Elder Gays Tell us about the Soap Opera known as Fleetwood Mac Why so much drama in that group?

It was a very incestuous group. It had two couples, unusual for a band: John and Christine McVie and Nicks and Buckingham. The McVies split up, but with not nearly as much acrimony as Nicks and Buckingham. Nicks started having conspicuous affairs with lots of high profile men (Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Paul Fishkin, Jimmy Iovine, Tom Petty); she was basically rubbing it in, which no doubt angered Buckingham. She even had the audacity to have an affair with another band member, Mick Fleetwood. Buckingham related how Fleetwood came to him and told him that he and Stevie were "seeing" each other. Buckingham was basically unfazed; he said that he told Fleetwood that nothing that went on surprised him anymore. He already knew Stevie was a slut, so finding out she was fucking Fleetwood probably didn't seem out of the ordinary at all.

All of this is reminiscent of the Mamas and the Papas. John and Michelle Phillips. Mama Cass lusted for Denny Doherty who wasn't interested but screwed Michelle Phillips along the way. Michelle was the slut of that group.

A notoriously immoral bunch of drug fiends sleeping with each other, committing sins of adultry, cheating. Terrible evil demon possessed band of yesteryear. Glad that time has aged those slobs and they're no longer newsworthy.

From an "Elder Gay" who could probably put you down with one punch, sonny

Since when did Datalounge start wagging fingers at people who got plenty of Grade-A booty when in their prime?

[quote] All of this is reminiscent of the Mamas and the Papas.

But the difference is that the band members would write song after song that were so pointedly directed at the other band members.

Which made for great music and hit songs.

R5 We saw a little of this with "Creeque Alley" and "I Saw Her Again Last Night". But Fleetwood Mack took this kind of psychodrama to an entirely new level.

anyone else?

The only great episode of Glee was about "Rumours".

The music they created from that tumult is amazing.

I think I'll play it right now.

Christine wrote "Don't Stop" about her affair with Beach Boy Dennis Wilson.

Lindsey said that Stevie was a liar about the "you want your freedom/who am I to keep you down" lyric in the song "Dreams" and that "she had a little problem with fidelity."

Fun fact, Christopher 'Sailing' Cross was one of FM's roadies during the Rumours tour.

Editor, soap thread! Flames & Freaks!

Personally I am glad I am a homo.

{r3} if you call selling out arenas all across the country not newsworthy. If you call having your greatest hits album be at number 22 on the album chart, rumours at 59, Stevies new solo album in the top 20 not newsworthy then maybe your right.

They were on The Today Show yesterday. I though they sounded like shit.

Christine didn't write Don't Stop about Dennis Wilson, geez. They didn't hook up until Tusk.

Stevie's new album 24Karat Gold sounds awful, and I love her but not her best.

Lindsey and Stevie had a long history together..They first met each other in high school at some social gathering. 2 years later Lindsey asked her to joined his sf band FRITZ for 3 years till they decided to became a folk duo and moved to LA ..their album failed and were dirt poor till Mick Fleetwood called Lindsey to ask if he can joined FM ..Lindsey will only agree if his girlfriend(Stevie) tag along too.In 1976 Stevie ended their relationship which broke Lindsey's heart and made him to be a very bitter and jealous man..In 1987 Lindsey finally had enough and announced to the group that he quit and in turn Stevie rosed up from her chair and attacked him and they had a huge physical fight in the parking lot.Stevie quit in 1990 because it just wasnt the same without him and finally in 1997 the band reunited. Its weird because even tho they split up years ago and Lindsey is now married with kids they still write songs about each other and have this love/hate thing going on. Stevie cant seem to stop mentioning Lindsey in every interview she makes..

{r13} you try singing that early in the morning. They are in their late 60s and it is NOT easy to sing that early. I should know, I am a singer. Saw them at MSG and they sounded great. Are their voices as good as when they were in their 20's? NO , but the musicianship was great and their voices were pretty good.

R9 - Don't Stop was Christine's song about not dwelling on the past after her separation from Jon. It wasn't about Wilson.

Christine also wrote Over my Head about Jon's drinking.

LB's girlfriend after Stevie was Carol Ann Harris & she wrote a tell all about her time with the band called Storms.

I saw the tour and Stevie's voice is not perfect, but it's much better than it's been in years. Having Christine McVie back forced Stevie to up her game.

Christine did not write Over My Head about John's drinking. She admitted earlier on the year in a BBC radio interview that she wrote it about having a crush on Lindsey when he first joined the band. I was a little shocked when she said it, but I guess considering the history of this band, it's par for the course.

R19 - Here's a link supporting OMH being about Jon.

Stevie Nicks was really the reason for the drama in the group. While she WAS FM, really, she slaved for Lindsay when they were young, he didn't work, she cleaned houses & waitressed, while he "made music".

So I think it was sort of passive-aggressive of her. She was doing loads of drugs/cocaine, but she looked like an angel at that time. She was amazingly beautiful when she sung, everyone was obsessed with her.

She went to a party and fucked Mick Fleetwood btw, fucked up on drugs, and that really destroyed Lindsay, who is a really talented guitarist and singer.

And she fell madly in love with Fleetwood, and has said he was one of her greatest loves, ever. She broke up his marriage.

She also broke up Tom Petty's marriage.

As for Don Henley, she was madly in love with him but he wasn't with her. Don't forget Hendly is a pedophile, someone with a better memory can remember the Henley pedophile story.

Still look at Nicks singing Edge of 17 on her solo tour at that time, and it's fucking so amazing, it will blow your mind, or possibly, even make you think you'd want to sleep with a goddess like that, even if you are 100% gay.

R21, I stopped reading after you used "waitressed" as a verb.

R21 - Stevie was not the only one at fault. LB was an asshole. He certainly was abusive at times to Carol Ann.

R20, that is a lyric speculation page where people speculate what the songs might have been about.

Christine said it was about Lindsey on Johnnie Walker's BBC 2 radio programme back on 11 January. It appears the broadcast is no longer available, but this is the link anyway. If you ever find a copy of this interview, it's mentioned at about the 54 minute mark.

I saved the interview after it aired, and here is a rough transcription of what was said:

Johnnie Walker: And then another song from that album, Over My Head, was the real first kind of hit for Fleetwood Mac. Certainly the big radio hit. What was that like when you started hearing that coming out of the radio all of the time?

Christine: Well I was quite surprised because I didn't think it was very commercial. It was a bit slow, and a bit. . .well, I mean it's very pleasant, but I just didn't think it was hit material at all. I mean I think that was based on a sort of fantasy about Lindsey, really. I think that was a sort of ode to the gorgeous Lindsey. At that time. . .well, I make stories up.

Johnnie Walker: (joking) So had you gone there, you'd have been way over your head?

Christine: Oh, Johnnie. You can't be saying that. I probably would have been actually!

My older siblings listened to Rumors (actually wore the album out, physically). I really got into the band in 1997, and truly loved The Dance. In particular, the televised concert with Silver Spring (I was touched when Stevie Nicks thanked Lindsey at the song's end, yet it was a dig because I think he "bumped" the song off their album).

I did think Lindsey, for all his amazing guitar work on The Dance, seemed a little egomaniacal and kind of shrill in his vocals, and Mick Fleetwood's open-mouthed, bug-eyed expression at the drums was kind of disturbing.

Stevie Nicks, whether sober or at her coked-out, Klonopin-ed finest, always fascinates.

Anyway, I considered buying a ticket for the MSG show earlier this month, but $268.00 felt profligate. I'm cheap!

I did love seeing Stevie on Chris Isaak's television show a few year back. They performed together and it was amazing to see and hear them.

I saw them on the "Tusk" tour in Dallas. One of them, (John McVie?) was so wasted he was puking off the side of the stage. He had to leave for a while. They stopped playing, everyone left.

Nicks, who wasn't with them for that set, had to come out and do some songs to save the performance. The rest of them came back eventually.

Weird show. You could tell that they were all fucked up with each other by then.

I never really paid attention to them. They were too easy-listening/lightweight for me.

the BIGGEST problem of FM was that they were ALL heavily addicted to drugs, mainly coke, which created their erratic behavior. It was well known at the time.

R28 - Yes, but they were brilliant musicians.

R29 and they probably could have done better and put out a more extensive library of good music had they not let drug addiction get in the way.

T30 - maybe so.

It was the Kloponin more than coke that hurt Stevie.

Oh R27 do tell WHO you listen to...you cutting edge rocker.

pquote]A notoriously immoral bunch of drug fiends sleeping with each other, committing sins of adultry, cheating. Terrible evil demon possessed band of yesteryear.

You sound exactly like a bible-obsessed nut job

[quote]Glad that time has aged those slobs and they're no longer newsworthy.

Also, you're quite stupid. They're one of the most successful band in history and still quite popular.

Why is it that elder gays know more? Are they friends with the band or something? Or perhaps only elder gays can read? That must be it.

I would like more info.

R35 for you

I read that Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were the inspiration for the song "Life in the Fast Lane" by the Eagles

The making of Rumours is just beyond insane. Everyone sleeping with each other secretly. Plus, the amount of cocaine used. Never would have anything happen like that today.

I don't care what anyone else thinks Lindsey Buckingham was hot as fuck in the 1980s! He should have been on one of those nighttime soaps like Dallas.

They did enough coke to put the entire original cast of SNL into early graves a couple times over, but damn if they didn't make the best album of all time while snorting it!

Amazing music, brilliant albums, but the laziest, most disconnected concert I ever saw. None of them wanted to be there, with the exception of Stevie, who at least tried. Now, of course, I know about the drugs and the affairs, which I didn’t know then.