[Excerpt mentions seeing Stevie and Mick]
Under the Radar Magazine
http://www.undertheradarmag.com/news...the_messenger/
Johnny Marr Discusses his New Album, The Messenger
Home Is Where You Plug In May 06, 2013
I hear you ran into Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood while trying to get into a Fleetwood Mac show without paying when you were about 15. Is that true?
[Laughs] That's true.
A mutual friend from northern England suggested that I throw that question out to you, by the way.
I never would have thought I'd be asked that question. Well, there's very many cool things about that situation. First off, me and my friends used to go to every concert in town. I don't think there was ever one that we didn't actually get into, even if it took us three or four attempts, because I don't remember ever being unsuccessful in getting in. Sometimes, having seen a band and their first few numbers, I realized I probably shouldn't have busted in so much. I'm thinking of when me and my friends got to see Uriah Heep; I had no [idea] that was a band.
What was interesting about that for me was that we used to hang out in a youth club and it had a really cool jukebox. There was a couple of Fleetwood Mac records on there, "Green Manalishi" and "Albatross" or something. When I heard that this band Fleetwood Mac were coming to town I assumed that it was a bunch of very old guys with long hair and beards. So when we were hanging around the stage door, ready to sneak through, this big old Bentley pulls up and out gets these two utterly beautiful, blonde '70s rock girls on either side of Mick Fleetwood. Yeah, I was 15 and I was three feet away from Stevie Nicks in 1977 or whenever it was, so that worked for me on a lot of levels. But Mick Fleetwood recognized me from having walked by. He gave me a nod and a smile, as if to say, "Yeah. This is as cool as you think it is, son." I already was pretty committed to the life of a musician but that definitely helped to swing things, I can tell you. I remember thinking, "That looks like a good job, John boy."
And I bumped into Mick Fleetwood in 2005 and I told him this story, and he was kind of knocked out by it. I didn't hold it against him that he didn't remember me. I let that one go, but hey, what can I say? It was a great concert. I saw them on the Rumours tour, and that was amazing that I got in there before the show started because usually I had to wait for the band to come on. I saw the band's opening song and off they went. It was quite evident that it wasn't a bunch of fat old guys with beards. It was an amazing, exotic California band playing these really great tunes, so that was a really good night. And it's nice to remember that. It's funny.
And if you happen to be ready to walk onstage and notice a really tall, older fellow lingering around backstage at your show, maybe you can have a similar moment.
I should be so lucky. Hey, hope springs eternal, man!