{"id":846441,"date":"2026-09-13T14:30:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/846441\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T14:30:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:30:20","slug":"the-dysfunctional-fleetwood-mac-album-that-sold-15-million-copies-in-1987","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/846441\/","title":{"rendered":"The “dysfunctional” Fleetwood Mac album that sold 15 million copies in 1987"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Stevie<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ YouTube Still<\/p>\n

Sun 13 September 2026 12:27, UK <\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that the dysfunctional nature was a pivotal recipe for Fleetwood Mac<\/a>\u2018s success. The band were constantly at one another\u2019s throats, creating what can only be perceived with hindsight as helpful inspiration. <\/p>\n

Despite the best intentions of each member, things never seemed to turn out how they envisaged. While the issues during the recording process of\u00a0Rumours\u00a0are highly documented, it wasn\u2019t the only Fleetwood Mac album made amid a wave of chaos.<\/p>\n

Lindsey Buckingham once used the Eagles as an example of how a band should operate, stating that Fleetwood Mac worked in an entirely polarising manner. Rather than pulling in the same direction, they were rarely on the same page, but somehow, it worked. Although this absurd level of bedlam would have made most bands split, Fleetwood Mac used it to mine for magic.<\/p>\n

Buckingham explained to Rolling Stone in 2012: \u201cIt also sort of makes us the anti-Eagles, in terms of never, ever being on the same page. One thing I admire about the Eagles is they always seem to know what they want. They always seem to know why they want it. They always seem to want it at the same time. We\u2019re just the opposite. It\u2019s kind of a political minefield out there. It\u2019s interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 1980s were an interesting period, on a personal level, for Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac. Following the release of\u00a0Tusk, they each went off in their own directions, with the guitarist releasing his debut album,\u00a0Law and Order, before reuniting with the band to release\u00a0Mirage. Buckingham then went solo once more for\u00a0Go Insane\u00a0ahead of the recording of\u00a0Tango In The Night<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"Fleetwood<\/a>Credit: Far Out \/ IMDB<\/p>\n

The latter marked Fleetwood Mac\u2019s first album in five years and was their classic line-up\u2019s final full studio LP. The record took 18 months to complete, and most of Stevie Nicks\u2019 contributions were largely carried out remotely due to her solo tour. Meanwhile, Mick Fleetwood\u2019s cocaine addiction had become uncontrollable, and Buckingham, who wasn\u2019t sober by any stretch of the imagination, was left trying to pick up the pieces.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Uproxx<\/a>, Buckingham explained: \u201cA lot of what I learned making Go Insane crossed over into Tango In The Night. But it was challenging because everyone was starting to hit the wall with their substance and alcohol use. Everyone was pretty dysfunctional, so it was a chaotic environment. The upside to that was I was able to employ a lot of things that were just straight from me \u2014 it was recorded completely at my house \u2014 that otherwise would have had to be navigated more on a political level.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cBut everyone was just kind of up for whatever at that point. And that was actually a help, in terms of me connecting the dots between\u00a0Go Insane\u00a0and\u00a0Tango In The Night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Problems can naturally become a hindrance to creative endeavours, but they can also help to streamline one\u2019s thinking, or at least the collective thinking of a group. The practical nature of Buckingham meant that he could be the conduit for the band\u2019s artistic endeavours while the artists behind them could deal with their own lives. It left Buckingham in his favourite spot: the centre of it all. <\/p>\n

By the time the album was completed, Buckingham had mentally checked out of the band and, for his own sanity, needed to get away for his own well-being. However, they had a world tour scheduled to take place, but he couldn\u2019t face it and handed in his notice.<\/p>\n

Buckingham explained his decision: \u201cI didn\u2019t want to do the tour, because it had been, like I said, very chaotic. It had been a big party for the year or whatever it had taken us to do that album. Mick, for most of the time, was living in a trailer in my front yard. Out of close to the year that it took us to make the album, I think we saw Stevie a handful of weeks. I was afraid to put myself in the middle of that on the road, because the road tends to be 10 times the party that the studio is.\u201d<\/p>\n

After spending the better part of a year trying to keep that environment pointed towards a finished record, volunteering for an even less controlled version of it understandably held little appeal. In the studio, Buckingham could at least turn the disorder into something tangible, obsessing over arrangements and production until the chaos sounded immaculate.<\/p>\n

Looking back at that \u201cchallenging\u201d time, Buckingham doesn\u2019t regret anything about the album or his decision to leave. \u201cI was happy that we had triumphed with the album and had seen it through, under what could certainly be called adverse conditions. I just felt it was time to take a little breather for me,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n

Listen to \u2018Little Lies\u2019<\/a> from Tango In The Night below.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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