Mick Fleetwood says he can’t remember two years of his life after heavy cocaine use

Musician said his drug habit 'got out of hand way after the making of Rumours'

Louis Chilton
Friday 05 February 2021 20:16 GMT
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Fleetwood Mac perform at Isle of Wight Festival 2015

Fleetwood Mac co-founder Mick Fleetwood has suggested that he cannot remember two years of his life due to heavy cocaine use.

The drummer claimed that there was a period in his life when he was not working, about which he is unable to recall any specifics.

Speaking to Classic Rock magazine, Fleetwood said: “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,” he added. “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?”

Read more: How Fleetwood Mac keep rising from the ashes of their self-destruction

The drummer then said that his drug habit “got out of hand way after the making of Rumours”, the band’s beloved 1977 album.

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

Both Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks have spoken openly about the band's drug use in the past.

Talking to The Independent in 2019, Fleetwood said: “Cocaine was everywhere, people who worked in banks [used it].

“Personally, I had a run on that lifestyle, but fortunately, I didn’t get into any other type of drug that would have been more damaging – I don’t even know why, but I’m very thankful.”

Last year, the band’s 1977 single “Dreams” experienced a resurgence in the charts after a TikTok video of a man skateboarding and drinking juice while playing the song went viral.

If you have been affected by this article, you can contact the following organisations for support: mind.org.ukactiononaddiction.org.ukmentalhealth.org.uk.

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