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Episode details

Radio Ulster,02 Aug 2026,57 mins

Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna

Long Player with Steven Rainey

Available for 26 days

With 1977's Rumours, Fleetwood Mac set a new standard for the music business, a record which wowed the critics, and sold by the truckload. Inspired by the freedom such a position could offer, Lindsey Buckingham pushed the band into experimental territory on 1979's Tusk. And while that was a record that is beloved by many, it was not the blockbuster follow-up to Rumours that the industry was expecting. In the meantime, Stevie Nicks was ready to strike out on her own with 1981's Bella Donna, a beguiling collection of rock songs with an ethereal edge. Roping in collaborators like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Don Henley, and armed with some of the best writing of her career, with this album, Stevie Nicks threw the future of Fleetwood Mac into jeopardy, as her star eclipsed that of her bandmates.

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