Janet Jackson and Stevie Nicks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Stevie Nicks became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, with Janet Jackson becoming the youngest member of the Jackson clan to enter the hall (March 30).
AP
She is an ethereal rock goddess.
The high priestess of the magical mystery story.
And now Stevie Nicks is a Barbie too.
On Monday, Nicks’ plastic figure will be unveiled as a Barbie Music Collector doll at the Mattel Shop. The $55 mini Stevie wears a flowing black “Rumours”-era dress and cape, black platform boots and holds a tambourine decorated with streamers. Somehow he also manages to translate Nicks’ seductive look.
Nick’s enthusiasm for being portrayed in iconic character form is enchanting as the 75-year-old Fleetwood Mac expert talks to us about the doll that has her “soul,” her emotional reaction to the “Barbie” movie and how she misses Christine McVie.
More: ‘Barbie’ Review: Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling shine in an incredibly exhilarating toy story
Question: How did you react when you heard Mattel wanted to make a Barbie for you?
Answer: Honestly, I tend to think that every woman in the world would like to make it into a Barbie, but they know that won’t happen. When I found this out, I was really transported back to when the first Barbies came out in 1959 and my mother bought me a Barbie. She always collected dolls and I got involved with Fleetwood Mac, a doll collector. When I saw Margot Robbie standing in that swimsuit (in the “Barbie” movie), I thought: That’s my doll. All these years I wanted to be and look exactly like that – Margot Robbie in a swimsuit and high heels with her hair on her head.
How much creative input did you have? Because they not only hit your clothes, but also your look.
Mattel gave me a lot of platform to be creative and I jumped right on that platform. I said, “I’ll send you my original Rumors outfit that’s boxed up and we’ll dig it out and I’ll get the boots from the Italian shoemaker who’s great and made all my boots.” Boots until he died . And I sent it to Mattel.
With “Rumours,” it really became your iconic look.
I saw this whole outfit in Santa Monica in 1973. Lindsey (Buckingham) and I were at the Civic (Auditorium) as Buckingham Nicks with Leon Russell and I was standing against the wall and this woman walked past me and she was wearing my outfit! This was her outfit: a pink handkerchief skirt, her hair was sort of up in a Gibson (girl’s) hairstyle, and she walked past me and I said, THAT’S IT! My new outfit.
When I joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975, we toured in just my street clothes. I was incredibly poor and only weighed 105 pounds. We didn’t eat much because we were so poor. But along the way, I gained 15 pounds in a month. When we got back from the tour, I found a designer, Margi Kent, and I drew a stick figure of the girl with the handkerchief skirt and those platform boots. She made it out of silk chiffon and I said to her, “Margi, I want to wear this when I’m 60 because I know I’ll be on stage when I’m 60,” even though I was with Fleetwood Mac for a whole eight months, and she said OK and I went back in a week and when we shot Rumors I had my beautiful black outfit. Margi still makes all of my street clothes.
What does Stevie Nicks’ street clothes look like? I can’t imagine you going to a restaurant in jeans and a baseball cap.
(Laughs) Oh, even they have to have a certain flair. She makes me really beautiful tops with crystal rhinestones. I never dress casually when I go out. I always stay a little in my Stevie world because I like it. People say, why do you always wear black? Well, because it’s slimming and sexy and sophisticated.
So back to Barbie for a minute. What do you think about the film?
I loved. It. Since we couldn’t go to a (public) theater due to COVID, we rented a theater for my band and crew and I sat next to Waddy (Wachtel), our great guitarist who I’ve known since 1971. We went to one of those movie theaters with the reclining seats, so I saw “Barbie” with Waddy – the New York girl and the California girl side by side – and every time I shed a tear, so did he. Every time I laughed, he laughed too. We are both twins and we were both on the same emotional level when we saw it together. When it was over I said, “You know what, Waddy? I wouldn’t want to see that with anyone but you.” Watching Barbie and her struggles and transforming into a real person… he and I both totally understood that. I had to come home and tell my Stevie doll everything. I told her we would ask my publicist to call Margot Barbie – that’s what I call Margot Robbie.
Did you have to make any major modifications to your doll?
When Mattel first sent her to me, I told them that her eyebrows were a little too arched and my eye makeup, looking back to the ’70s, was very Twiggy with lots of lashes and that doe-eyed look. So I said that you need to draw the dark eye shadow over the crease in her eye then it will fix the problem. And I said we need to see some teeth. And then when I got her on June 22nd, I opened her up and said, “She’s just perfect.” This little Barbie is so precious and they helped her have my soul. If no one else in the world got them except me, I would almost be okay with it.
Speaking of precious things, I saw you at the Billy Joel concert earlier this summer and you were obviously emotional when you dedicated “Landslide” to Christine McVie. Has it become easier to sing this song?
No, it doesn’t get easier, but I have to keep singing it until it gets easier because it helps me work through it. Seeing the audience relate to her and being able to discuss the loss of such a person keeps her alive in my heart. It’s like hearing Taylor’s (Swift) “You’re on Your Own, Kid” – that was me and Chris in Fleetwood Mac. We were always on our own. And now she’s sitting on my shoulder and saying: You’re on your own, boy, but I’m always here.
More: The album “Barbie” is the kind of standout original soundtrack we haven’t heard in years