Mick Fleetwood credits himself for keeping Fleetwood Mac together throughout the band's turmoil

16 February 2022, 12:38 | Updated: 23 May 2022, 16:21

Despite founding the band, Mick Fleetwood has never believed he contributed much to Fleetwood Mac's astonishing success.

Over the years, the drummer has admitted to feeling uncomfortable about his creative output within the band.

When you've been surrounded by the likes of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, and Peter Green, it's no wonder you'd feel overshadowed.

But Mick Fleetwood has revealed he's turned a new corner and has entered a new era of positive thinking in his life.

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The icon is beginning to feel different about his career in Fleetwood Mac, by recognising that his role as the person who kept the band together has been vital to the band's success.

In a recent interview, Mick reveals: "I didn't really know what it was I was really contributing … I do know now."

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Speaking on Apple Music's The Zane Lowe Show, Fleetwood talks about not being able to take full credit of certain songs.

But his 'song' was enabling band-members to go their separate ways and pursue new avenues outside of the band, especially during moments of turmoil - the making of Rumours for instance.

Expanding on his role, the drummer says it was "keeping some semblance out of panic or insecurity, to have this not stop. I didn't really know what it was I was really contributing … I do know now."

And it's made him reevaluate his career as a stickman in the Mac, and the band's constant member.

"Hearing our body of work from time to time, that actually now comfortably does cross my mind. I go, ‘Well, no, I didn’t do that – but this is my song…"

"These lovely incarnations of Fleetwood Mac… being around incredibly talented people that we were able to invite into the band, and mercifully, with really fantastic, unbelievable storytelling results. That to me is like my song now.”

He then goes on to discuss the well-documented issues during the recording of Rumours, saying he wanted to create a "safe harbour" for the band to work.

"[To] anyone around me that were full of doubt, I said, ‘This is not going to disintegrate.’ And then a whole other scenario happened, which was the beginning of the journey, the wave of what this body of work created.”

Lindsey Buckingham was acrimoniously fired from the band in 2018, and Fleetwood also reflected on the ongoing feud between the guitarist and singer Stevie Nicks, saying that there's still a considerable amount of healing required before any potential reunion.

"I’ll just say it… Stevie and Lindsey, I don't think certainly are resolved fully, and I wish they were."

"I visualise those moments as the years trickle by somehow. But I truly, somewhat sadly think that that will go into the rainbow somewhere and never really change. But there you go."