Stevie Nicks going blind?

[tcmcneese]

I was recently at an antique mall, where I scored a really nice copy of The Other Side of the Mirror on vinyl, and when I was checking out, the guy was telling me how he heard Stevie was pretty much blind, and now when she goes on tour, they tie strings to her feet so she doesn't fall off the stage because she has done so in the past.

Now obviously this isn't true, but has anyone else heard this rumor or anything else like this?

[Newzchspy]

Originally Posted by tcmcneese

I was recently at an antique mall, where I scored a really nice copy of The Other Side of the Mirror on vinyl, and when I was checking out, the guy was telling me how he heard Stevie was pretty much blind, and now when she goes on tour, they tie strings to her feet so she doesn't fall off the stage because she has done so in the past.

Now obviously this isn't true, but has anyone else heard this rumor or anything else like this?

Did he say HOW he knew this??? Rumors are rampant and NOT just with albums!!!

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by tcmcneese

and now when she goes on tour, they tie strings to her feet so she doesn't fall off the stage because she has done so in the past.

I have no words.

[WildHearted]

She's had terrible vision since childhood.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

She's had terrible vision since childhood.

This. Besides being a diva , I believe this is why Stevie does not drive. Her vision is just too poor. It seems I remember reading she had laser surgery done in the '90s, but she still can't see well. Hence the coke bottle glasses she wears in the Destiny Rules & In Your Dreams documentaries.

The rumors of Stevie's blindness aren't that off base, either. Back during the Rumours tour Stevie started wearing the first generation GLASS contacts (can you imagine putting slivers of glass into your eyeballs?). They scratched her corneas and badly damaged her vision until she stopped using the contacts & her eyes healed. This is why you will see Stevie being led onstage during concert footage from that era. She was legally blind for all intents & purposes. I believe Ken Caillat wrote about this episode in his book- apparently the band would prank Stevie while all of this was happening.

[michelej1]

John Stewart mentioned how bad her sight was when they were recording. He said something like they'd just push her up to the mic when they wanted her to sing.

I've needed glasses for distance for a long time, but now I need them for reading too. Father time is taking its toll.

Michele

[GypsyBlueEyes]

Tying strings to her feet so she doesn't fall...honestly, who comes up with this stuff?

Losing your sight is a terrible, terrible thing, though. Even though she's had poor eyesight her whole life, having it continue to deteriorate as she ages must be really awful.

[teedeerocks]

Originally Posted by michelej1

John Stewart mentioned how bad her sight was when they were recording. He said something like they'd just push her up to the mic when they wanted her to sing.

I've needed glasses for distance for a long time, but now I need them for reading too. Father time is taking its toll.

Michele

My sight has deteriorated in recent years right before my eyes-I never saw it coming But seriously if I go anywhere without my glasses I am doomed.If I see something at the market I would like to try I can't buy it because I can't read the ingredients(I'm severely allergic to onions).

[reebokandlace]

Wow...strings on her feet. That rumour is almost as good as the one about how blow was administered to her in the years after the hole in her nose....

Stevie made a comment in 1989 referring to the song "Room On Fire" about her eyesight being horrible so she has to use her sixth sense....


".....a man comes into the room and there is a certain sort of a ~ see I don't see very well so I have a sixth sense that there is an eye contact thing that even though I can't see him very well I feel something and I close my eyes for a second and he walks over to me and I look up and he's there. And he asks me to dance, and we end up getting married and I end up having a little baby girl and we live together for twenty - twenty-five years and the sad thing is that I waited for him all my life and then he dies before me....."
~Stevie Nicks, BBC Interview 1989

[bombaysaffires]

Part of her problem for years was vanity-- she didn't want to wear/be seen wearing glasses so she'd walk around not able to see. Then she got contacts and reported she loved them but then it was kinda "scary" too coz then she could see people's eyes.

Hard contacts were a nightmare and you had to be VERY meticulous about taking care of them--taking them out, cleaning and sanitizing them, never sleeping in them etc. I can totally see Stevie blowing a lot of that-- falling asleep with them in etc. (too busy, too tired, too stoned, whatever). I wear soft lenses and have for decades and even being really diligent with them I've had to stop wearing them at times because they have done damage to my eyes/inner eyelids and had to go back to wearing glasses and putting in prescription drops. Not fun.

Maybe that's why she always has someone with her wherever she goes.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by reebokandlace

".....a man comes into the room and there is a certain sort of a ~ see I don't see very well so I have a sixth sense that there is an eye contact thing that even though I can't see him very well I feel something and I close my eyes for a second and he walks over to me and I look up and he's there. And he asks me to dance, and we end up getting married and I end up having a little baby girl and we live together for twenty - twenty-five years and the sad thing is that I waited for him all my life and then he dies before me....."
~Stevie Nicks, BBC Interview 1989

LOL. Stevie knows she expects all men to die before her. Even the young ones.

Michele

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

Hard contacts were a nightmare and you had to be VERY meticulous about taking care of them--taking them out, cleaning and sanitizing them, never sleeping in them etc. I can totally see Stevie blowing a lot of that-- falling asleep with them in etc. (too busy, too tired, too stoned, whatever). I wear soft lenses and have for decades and even being really diligent with them I've had to stop wearing them at times because they have done damage to my eyes/inner eyelids and had to go back to wearing glasses and putting in prescription drops. Not fun.

I've always worn soft lenses and never owned prescription glasses. But now I do have lots of those drug store cheaters laying around in the kitchen, in the office, in the bedroom, in my purse.

You're right about Stevie. She just didn't have the discipline for hard lenses back in the day. Her lifestyle wouldn't have allowed the regimen. You actually have to allow them to build callouses on your cornea, before they are bearable. But even when you get past the discomfort, sanitation and infection are concerns.

Michele

[jkmaletic]

I remember Stevie saying years ago that she can see people in the crowd since she'd had her laser eye surgery. I also remember being at one of the small events she had in 2011 for IYD - she had her glasses on and when someone from the crowd asked her a question, she took them off and said something like, "Now I can see you".

So, I think she can see pretty good at a distance, but up-close reading she obviously needs glasses for, as seen in documentaries and small appearances like she's done at the Grammy Museum when she needed them to read her music.

Jamie

[michelej1]

Well, at least we know she can read the monitor that says, "Stevie, go to tent."

I think having strings tied to her shoes would do more harm than good, when it comes to getting her where she needs to go without stumbling. You've got the problem of tripping over the strings, being pulled in the wrong direction when an excited Sulamith or impatient Karen yanks on the strings, having a prankster snip the strings ...

Michele

[WildHeart69]

her words to me at the soundstage signing in NY when trying to see where to sign on the covers: "I'm a blind old bat!" ha!