Stevie Nicks has discussed her reasons for recently limiting her involvement with Fleetwood Mac, saying that she wanted to keep their tours feeling “special” for both the band and their fans.

Nicks is well-known for alternating between group and solo work, and it’s thought she’s the main reason Fleetwood Mac haven’t released a new album in recent years.

“A big band like Fleetwood Mac needs to get out of the spotlight, so that’s what we’ve done,” Nicks told TeamRock in a new interview. “We should always be off the road for three years, because when we come back it’s an event. I think that’s very important. There’s a lot of famous bands and a lot of important people out, and you’re going to make a choice of which ticket to buy, and if you haven’t seen one of them for three years or more then that’s going to be at the top of the list. It feels more special.

“And being away from each other for three years is good. It really sets you up for a good time because everything’s new and everybody’s got new stories and everybody’s been doing crazy, different things, so when you walk into rehearsal that first day everyone’s really happy to see each other. If we toured every other year it wouldn’t be like that.”

She said moving between her two roles was a “really great thing,” adding: “You can do your own thing until you get bored and then you can go to the other thing and do that until you start to get bored, and then you can go back to the other thing. It helps you stay more excited and uplifted for what you do so you’re not just doing one thing year after year.”

The main advantage of going solo was that she could be the boss, she continued. “I’ve decided I do like being the boss, but I’ve been in Fleetwood Mac for so long I understand how to not be the boss and be part of a team and a team player and it’s okay. Part of it knocks your ego down, makes you humble. So there’s a lot of good things about being in a band.”

In the absence of Nicks’s contribution to a Mac album, rhythm section Mick Fleetwood and John McVie appeared on last year’s self-titled Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie duet LP.

 

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