see you now. I'm not blind anymore."

Stevie looks totally adorable in glasses anyway, so I don't see why she doesn't wear them more often if she needs to, rather than contacts :lol:

And John Stewart was talking about how she couldn't see a thing when they were in the recording studio.


Michele

When did he say this?? Anytime Fleetwood Mac and John Stewart are in the same sentence, I'm curious!

I'm "blind" too, but Stevie seems to make it enchanting or dream-like, it's doesn't seem so bad :laugh: