The Untold Truth Of Harry Styles And Stevie Nicks
She's a world-famous singer-songwriter for one of the biggest rock acts of the 1970s, with a successful solo career spanning nearly six decades. He skyrocketed to international fame as a member of arguably the most successful boy band of the 2010s. On paper, Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks and One Direction's Harry Styles would seem about as incompatible as two performers could be, given their differing musical styles and an age difference of almost 50 years (although, as the Los Angeles Times has pointed out, it probably hasn't hurt that Styles' manager, Jeffery Azoff, just happens to be the son of Fleetwood Mac's manager, Irving Azoff).
Yet despite these differences, Nicks and Styles have gone on to become dear friends and frequent onstage duet partners, all while offering their mutual support. The story of how their friendship sparked and blossomed is truly a fascinating one, with a founding member of Fleetwood Mac playing a key role in nurturing this unlikely relationship.
Read on to find out even more about the untold truth of Harry Styles and Stevie Nicks.
Mick Fleetwood is the reason Stevie Nicks met Harry Styles
Harry Styles first entered Stevie Nicks' orbit thanks to the daughters of Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood. "I took my two 13-year-old daughters and their mates to see One Direction," Fleetwood told the Mirror in 2015. "And that point, the girls are going, 'Dad, just don't embarrass us! No dad-dancing!'"
After the show, Fleetwood's celebrity status allowed him and his daughters to meet Styles backstage, which caused the music legend to become "a superstar" in the kiddos' eyes when they discovered that Styles and the rest of 1D were huge Fleetwood Mac fans. "They all wanted to meet me! My ante got upped! All their songwriting team wanted to meet me. That's when I met Harry and he's come to three of our shows. He writes to me from weird places," Fleetwood added, revealing that he and Styles wound up becoming "pen pals."
Fleetwood invited Styles to attend a Fleetwood Mac show at London's 02 Arena that May, Nicks later told the Daily Mail. That marked the first time that Styles and Nicks met face to face, starting a friendship that only grew closer over the years that followed.
Why Harry Styles brought Stevie Nicks a cake at their first meeting
When Harry Styles attended Fleetwood Mac's London concert in May 2015, Stevie Nicks told the Daily Mail, it just happened to be on the day of her 67th birthday. "It was the nicest birthday I'd had in 10 years," Nicks gushed. "Harry Styles brought back a cake."
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Styles confirmed that when he was first introduced to Nicks, he did indeed present her with a cake. "Piped her name onto it. She loved it," the "Watermelon Sugar" hitmaker said. "Glad she liked carrot cake." Styles' sister, Gemma, was also on hand, and marked the occasion by sharing a backstage photo on Instagram of herself posing with Nicks.
Styles' friendship with Nicks grew as he continued to visit the band when he attended subsequent concerts, providing the pair with the opportunity to get to know each other better. As they did, they soon came to realize they were pretty simpatico, and their friendship blossomed.
Stevie Nicks would (hypothetically) date Harry Styles if he were older
Fans of both Harry Styles and Stevie Nicks have no doubt wondered about the nature of their relationship. Is Nicks, who has no children of her own, a sort of surrogate mother to Styles or is there something a bit more intriguing going on?
Nicks laid those rumors to rest in a September 2020 interview with the Los Angeles Times, when she was asked if she would find "an older version of Styles" to be of interest romantically. "Well, that would be a good thing," she said with a laugh, but admitted she hadn't been in love for nearly two decades. As for re-entering the dating scene, the "Landslide" singer was adamant that she had no intention to hang out "in a bar with a bunch of my friends and wait for some weirdo guys to come over and buy us drinks."
Nicks was also insistent that, even if she were "30 or 40 or 50" years old, she "would never use a dating app." Nicks added, "I find that to be totally desperate. I watch all those crime shows. Are you setting yourself up with an ax murderer or something?" Falling in love again, she lamented, wasn't "out of the realm of possibility. It's just not very probable."
Harry Styles: the adopted 'love child' of Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood
Mick Fleetwood can lay claim to introducing Harry Styles to Stevie Nicks, and both of the Fleetwood Mac members became close to the young singer. "He's Mick's and my love child," Nicks told Rolling Stone in 2019. "When Harry came into our lives, I said, 'Oh my God, this is the son I never had.' So I adopted him."
While speaking of Styles' acclaimed sophomore solo album, Fine Line, Nicks declared herself a fan and admitted there was a certain musical kinship. "I love Harry, and I'm so happy Harry made a rock 'n' roll record — he could have made a pop record and that would have been the easy way for him," she said. "But I guess he decided he wanted to be born in 1948, too — he made a record that was more like 1975."
In a previous interview with the Daily Mail, Nicks likewise joked about how Fleetwood had "kind of adopted" Styles, as well, and explained why. "There are just women in Mick's family and Harry is that tall, lanky musical son he always wanted, so they keep in touch," she explained.
Stevie Nicks and Harry Styles love performing together
In 2017, two years after the members of One Direction declared the group was taking an indefinite hiatus, Harry Styles released his self-titled debut album and embarked on a promotional blitz. As the Los Angeles Times reported, the British singer-songwriter made his American debut as a solo artist during an intimate show at iconic Los Angeles rock club The Troubadour. To the delight of all in attendance, Stevie Nicks made a surprise appearance to join Styles for several songs.
These weren't just mere duets, but a bona fide musical anointment as Nicks passed the torch. That was evident, noted the Times, by the first song the duo performed together, "Two Ghosts" from Styles' debut record. This was followed by a dual performance of Nicks' Fleetwood Mac classic, "Landslide," and then a rendition of "Leather and Lace," Nicks' hit solo duet with the Eagles' Don Henley.
That first performance was just the beginning though. During Nicks' 2019 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Styles joined her to fill in for the late Tom Petty on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." Later that same year, Nicks made a surprise appearance at Styles' show at the Forum in L.A., once again duetting on "Landslide."
Harry Styles introduced Stevie Nicks for her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction
Stevie Nicks has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame not just once, but twice. The first time was back in 1998, when she was inducted along with the rest of Fleetwood Mac. The second time came over 20 years later, with her 2019 induction as a solo artist.
Rather than choose a fellow Mac member or legendary rock icon to deliver her induction remarks, Nicks instead chose Harry Styles. In his speech, reported Rolling Stone, Styles celebrated her wisdom and serenity. "She sees all the romance and the drama in the world and she celebrates it," he told the audience. Addressing everyone who's ever connected with Nicks' music, Styles said, "You're more than a fan. You are a friend. And the words say in so many ways: I understand you and you are not alone. And that is true Stevie."
That wasn't the first time that Styles honored Nicks at a special ceremony. The previous year, the former One Direction star introduced Fleetwood Mac at the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year gala honoring the band.
Stevie Nicks thought Harry Styles used to be in *NSYNC
While taking questions from the press backstage during her 2019 solo induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Stevie Nicks discussed her friendship with Harry Styles. Revealing they had met "quite a long time ago," she also referenced his first solo album after One Direction's hiatus. "What I really loved about Harry was that when he decided to make a solo record from *NSYNC..." Nicks said, leading to scattered chuckles.
To her credit, Nicks quickly caught herself and clarified, "Sorry, not *NSYNC," as members of the press helpfully yelled the name of the correct boy band. "I'm never gonna live that one down," she admitted, before adding deliberately, "One. Direction. Well, I liked One Direction too." The Fleetwood Mac star then continued with her original thought — emphasizing once again that Styles could have easily put out a fluffy pop record to appease One Direction fans, but instead decided to "take a risk" with a rock 'n roll record.
"This beautiful child should have been born in 1948, too," Nicks added, "because he just fits in with all of us."
Stevie Nicks declared Harry Styles' Fine Line to be equivalent to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours
When it comes to hit albums, it's pretty tough to top Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. The 1977 LP, according to Billboard, spawned seven Top 10 hits — including four to make it to No. 1 — and spent a staggering 393 weeks on the Top 200 albums chart, with an impressive 31 of those weeks at No. 1.
With that in mind, it's not hyperbole to point out that Stevie Nicks paid Harry Styles about as high a compliment that can be paid when she compared his sophomore album, Fine Line, to Fleetwood Mac's iconic mega-hit record. In March 2020, Nicks shared a message on Twitter, telling fans that she'd been spending her time in quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic by "listening to music (mainly Harry Styles' Fine Line) and being inspired by him to write some new songs and poetry." She concluded by congratulating Styles, adding, "Way to go H. – it is your Rumours."
Stevie Nicks was one of the first people to hear Harry Styles' second album
Not only is Stevie Nicks a huge fan of Harry Styles' Fine Line, she was also one of the first people to hear it. Styles explained how that came to happen when he paid a visit to SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show in March 2020.
Nicks was in London for a Fleetwood Mac concert, and Styles invited the music icon and her lady friends — lovingly dubbed her "little witches coven" by the former One Direction star — out for dinner at an Indian restaurant. "It was pretty crazy," he told the shock jock. "So I'd just kind of finished the record, and then she said, 'Oh, I want to come hear the album.' ... And they all came back to [my] house ... and I played 'em the album."
Nicks and her crew, Styles said, are "so used to living nocturnally," explaining, "They wake up really late, and then they kind of live through the night 'cause they're, you know, witches." He continued, "So it's getting to like 3 a.m. playing the album, I'm like, 'I'm kinda tired,' and they're right in their prime. They're really like, 'Oh this is like daytime for us.'" Nicks and her pals didn't leave till 6 a.m., with Styles quipping, "I was like, 'I'm exhausted.'"
Stevie Nicks wants Harry Styles to star in a TV series based on a Fleetwood Mac hit
Stevie Nicks has performed onstage with Harry Styles on several occasions, but she has also expressed plans for a totally different type of collaboration that's only tangentially connected to her music.
In a September 2020 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nicks discussed an upcoming television miniseries she was working on based on the Celtic deity that inspired her Fleetwood Mac hit, "Rhiannon." The project, the outlet pointed out, came about after she purchased the rights to author Evangeline Walton's Mabinogion Tetralogy, a novelistic adaptation of an ancient collection of Celtic folklore known as The Mabinogion.
Previously announcing to Rolling Stone that she had signed a deal with a studio to actually make it, Nicks admitted to the Times that she had no intention of acting in the project herself. However, she revealed that Styles "is definitely in the running" for a role. "I'm going, 'Harry, you cannot age one day. You have to stay exactly as you are,'" Nicks quipped to the Times. "I've already sold him on it."