Bekka Bramlet on ‘replacing’ Stevie Nicks in Fleetwood Mac: “I knew my job was to get Stevie back”
“I wasn’t a moron.”
Image: Steve Thorne / Getty Images
Bekka Bramlet has reflected on her time as singer Stevie Nicks’ ‘replacement’ in Fleetwood Mac, saying she was always aware her job “was to get Stevie back”.
“I got a phone call from [founder and drummer Mick Fleetwood],” Bramlett told Rolling Stone in a recent interview. “He said, ‘Young Bekka. It has come time where one of our family members is going to be away for a moment to embrace her health and well-being. You are the first of my choice to keep this beautiful band that we have nurtured for decades alive.”
“If you are interested. There is no pressure. But would you be able to?’ This is what it sounds like in my memory. ‘Yes’ was the only word that came out of my mouth.”
Asked if she feels burdened by the request, the singer replied: “Fuck no. He already explained it before he offered it to me. And I knew that it was temporary. I was like, “I’m going to have a ball!” I love working with Mick. He’s the best friggin’ drummer I ever, ever, ever, ever worked with.”
Bramlett also emphasised that she was in no way replacing Stevie at the time, adding that fans who think so “can suck it”.
“There is no replacing Stevie Nicks. Everybody knows that. You can be a fan or an anti-fan. I don’t know an anti-fan of Fleetwood Mac. Do you? I’ve never met one. Never even heard of one. Point is, I wasn’t replacing anybody. Definitely not Stevie Nicks. I’m the 13th entity in that band, and that’s my lucky number. It’s amazing I was the 13th entity of Fleetwood Mac.”
She continued: “Stevie didn’t just want the band to go back into a cocoon again, a web of nothingness. I guess I can’t speak for her. But I did choose not to do her signature songs because that would be weird. I was like, “I’m not doing Rhiannon. I’m not doing Dreams.”