(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Fri 22 August 2025 20:00, UK
Greats working with greats – that’s been the tone of Stevie Nicks’ career. From the second her and Lindsey Buckingham were swept up in the world of Fleetwood Mac, they were amongst the elites, not just with their bandmates, but with the entire world of rock and roll as their various idols and peers began to pay attention and never stopped.
From the beginning, though, it wasn’t so much about being admired by others, but instead, Nicks has clearly always loved working alongside them. Way back at the start, it was her early creative partnership with Buckingham that spurred her on, teaching her how to take her own poetic lyricism and apply it to different textures. They were always yin and yang in a lot of ways and when they came together, it made the whole package that has captured Nicks’ fans ever since.
Leather and lace; they’re the two sides of it. Nicks always brings the lace in the form of her beautiful words, hypnotic presence and beautiful voice, but through her collaborations and work with other players, she’s learnt to be the leather too as she transformed into one of rock’s leading figures, able to roll with the best of them.
It’s a long list of the best of them. Throughout her career, at each and every turn, she’s found herself next to people she deeply admires, working alongside them. Don Henley, Tom Petty, BB King, Dave Grohl. Even moving forwards to modern times, collaboration remains the key way that she connects with artists she loves but perhaps now it’s more her taking them under her wing as she worked with the likes of Haim and Lana Del Rey.
But back in 1989, one collaboration was more than just a musical coming together; it was a much-needed boost of confidence.
By the time she was crafting The Other Side Of The Mirror, Nicks had been going through it. There had been all the trials of Fleetwood Mac, but there had also been her own personal struggles with addiction. By the time the 1990s were knocking, she needed a way to reinvigorate herself and feel assured again, and Mike Campbell offered her that.
Given her long running connection with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Campbell was no stranger to her. Instead, he was a dear friend, but still one she greatly admired so when they decided to write ‘Whole Lotta Trouble’ together, there was a mix of familiarity and nerves.
“I recorded this song in Michael’s room in Sydney, Australia, on his 4-track. I actually played guitar, and almost a year later, Michael had worked up a track right along with what I had played in Australia,” Nicks recalled of the song. As someone who’s never been all that confident of their guitar skills, this was a real moment. Not only was she brave enough to play in front of Campbell, but he was listening and working to her playing.
“He wrote a bridge for it, and when I got home from MY tour, he insisted I come up and sing it exactly as I had played it that night; and he could play his track right along with me playing rock and roll guitar,” she said, adding gushingly, “I was totally flattered.”
To have a guitarist she revered want to work with her own guitar playing? That was the boost she needed.
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