Mick Fleetwood Shares The Real Drug Experience Of Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac may be known for their dreamy melodies and soft harmonies, but behind the scenes, they were riding a storm of sex, drugs, and drama. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, they were living the ultimate rock ’n’ roll lifestyle—fast, wild, and without a pause button. While their music career soared, their personal lives spiraled. The entire band was caught in a whirlwind of drug-fueled highs, emotional breakups, and constant tension.

Fueled by the White Powder

In their heyday, Fleetwood Mac could out-party just about any band on the planet. Cocaine wasn’t just part of the scene—it was a core part of their daily routine. Whether they were recording classics like Rumours or Tusk, or heading on stage to play packed arenas, the drug was always close by. It started as something recreational, but eventually, it took over their lives.

“We were rock ’n’ roll’s biggest party,” the band could easily claim. But while the world danced to their hits, their relationships were falling apart. Incredibly, all that personal chaos helped fuel the band’s greatest records. Still, the cost was high.

Stevie Nicks’ Breaking Point

After Tusk, the band took a brief break and then came back for Mirage in 1982. But the break didn’t slow down Stevie Nicks’ habit—it actually got worse. Her best friend died, she was under pressure launching a solo career, and she was using more than ever. By the time they started work on Tango in the Night, Nicks said she was “the worst drug addict” in the band. “I was a girl, I was fragile, and I was doing a lot of coke. And I had that hole in my nose. So it was dangerous.”

Eventually, she checked herself into rehab. “I managed to save myself. I got through some pretty scary moments, but I saved me, nobody else saved me,” she told Tim McGraw in 2021. “I survived me. I survived my cocaine. I survived by myself. I checked myself into rehab. Nobody did that for me. I did it and that’s like with my whole life.”

The Seven-Mile Estimate

While Nicks was the one who got professional help, every member of Fleetwood Mac had their own struggle with cocaine. Mick Fleetwood once estimated just how much the band went through. “I guess we figured we did X amount a day, and then some goofball got out a calculator and came up with that seven miles figure and said, ‘Isn’t that funny?’ And it sort of is. But not in the context of where I want to end up,” he told The Sun.

Thankfully, Fleetwood said the habit faded with time. “There was never a conscious decision on my part to stop that lifestyle. I think it naturally just drifted away.”

Surviving the Madness

Fleetwood Mac is one of the rare bands that went through the rock ‘n’ roll blender and lived to tell the tale. They had the fame, the fortune, and the demons that came with both. The fact that none of them died from their excesses is a miracle. But maybe even more miraculous is how they turned all that pain into some of the most powerful music of their time—and how Stevie Nicks, against all odds, came out stronger on the other side.