Stevie Nicks and
Lindsey Buckingham Speak
(And Counter-Speak!)
By Chris Willman
Yahoo Music
The year 2013 will mark the 40th anniversary of the introduction of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to the world—not as members of Fleetwood Mac, but as part of what we can think of as a prequel, their Buckingham/Nicks duo act. The timing may be coincidental, but there will be plenty of celebrating going on, as Fleetwood Mac heads out on the road for the first time in three years. Tickets just went on sale for a nine-week, 34-city tour that begins April 4 and includes stops at Madison Square Garden April 8 the Hollywood Bowl May 25.
Nicks and Buckingham sat for separate interviews with Yahoo!, and we were fascinated to find points of convergence on certain issues and divergence on others. For instance, they agree that they’re getting along better than they have in many years. They differ on why that is—but with these two, and the harmonic tension that has always played into fans’ fascination with Fleetwood Mac, would you want it any other way?
Buckingham put it this way, on the group’s cycles of coming apart and back together: “Unlike some groups like the Eagles who always seem to know what they want and —and they most of the time seem to want it at the same time, and there’s something to be admired about that—we are a group who clearly you could make a case for saying does not even belong being in the same group together. A group of people with our sensibilities can be seen as so different at times that you could say, ‘What are these guys doing in the same band?’ But it’s the synergy of that that makes it work. There’s also a far more political landscape that exists because of that.”
These so-called politics led to a dispute over which year this tour would take place, and whether there would be a new album to tour behind or not. But for fans who like product, there is the promise of two newly recorded singles, a Rumours deluxe reissue, and maybe even a Buckingham/Nicks reissue with a new song. And both Stevie and Lindsey sound energized by the prospect of getting out to play arenas again after their respective solo jaunts of the last two years.
Still, there were just enough differences in their takes on this latest iteration of Mac coming back together that we thought we’d present it as a “he said/she said.” May their fruitful near-harmoniousness never cease.
THE TOUR DELAY
The original plan had been for Fleetwood Mac to hit the road in 2012. What happened? Mick Fleetwood went on record complaining that Nicks had stalled their plans by continuing her solo tour an extra year. She was not pleased about being called out for that.
Stevie:
“ I completely beat Mick up about that, because he was not thinking when he did that article (
Playboy Article March, 2012). Mick knows more than anybody how loyal I am to Fleetwood Mac. When I went to do my solo career in 1981, I sat everybody down and said, ‘Listen, I am not leaving Fleetwood Mac ever. And you can believe me, that’s a promise. I am only doing a solo career because I have so many extra songs that I need another vehicle, so that when we come home and you guys all go off on these great big vacations, I’ll just go and work on a record and then I’ll go out and do a three-month tour, and then I’ll be ready when you start up again. I’m never going to be the one to break up this band, so don’t ever put that on me.’ And I have been true to my word through everything.”
Lindsey:
“Yes, Fleetwood Mac was supposed to be going out last year and touring, and yes, Stevie’s reneging on that did cause a certain amount of frustration in the ranks. But you know, I don’t think there’s any way you can point fingers at anybody. We’ve all been ones to cause trouble at one time or another. And I would not begrudge her—nor did I begrudge her—following her bliss to the point of getting to 2013.”
Stevie:
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“In May 2011 I released my solo record In Your Dreams, which is my heart, my favorite record I’ve ever done. I had a long talk with Mick in maybe October going into November 2011, and they really wanted to tour last year. I said no—no—for two reasons: ‘I believe that In Your Dreams deserves another year, because in this day and age of the music business being in such dire straits, as far as getting your record company to spend any money, I’m my own person who’s backing up this record. It’s not Warner Bros. So I’m going back out next year and I’m gonna tour all next year for In Your Dreams, and I will be available to Fleetwood Mac January 2013.’ And number two, in my opinion, there should always be three years between Fleetwood Mac tours. Because—as we have always been told by our managers, who are very creative—you should get out of the public eye. Because if you just saw us a year and a half ago, we’re not gonna be at the top of your priority list the summer of 2012. If you want to make your show an event, the best thing is to get out of the spotlight for three years. Now it’s the perfect harmonic convergence. And everybody now is definitely knowing that I was right. They always have to admit it somewhere down the line.”
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