Stevie Nicks on writing her memoirs, the Rhiannon movie + Miley covering Landslide

The Daily Telegraph Australia

STEVIE Nicks is returning to Australia to promote her new solo album without her band Fleetwood Mac, who toured Australia to widespread acclaim in December 2009.

But Stevie Nicks - click for video - is bringing Dave Stewart, famous for being one half of The Eurythmics, and former Westlife singer Brain McFadden, who broke up with Nick Jonas' new girlfriend Delta Goodrem in April.

What's a Stevie Nicks solo setlist like in 2011? Presumably you play solo and Fleetwood Mac material?

Yeah. But not a whole lot of new songs. I remember when (Fleetwood Mac's) Rumours came out we went out and just did all those Rumours songs and just about got booed off the stage. You have to be careful when you do your setlist when you have a new record out, you can't just play all new songs. People will go 'Excuse me, we're not even familiar with these songs yet'. You have to weave some new ones in with the old ones. They can enjoy the new ones but aren't thinking, 'OK what song we love did you take out to play this song we don't know'.

Secret Love from your new album In Your Dreams is an unreleased song from the '70s. How many songs are in your vault?

Many. Many. In the beginning the reason I did a solo record was I was in a band like Fleetwood Mac with three writers. We used to get four songs an album. All the other five or six songs you wrote that didn't make it, they're usually just as good as what went on. Between '75 and '81 I had four or five or six really good songs from each album recording process that went in the vault.

Glee recently did an entire episode dedicated to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. You're a Glee fan. You must have been in heaven.

I went on the set when they were recording (Fleetwood Mac's) Landslide with Gwyneth (Paltrow). I spent six or seven hours talking to a writer. We talked for hours about the making of Rumours. I was so knocked out when I watched it, he took a lot of what I told him. Most specifically the speech Rachel gave at the end where she was saying that when Fleetwood Mac made these songs they weren't yelling at each other in the studio, they were putting all that bad, crazy, I'm so broken-hearted energy right back into the songs instead of ranting at each other. When she said all that I knew they'd really listened to me, he put the real thing that happened in Rumours into the Glee Rumours episode. I really love that show. It makes me happy. It makes me want to get up and dance.

Favourite Glee character?

You know what? I have a new favourite character every week. I love Rachel, I love Finn, I love Quinn, I love the Puckster, as I call him. I love Artie. I love Kurt. I love the Warblers. Obviously I really know my Glee. The gay storyline was handled beautifully. It makes a difference when a show like that goes on and attacks that situation, really makes people, gay or straight, really somehow sit there in front of a TV set and think 'Oh my God, I didn't know how hard it would be'. Or if you're gay going 'Now you know how hard it is'. It's been an amazing show. They've managed to put up in the Top 10 shows and really attack a lot of social issues, but they're sensitive and that's the special key Glee has.

Miley Cyrus covered Landslide on stage in Australia. Did you hear about that?

I know! Someone showed it to me on YouTube. It was really good. We were on the Oprah show together, me and Miley and Pat Benatar and Sheryl Crow and some others. Rock and roll girls. I met Miley and I thought she was really nice. She's done a very sweet homage. I'm delighted to have someone her age doing that song.

What's your most covered song? Landslide or Dreams?

Not so much Dreams, I think Landslide is the No.1 most covered song of mine. I wish people would cover Dreams. You wish people would cover all of your songs.

You recently turned 63. Tips?

Good lighting definitely helps. I take care of myself. I try to stay as youthful as possible. I'm young in heart, if you stop being young in heart and you start questioning it you might as well be done. If you're young in heart and you can still jump down in the splits, that's it.

Let's clear up some rumours. There's talk you're recording a new Fleetwood Mac album next year?

The Mac is always there. The Mac has never broken up. Being in a big elite group like that, why would you ever not want to do that? When this record runs its course then I'm sure Fleetwood Mac will get together.

Another is you're writing your memoirs ...

I'm too busy to write a memoir. That would take me a year. That'd take as long as doing a record. There's a lot of things I want to do, they take too much time. I want to do my Rhiannon movie, my cartoon movie, the nice memoir book ... It'll have to wait though.

A nice memoir - so it won't be a kiss and tell, sex and drugs and rock and roll expose from the '70s?

The sex thing? There wasn't all that much crazy sex going on, believe me. What was going on was drugs and serious hard times. Of course I'll touch on that. I'm never going to let people get away without knowing it. But that will not be the focus of my book. Nicks says prescription drug Klonopin ruined her life for eight years

Tell us Lindsay Lohan hasn't been cast as Stevie Nicks in the movie about your life that's been floating around.

No. Not happening. No. Just let Lindsay get her life together. Come on. Poor little thing. Actually no, not poor little thing. She has the ability to be a great actress. Get it together Lindsay and get your life together and don't worry about being Stevie Nicks in a movie.

HEAR In Your Dreams (Warner) out now

SEE Stevie Nicks, with Dave Stewart and Brian McFadden. Sydney Entertainment Centre, November 29. $195-$135 Ticketmaster.