Mick Fleetwood Was Living in a ‘Damp’ Basement and Watching Soap Operas All Day When Fleetwood Mac Fired Him

At the end of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk tour, the band told Mick Fleetwood that they no longer wanted him to manage them. Their tour didn’t make as much money as they’d expected, and they blew much of the profits on drugs, alcohol, and private planes. They also decided to take a temporary hiatus. Fleetwood was a founding member of the band, and it was a majorly important part of his life. Christine McVie said that Fleetwood struggled when the band went on break.

Mick Fleetwood struggled when Fleetwood Mac decided to take a break

After the Tusk tour, the band had a painful meeting during which they fired Fleetwood as their manager. They also decided to take nine months off to work on other projects. McVie said Fleetwood struggled with this.

“Everything about him became little,” McVie told Rolling Stone in 1997. “He wasn’t walking with his shoulders straight like he always used to. It was sad to see that.”

McVie added that Fleetwood’s drug use ramped up during this time. 

“He didn’t seem happy, didn’t know how to function unless he was high,” she said. “He would just sleep the whole time – just hooked on drugs, about as low as he could get.”

He also had to declare bankruptcy due to his excessive spending. McVie said that at some point in this period, Fleetwood ended up living in someone’s basement, watching television all day.

“I remember him telling me he was living in somebody’s basement with a damp carpet,” she said. “The carpet was soaking wet, and the bed was damp, and he used to lie in bed watching soap operas all day long.”

The band reunited to make the 1982 album Mirage.