MOJO Nicks on McVie's death
 

I tried to get as much of it as I could. (around the ads and paywall)

Stevie Nicks: “Without Christine there is no chance of putting Fleetwood Mac back together.”

Stevie Nicks speaks exclusively to MOJO about the “devastating” loss of her Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie and what it means for the future of the group.

“It was all stunningly strange, because there wasn’t any lead up to it,” says Nicks of McVie’s death following a stroke in Autumn 2022. “We got a call, and I was going to rent a plane and go see her, but her family said, ‘Don’t come, because she may not be here tomorrow.’ And the next day, she passed away.

“I wanted to go there and sit on her bed and sing to her – which definitely would have made her pass away faster,” jokes Nicks to MOJO’s Bob Mehr through tears. “But I needed to be with her. And I didn’t get to do that. So that was very hard for me. I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

Since McVie’s death Nicks has been adamant that she no longer considers Fleetwood Mac a going concern. “Without Christine, no can do,” she says. “There is no chance of putting Fleetwood Mac back together in any way. Without her, it just couldn’t work.”

While Fleetwood Mac operated successfully between 1998 and 2014 largely without McVie, her absence heaped more onus on Nicks and Buckingham to front the band in tandem. But, as she explains, a détente between her and Buckingham – following the guitarist’s exit from the band in 2018, the two last crossed paths at a memorial service for McVie in early 2023 – wouldn’t necessarily clear the way to a final tour.

“Even if I thought I could work with Lindsey again, he’s had some health problems,” says Nicks, referring to Buckingham’s emergency open heart surgery in 2019. “It’s not for me to say, but I’m not sure if Lindsey could do the kind of touring that Fleetwood Mac does, where you go out for a year and half. It’s so demanding.”

“I do [Landslide] and we have beautiful video montage of me and Chris,” says Nicks of her current set. “I can never look at it, though, when I’m singing, because I’ll just get hysterical and sob. The world is a little bit of an empty place without her.”

Although she’s lost several musical comrades in recent years, including Tom Petty, Nicks continues to find connection in her band, which includes decades-long collaborators Sharon Celani and Waddy Wachtel.

“When I walk on stage, I couldn’t be prouder of my band,” says Nicks. “I mean, I would rather not be freed up from Fleetwood Mac, because of Christine. But I’m in a place where I can concentrate on my solo work. I can do anything I want now, and not have to worry about stopping and going back to Fleetwood Mac.”

At the same time, Nicks admits that “Fleetwood Mac is all over my set. Now that there is no more Fleetwood Mac, that opens the door for me to do other songs, like The Chain, that I’ve never done [solo]. I will keep the music of Fleetwood Mac alive, for as long as I can.”

Um...except you did perform The Chain solo in 1994.

As for the rest...the excuses are endless with this woman. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

I don't think I've ever seen that performance.

Do I want to watch this, Big Al?

It’s not the worst thing. If I’m not mistaken she only did this a few times at some 1994 shows and I believe Rick Vito was in her band at the time.

She's free to do Races Are Run, too! :laugh:

While Fleetwood Mac operated successfully between 1998 and 2014 largely without McVie, her absence heaped more onus on Nicks and Buckingham to front the band in tandem. But, as she explains, a détente between her and Buckingham – following the guitarist’s exit from the band in 2018, the two last crossed paths at a memorial service for McVie in early 2023 – wouldn’t necessarily clear the way to a final tour.

“Even if I thought I could work with Lindsey again, he’s had some health problems,” says Nicks, referring to Buckingham’s emergency open heart surgery in 2019. “It’s not for me to say, but I’m not sure if Lindsey could do the kind of touring that Fleetwood Mac does, where you go out for a year and half. It’s so demanding.”


So now her excuse is that it's Lindsey's health that impacts any new Mac shows or tours??? SMH

Mick actually said things much better at the Grammys after Christine's death with a touch of class, grace and realism given the Stevie/Lindsey situation and an unspoken nod to John's health.

“I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris. I’d say we’re done, but then we’ve all said that before. It’s sort of unthinkable right now.”

Does anyone remember that interview that Christine gave to BBC Radio 2 in which she envisioned one last tour but without Stevie and John? I wonder who else would have been on stage?

What's she's trying to say is, "Even if I didn't hate his guts, he can't tour anyway."

Love her for staying away from the band she torched anyway.

but do we even know if that's true?? :shrug:

Clearly John has zero interest in touring again... he's sold all his gear, etc. Chris is gone, and now he's lost his wife.... and of course, he was the one for a time whose health was really fragile, so much so they stopped doing shows for a while. So it's not clear HE could take the rigors of the road again, even if he wanted to (which he seems pretty clear not to want).

Wasn't Lindsey talking about another solo tour...?

It just feels like she's glossing over a lot in order to point the finger at Lindsey's health as the definitive factor....

It also feels like a bit of a gloat.... Chris is dead, John fought health issues, Lindsey (according to her) continues to have health-related limitations, but boy here I am still standing and even selling out big venues like the boss b*tch I am......

That's exactly what it is. Goat is gloating. I'm agreeing with you.

Keep in mind I absolutely do not want Fleetwood Mac to get back together at all, but if you’re the type who breaks out the Fleetwood Mac decoder ring, they’re giving a boatload of lines to read between.

The more they talk about how Fleetwood Mac is over/doesn’t exist anymore, the more it seems like there’s something going on in the background. Like, why did Mike and Stevie bring up Lindsey? Lindsey was fired and isn’t a member of the band, so I don’t understand why the Stevie-Lindsey dynamic suddenly matters.

Then, Mick made a cameo with Crowded House after Neil was brutally honest about the 2018-19 tour and made it clear Stevie wanted to keep things as close to what Lindsey would do as possible.

If Stevie had said that she refuses to be the only vocalist from Rumours fronting Fleetwood Mac and still refuses to work with Lindsey again, I’d totally buy it’s over, stop asking. But, she leaves the door ever so slightly cracked with an “even if I could work with Lindsey again…”.

—

There are also no plans for additional shows with Fleetwood Mac, even though Campbell toured with them in 2018 and 2019, effectively taking Lindsey Buckingham’s place alongside Neil Finn of Crowded House. “I don’t see how they can go forward without Christine [McVie] or Lindsey [Buckingham]. Stevie [Nicks] is real busy doing her thing; she seems to be blazing a trail,” he says. “I spoke to Mick [Fleetwood] not too long ago, and it’s kind of up to Stevie if she wants to go in that direction.

There’s some stuff with Stevie and Lindsey that would have to be worked out,” he continues. “I’m sure the audience would love to see them get together again. But as far as I know, I would kind of doubt that’s going to happen.” -Mike Campbell, 2024

—

While Fleetwood Mac operated successfully between 1998 and 2014 largely without McVie, her absence heaped more onus on Nicks and Buckingham to front the band in tandem. But, as she explains, a détente between her and Buckingham – following the guitarist’s exit from the band in 2018, the two last crossed paths at a memorial service for McVie in early 2023 – wouldn’t necessarily clear the way to a final tour.

“Even if I thought I could work with Lindsey again, he’s had some health problems,” says Nicks, referring to Buckingham’s emergency open heart surgery in 2019. “It’s not for me to say, but I’m not sure if Lindsey could do the kind of touring that Fleetwood Mac does, where you go out for a year and half. It’s so demanding.” -Stevie Nicks, 2024

^^^^^

God I hope you're wrong. But, I understood every reference you've made here. And, I did think about it for a split second as well as I was piecing the clues together. I have a bias, and I just don't want to see anything more from them. And don't want to hear her god awful vocals with any of the FM members.

Dear god, please just let it be over. 2018 forward has been just fukcing pathetic, so just let it die.