Wake-up calls can come in any number of forms, and for Fleetwood Mac founder and drummer, Mick Fleetwood, it came in the form of an airport Rolex. As an original member of one of the most drama-filled bands in rock ‘n’ roll history, Fleetwood had no small shortage of contentious moments throughout his career. Some were his fault. Others weren’t.
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Among them all, Fleetwood collected a wide assortment of memories, decisions, and fleeting impulses directed at his luxury purchases that still haunt him from his time in the iconic, salacious, and highly influential band for which he and bassist John McVie are namesakes.
How a Rolex Watch Turned Into a Firm Wake-up Call
Besides their obvious hit-making capabilities, the only reputation that preceded Fleetwood Mac more than their interpersonal drama was their lavish proclivity for excess. From their many, many limousines to countless velvet bags of c****** to their pricey clothes, trips, and other expenses, the musicians of Fleetwood Mac certainly knew how to lead a rockstar lifestyle. Mick Fleetwood happened to be so good at it that by the mid-1980s, he was broke.
While taking a trip to Ghana with producer Richard Dashut, Mick Fleetwood’s accountant informed the drummer that he could no longer use his credit card. Before the bank officially cut him off, Fleetwood bought a Rolex watch at the airport out of spite. Later in the trip, he was enjoying plenty of Ghanaian c****** and alcohol when he honed in on his watch.
“The reality of the excessive life I was living and all that was running from back home hit me full force. In the moment, disgusted by myself, I smashed the gold Rolex I’d just bought on the bar,” Fleetwood wrote in his memoir, Play On: Now, Then, and Fleetwood Mac. In an interview with The Telegraph, Fleetwood revealed that he was able to fix the watch once. But he later lost it for good at a Dutch brothel. “It serves me right,” he said.
Fleetwood went bankrupt multiple times over the years, comparing himself to President Donald Trump during his conversation with The Telegraph. “I think he’s been bankrupt about seven times,” Fleetwood said. “You pay off what debts you can. You do what you are told by your accountant. I really didn’t have much to do with it. I carried on like nothing had happened.”
Other Parts of Fleetwood Mac That Haunt Mick Fleetwood
Disastrous financial woes weren’t the only storm clouds that hung over Mick Fleetwood’s head during his time with Fleetwood Mac. A band so rife with affairs and breakups and rampant drug use was bound to beget a regret or two, and Fleetwood’s affair with Stevie Nicks was no exception. The drummer told The Telegraph he regretted the way Nicks and her ex, Lindsey Buckingham, were hurt in the process. “It was all cloaked in this crazy world,” he said. “There’s no doubt that Stevie was hurt.” Fleetwood added, “I am sorry that we didn’t think about Lindsey enough.”
The band’s founding member also lamented over the loss of Peter Green, whose spiraling mental health led to his departure from the band in the early 1970s. “He haunts me,” Fleetwood said. “He was incredibly sensitive. You would have never known how much Peter was suffering. We should have realized. But we just didn’t know.”
The drummer added that he holds onto regrets about failed relationships, his at-times self-destructive need for freedom, and other decisions and mistakes he made over the years. Ultimately, it seems like a natural balancing of the other parts of Fleetwood’s personal and professional lives. He was the founding member of one of the biggest, most enduring rock bands of all time. He and his bandmates changed the sound of rock ‘n’ roll forever. Reasonable regrets aside, that’s no small accomplishment to celebrate.
Photo by Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch via Getty Images
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