Feb 5, 2021
Nick Reilly
NME Online

“I remember not working for two years. I can’t even remember what I did”

Fleetwood Mac‘s Mick Fleetwood has revealed that he can’t remember two years of his life, after previously battling a heavy cocaine habit.

The drummer explained that there was a period “way after” making the iconic 1977 album ‘Rumours’ when he didn’t work for two years and has no recollection of his life during the period.

He told Classic Rock magazine: “There’s no doubt we were well equipped with the marching powder. That’s a well-worn fairytale that gets more like a war story, that gets more and more aggrandised.

I’m not minimalising the fact that we were definitely partaking in that lifestyle.

“But these weren’t a bunch of people crawling across the floor with green froth coming out of their mouths, we were working, you know?

“That went on for a long, long time, Stevie Nicks has addressed it, so I’m not divulging anything that she hasn’t spoken about.

“It got out of hand way after the making of ‘Rumours’. I remember not working for two years. I can’t even remember what I did.”

Fleetwood went to confirm that he was the “party animal” in the band, but described bandmate Stevie Nicks as “a close second.”

His comments come after Nicks previously admitted she regrets doing so many drugs during her career.

In the past Nicks has admitted to spending “millions” on cocaine and the band would often indulge in binges before they went onstage.

“Yes, it (doing drugs) was a lot of fun between 1975 and 1990 – until it wasn’t,” she recalled. “I walk onstage every night now and do a three-hour show with Fleetwood Mac, and I have a great time up there.

“I wish I had known that I actually had the energy to do this entire set totally sober and get just as excited. On one hand, that makes me feel great and on the other it makes me sad that I ever did my first line of coke.”

Last month, Mick Fleetwood sold his share of Fleetwood Mac’s royalties to BMG, it has been announced.

The label has acquired the musician’s outright royalty interest in over 300 of the band’s recordings across all of their albums, except for their first two LPs – 1968’s self-titled album and ‘Mr. Wonderful’.

It has not been disclosed how much Fleetwood sold his share for, but the musician described the deal as “a wonderfully inspiring marriage between two creative partners that understand all aspects of the business”.

Fleetwood Mac’s songs have continued to resonate with fans around the globe, with their ‘Don’t Stop’ greatest hits finishing as the 10th biggest-selling album last year and ‘Rumours’ topping 2020’s annual vinyl album chart.