The Stevie Nicks song she wanted to feature Sting
With and without Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks has enjoyed a glittering career, which has seen her become one of the most reputable names in the world of music. For many, she’s perched at the top of their list of dream collaborations, yet, on one occasion, Nicks was too nervous to contact Sting despite wanting him to appear in a song.
The former frontman of The Police isn’t afraid of working with other artists, even if it seems an unnatural fit on paper. Most notably, he joined forces with ‘It Wasn’t Me’ singer Shaggy for the collaborative album 44/876 in 2018, which later won a Grammy for ‘Best Reggae Album’. In all likelihood, if the Fleetwood Mac singer had followed through with her aspirations to make an offer to Sting, he’d have accepted the invitation within a heartbeat.
While Nicks and Stings may seem an unlikely pairing, she once took influence from The Police’s track ‘Bring On The Night’ on her hit single ‘Edge of Seventeen’. However, despite her wishes, the duo have never collaborated.
When it came to recording her 2001 album Trouble in Shangri-La, Nicks decided to enlist help from a selection of artists she admired. The Chicks singer Natalie Maines duetted with her on ‘Too Far from Texas’ and Macy Gray assisted with vocals on ‘Bombay Sapphire’, but Sting was originally Nicks’ first choice.
During an interview with Q in 2001, Nicks revealed: “The only reason Macy is on the record is because we’re managed by the same people. Originally, I wanted Sting to sing that little high part on Bombay Sapphire, but I chickened out on calling him, and I asked Macy to do it.”
Although her management team was responsible for bringing Gray on board with the project, it proved to be a masterstroke, with Nicks adding: “Her vibe is so wild, so intense. She walks into the room, and it’s like everything starts to move. She’s like a walking tornado. She’s a total blast. We had a great time working on the song. Our voices blended so well together.”
Sting may have never been approached to appear on ‘Bombay Sapphire’, but Nicks has no regrets about how the track panned out. However, at one stage, the track almost didn’t make the final cut of Trouble in Shangri-La due to issues with the recording. Nicks was left “horrified” because it contained a message of the utmost importance to her, but thankfully it was resurrected.
She explained: “My personal favourite [song on Trouble in Shangri-La] is ‘Bombay Sapphire.’ When it says, ‘I can see past you to the white sand,’ that sentence right there is the whole reason for ‘Bombay Sapphire.’ It means that I’m really trying to get over something, and though I’m freaked out about it, I’m looking to the green ocean and can see past all of these problems to the incredibly beautiful white sand and the ocean beyond it. I’m gonna be okay because I am movin’ past you.”
The track was written in Hawaii, with the picturesque setting inspiring Nicks to look optimistically into the future and not allow herself to get beaten up by her past defeats. While she dreamt of Sting’s Geordie tones on ‘Bombay Sapphire’, Gray rose to the occasion and helped the Fleetwood Mac singer spread a poignant message of positivity.
