Mick Fleetwood Remembers Fleetwood Mac’s Unusual Early Taste in Stage Props
Today, Fleetwood Mac is one of the biggest bands in the world -- but once upon a time, they were just another young blues band, schlepping through British pubs and struggling to come up with a way to set themselves apart from the competition. And, as drummer Mick Fleetwood recalled during a recent interview, they definitely found one.
Talking to Playboy (natch), Fleetwood looked back on the Mac's earliest gigs, recalling, "We wanted to stand out from all the other Englishmen playing traditional blues, so we never held back. I used to play with a massive dildo stuck to the top of my bass drum so the thing would wiggle front and center through the entire set."
And now that you have that image burned into your brain for all eternity, here's another one: "We used to cover Elvis," added Fleetwood, "and for [bassist John McVie's] number he'd pull his bass up high and put that thing through his zipper. He'd be there doing Elvis' hubba-hubba routine with this massive black c--- hanging out of his trousers." As you might imagine, their taste in stage props wasn't always shared by the audience. "That little gag almost got us killed by the sheriff's department when we played some Christian college in Texas," he chuckled.
Of course, these days, Fleetwood Mac's biggest problem as a touring act is simply finding the time to get on stage together. As we reported earlier this month, Fleetwood doesn't think the band will ever tour again, thanks to Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham's current focus on their solo careers. Perhaps it'll take something massive to prod them back into active duty, Mick? Just a thought.