Stevie Nicks once picked the only true “pop star” in Fleetwood Mac
What is there to say about Fleetwood Mac? They are arguably one of the most talented and complicated bands on the planet, as their music has stood the test of time and is still responsible for filling dancefloors worldwide; however, the band’s inner dynamic meant there was constant tension building, and when members started leaving, Fleetwood Mac was a ticking time bomb.
Many people look at being in a famous rock band and think it could be their dream job, and who could blame them? You make a lot of money doing it, are exposed to some of life’s luxuries, and walk out on stage to thousands of adoring fans every night. However, things are a lot more complex than that, and Fleetwood Mac would attest to it.
As members started relationships with one another, love triangles formed, breakups ensued, and there were persistent arguments. Pair that with the pressures that come with writing creatively, having to deliver stellar music and being on tour for elongated periods meant that the dynamic within a band can quickly crumble. Eventually, the pros of being in the band are massively outweighed by the cons.
Fleetwood Mac certainly suffered because of the tension within the group, to the point that books were published that told degrading stories about members, and in each member’s respective solo career, they would write about one another and call out their behaviour.
When asked about the dynamic within Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks puts group harmony down to one person, who she also called the only pop star in the band. Once they left, it was only a matter of time before things started to crumble. “The loss of Christine has been gigantic,” she said, “Before she left, there was Lindsey the gnarly gnome, Stevie the miserable, philosophical fairy and Christine the pop star.”
Nicks continued to describe what Christine McVie brought to the group dynamic, “She was happy. She was able to rein everybody in. She’s five years older than me and six years older than Lindsey. She had a lot of power in this band,” she said. “She was older, she was smarter, and she had been through more. So we miss her terribly and if there was any way to get her back, we would. But she’s finished. She has no interest.”
It could be argued that Fleetwood Mac was never going to last with their peak line-up, given there was too much tension within the band for there to realistically be any kind of chance of longevity. That being said, if McVie had stuck around for a bit longer, maybe Nicks would have been right, and the band might have lasted. That remains to be seen, but it is worth considering what would have happened had McVie not gone her own way.
