Stevie Nicks reveals drug addiction danger

Stevie Nicks says while she and the rest of Fleetwood Mac took drugs in the 70s, her addiction was worse than any of her bandmates’.

And her friend Tom Petty reveals her coke habit was so bad, he wouldn’t have been surprised if he got a call telling him she had died.

Nicks tells Rolling Stone: “All of us were drug addicts. But there was a point where I was the worst drug addict. I was a girl, I was fragile and I was doing a lot of coke. I had that hole in my nose – so it was dangerous.”

And Petty reveals he desperately tried to get her to stop as he was so worried about her health.

He adds: “I did all I could to talk her into getting some help and getting right. I was very worried about her to the point that if the phone did ring and they said, ‘Stevie died,’ I wouldn’t have been surprised.”

Nicks also reveals she could have been tempted to leave Fleetwood Mac to join Petty as a member of the Heartbreakers if the frontman had asked.

She continues: “Had Tom Petty called me up one day and said, ‘If you want to leave Fleetwood Mac to be in the Heartbreakers, there’s a place for you,’ I might well have done it. Anytime! Today!

“We choose to stay because we can’t do anything else. None of us are ever going to stand up and say, ‘I’m going to make my own choice for the first time in my life, and I’m going away, and I don’t know if I’m coming back.”

She also admits she still occasionally smokes dope to help the creative process of writing songs – although she says she now knows her limits.

She adds: “When I’m writing, I will allow myself to smoke a little bit of pot. It’s my one little thing that I can do. I use it as a tool, and I’m very careful – and I get results.

“However, if I thought it was going to lead me back to something worse, I’d stop.”

Nicks released 23 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault last year and hinted she could release a follow-up in the future. She’s currently working on the upcoming as-yet-untiled Fleetwood Mac album and heads out on tour with the band on an 18-date UK and Ireland tour in May.

Fleetwood Mac UK and Ireland tour dates

May 27: London O2

May 28: London O2

Jun 08: Birmingham Genting Arena

Jun 09: Birmingham Genting Arena

Jun 12: Manchester Arena

Jun 14: Isle Of Wight festival

Jun 16: Glasgow SSE Hydro

Jun 17: Glasgow SSE Hydro

Jun 20: Dublin 3Arena

Jun 22: London O2

Jun 24: London O2

Jun 27: London O2

Jun 30: Leeds First Direct Arena

Jul 01: Manchester Arena

Jul 04: Birmingham Genting Arena

Jul 05: Leeds First Direct Arena

Jul 08: Glasgow SSE Hydro

Jul 10: Dublin 3Arena

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.