A MOSTLY AWOL STEVIE NICKS WAS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG WHEN IT CAME TO THE DIFFICULT BIRTH OF THE BAND’S 14TH STUDIO ALBUM. SO HOW DID A MASTERCLASS IN POP COME OUT OF SUCH AN APPARENT TRAINWRECK?
FELIX ROWE
FLEETWOOD MAC
“Everyone is a little crazy underneath the surface, I just think that we’re a bit more exposed than most.” So said Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham in 1987, upon the release of the group’s latest record, Tango In The Night. As even the most casual observer knows, Fleetwood Mac’s offstage domestics are as legendary as their back catalogue. But then, for this group, the art and the antics are inseparable.
The Buckingham-Nicks soap opera is woven into the very fabric of the classic line-up; an integral ingredient in their unique chemistry. Rumours, of course, is the infamous embodiment of that, but Tango In The Night, released a decade later, remains true to form. Contemporary interviews with Lindsey and Stevie, and John and Christine McVie, on NBC’s Today show are quite literally couples therapy, albeit with an audience of millions. Speaking of the band’s domestic arrangements in somewhat understated fashion, Buckingham acknowledged “an interesting tension from time to time”. Meanwhile, Nicks has since noted that recording vocal parts for the album in her ex-boyfriend’s bedroom was not a healthy experience.
When one considers Tango’s fractious gestation – a group of headstrong individuals pulling in five different directions – it’s a miracle it was even completed. At this point in the mid-80s, the various members were largely concerned with their own solo careers. Only bassist, John McVie was yet to take the plunge.
Drink and drugs were still very much on the menu, too. Nicks was overcoming a spiralling cocaine addiction, while John McVie’s drinking led to a life-changing seizure that made him kick alcohol for good. The last couple of group efforts had failed to match their earlier success, and a new Fleetwood Mac record felt more like a contractual obligation than something to celebrate.
A COMMERCIAL TRIUMPH
Despite the odds stacked against it, Tango In The Night is actually rather special. Not only a surprisingly coherent collection, it’s an ambitious and intricate production, that’s simultaneously accessible and immediate. It was a new commercial peak for the Mac containing some of the group’s finest work, hitting the UK top spot three times, and eventually shifting over 15 million units. While the album sounded truly fantastic upon release, it
