This meant that the American
audience was more open to what
Fleetwood Mac was trying to achieve. It
sounds odd by today’s standards, but to
have two women providing the creativity
and, more importantly, fulfilling the
job of a front man was something of
a novel concept in the mid-seventies.
Most rock bands were utterly devoted to
the concept of having a male rock god
out there fronting the group. Female
performers were for the most part either
successful solo singers or banished to the
harmony department. For such macho
figures as Mick Fleetwood and John
McVie to relinquish this age-old status
was revolutionary, and something of a
revelation for the time.
More to the point, the approach
proved highly successful. Stephanie
Nicks, as she was first named, shone as
the group’s feisty lead singer. She was the
foxy lady personified, and exuded that
kind of passionate, fiery aura that Mick
Jagger achieved with his lips and hips.
Putting the attractive duo of Nicks and
Christine McVie together on stage proved
to be a highly lucrative combination, as
American audiences were more likely to
accept a good image even if the product
wasn’t completely ready.
At this time Stevie Nicks must have
felt like she was living in a fairy tale,
going from rags to riches in less than a
year. The one-time waitress and cleaner
found herself propelled to the dizzy
heights of rock’s royalty faster than you
can say ‘millionaire’. Many people might
have lost themselves in such a rapid
transition from anonymity to stardom,and it says volumes about her character,
and perhaps about how solid she was in
her hippie ideals, that Stevie didn’t let
it all go to her head. As 1976 unfolded
it became clear that the band’s success
had divided Stevie and Lindsey, while
John and Christine were as usual living
in separated disharmony. Mick, who
was supposed to be the solid, father-
type figure of the band, was pressed
to the point of splitting with his wife
and divorcing her – before they got
remarried, and then divorced once more.
It probably would have been worthwhile
for Fleetwood Mac to have employed
a marriage guidance counsellor on the
permanent payroll of back then, as he or
she would have certainly had some serious
work to do.
Despite all this emotional turmoil
going on behind the scenes, each member
had a strong commitment to the band
that kept them going. Somehow, they
never let personal problems supersede
the demands of the group. No matter
what, Fleetwood Mac and the fans
came first and foremost in all their lives,
and the band members were self-aware
enough to realise they’d never get such
a chance to make it big again. Amidst
the soap opera, Warner Brothers were
on their case looking for another album
and the next string of hits. Rather than
succumbing to the emotional divides in
the band, the songwriters went away and
put it all down in material that would
make the next album. That this album
would be the greatest breakthrough for
the group and one of its all-time best
sellers says something about the nature of
the creative process and its relationship
to trauma.
It was Eric Clapton who admitted
that there was nothing worse than being
happily ensconced in a relationship to
dry up all his creative juices. He went
as far as purposely wrecking any stable
relationship with his partner just so he
could come up with a bit of angst and few
good tunes for his next album. This was
one problem that Fleetwood Mac never
suffered, for there was no shortage of
stress and arguments between the couples
in the band, and such troubled waters led
them to produce some of their lifetimes’
best work in the shape of Rumours. The
comings and goings of each band member
had certainly given the West Coast press
more than enough to chew on, and it was
this capitalising on seedy, showbiz gossip
that prompted the band to call the album
Rumours.
With their choice of album title, it
seemed the group had maintained theirStevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham on stage in Summer 1980.