What Stevie Nicks' Former Bandmates Have Said About Her

By the mid-1970s, the British band Fleetwood Mac had already enjoyed a successful career, with several hits on both sides of the Atlantic since their formation in London in 1967. Named after drummer Mick Fleetwood and John "Mac" McVie, the band was known for its heavy blues rock sound which chimed with the psychedelic trends of the day.

But all that changed in 1975, when the band added two new members: Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, two American songwriters who would go on to become arguably Fleetwood Mac's most recognizable members. Under the influence of Buckingham and Nicks, the band went into the stratosphere with their brand of catchy pop-rock, after which Nicks herself would become a major solo star (she was inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice: once with Fleetwood Mac and again on her own merits). But while Nicks' journey to pop royalty has seen her go from strength to strength, her relationships with the other members of the band that made her a legend have been interesting, to say the least. 

Here is what the most successful Fleetwood Mac line-up — the one that created the bestselling album "Rumours" in 1977, and which Nicks has said has "no chance" of reforming after the death of member Christine McVie in 2022 (per People) — has had to say about Nicks over the years.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham had already performed together for several years before joining Fleetwood Mac, first in the short-lived psychedelic outfit Fritz and later as a duo, Buckingham Nicks, releasing a self-titled album in 1973. By then, they were also a romantic couple, but their relationship began to break down during the recording of "Rumours." Though they continued to work together, thereafter they have been unsteady collaborators. In 2018, Buckingham was fired from the band, a contentious moment that saw their rocky relationship back in the spotlight and Nicks accused of threatening to walk if Buckingham was allowed to join their latest tour. "I think she saw the possibility of remaking the band more in the Stevie Nicks vein," Buckingham told The LA Times. "More mellow and kind of down, giving her more chances to do the kind of talking she does onstage."

Though Nicks pushed back against the accusations, Buckingham was pitying in his characterization of his former bandmate. "You could do a whole analysis on Stevie at this point in her life and what she's allowed to happen and what she's allowed to slip away from her," he said. "Her creativity, at least for a while, it seemed like she wasn't in touch with that. Same with the level of energy she once had onstage. I think that was hard for her, seeing me jump around in an age-inappropriate way. Also, she's lonely. She's alone. She has the people who work for her, and I'm sure she has friends, but you know."

Christine McVie had been a member of Fleetwood Mac for around five years when the band saw the arrival of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham. McVie had provided vocals for some of the band's biggest songs to that point, and would continue to do so during their commercial high, including the "Rumours" hits "You Make Loving Fun" and "Don't Stop." Nevertheless, she found herself overshadowed by her new female bandmate, who was five years younger and credited with providing the band with a new mystical aesthetic which audiences took to in droves.

McVie admitted that she initially felt insecure about Nicks' arrival, but later made peace with her role in the band, taking comfort in their contrasting talents. "For a while, sure, I got jealous," McVie said in a TikTok clip (per Louder). "It didn't last long. You realize what your role is and my role is being part of what John and Mick is and not being a frontliner. I could no more do twirls in chiffon than Stevie could play the blues on the piano."

Despite the numerous tensions within the band, Nicks and McVie later enjoyed a close friendship. "Stevie is straight as an arrow," she said in a 2014 Rolling Stone interview. "She's very direct, very honest, very self-obsessed in a way. And I don't mean that in a bad way. She has her brand, you know? She's an icon. She's a genius. She's a lovely, kind, beautiful woman and I love her to death. She and I are different, and I can't not love the woman; she's just amazing. She's very, very generous in every, single department."

Mick Fleetwood had seen a great deal of change during the first eight years of Fleetwood Mac, including a revolving door of musicians. As well as the arrival of founder John McVie's wife Christine three years after the band's formation, the early years of the band saw the loss of several influential members including a succession of guitarists: Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, Bob Welch, and Bob Weston, the last of which left after an affair with Fleetwood's wife. It was after such departures that the band recruited Lindsey Buckingham, who agreed to join on the proviso that his romantic and musical partner Stevie Nicks could join too. Fortunately, the band accepted.

Fleetwood and Nicks would go on to have a two-year affair at the height of their fame, amid the fallout of Nicks and Buckingham's relationship breakdown, which he admits caused a great deal of drama all around. "I am sorry that we didn't think about Lindsey enough," Fleetwood said, per The Telegraph. "We just thought he was okay, but he needed to be acknowledged."

Reflecting on the state of the former couple's working relationship, Fleetwood said in 2024: "It's no secret, it's no tittle-tattle that there is a brick wall there emotionally ... Stevie's able to speak clearly about how she feels and doesn't feel, as does Lindsey. But I'll say, personally, I would love to see a healing between them — and that doesn't have to take the shape of a tour, necessarily" (per Billboard).

Bassist John McVie is the least well-known member of the classic Fleetwood Mac line-up, but he provided an important thread of continuity in the band alongside drummer Mick Fleetwood. He also provided the memorable bass lines underpinning the songs written by Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and his wife Christine during the band's imperial period.

In a 2004 interview Q&A organized by Penguin, McVie remembered the awe he felt on the arrival of Nicks and Buckingham in 1975. "We rehearsed in the basement of our agent and I remember them doing a 'three-part' for the first time," he wrote (per FleetwoodMac.net). "Goosebumps! Very exciting! Lindsey's playing blew me away. Stevie's voice and songs. Yes, you could say I was impressed!" He also echoed his ex-wife's account of Nicks, describing a friendship underpinned by the latter's directness. 

"I'd like to think that Stevie and I are and always have been, friends. She's a great lady. She can be very funny and you always know where you stand with her. She also has one of the dirtiest laughs I've heard from a woman!" He also claimed he never knew about Nicks' affair with Fleetwood until it was revealed in the latter's autobiography.