Stevie's UK missed opportunities
 

There has always been something that has bugged me ever since I became a massive Stevie fan and knew everything about her career. Why was she never bothered about coming to the UK in the 80's?

When Bella Donna came out in '81 we all know that it was a smash and sold millions in the US and also did well in Canada and Australia. So why when it debuted just outside the top 10 did she never promote it here? If Stevie had gone on Top Of The Pops with EOS or even SDMHA, the album and singles would've benefited dramatically. This would've kick started a massive career here and things could've been very different. However, I don't think Bella Donna was the perfect album to promote here as american rock was never the most popular music here at that time.

That's where The Wild Heart comes in. SB was the perfect song to promote in the UK as it could've been HUGE. It was massive in the US and therefore the album sold millions once again. If she had performed SB on Top Of The Pops, the single and album would've sold a lot as The Wild Heart was quite electronic and fitted in well with some of the UK music at the time. Again, massive opportunity missed.

Though Stevie's voice was beginning to sound very different by Rock a Little the chance for a big single and album was still there. When the album was released it didn't get anywhere but once ICW was released it climbed into the top 40 briefly. If ICW was again performed on Top Of The Pops it could've been huge as it just missed out on the top 50 with no promotion. It had the right beat and was the all round perfect song for a big UK hit. The album did sell steadily and sold over 100,000 in a year but that could've been a lot more with promotion.

By the time The Other Side of The Mirror was released in '89, FM were one of the biggest bands of that time as TITN sold over 2 million copies here and was in the best sellers list of '87 and '88. Therefore Stevie had more exposure here than she had since Rumours, that's why ROF had a kickstart into the top 20 and she then had no choice but to do Top Of The Pops which made the album huge. To go top 3 and sell 200,000 copies was something she hadn't done and hasn't been able to achieve since, all because of promotion.

Therefore, why didn't she promote anything before '89? She also said in an '85 interview that she was touring Europe which didn't happen.

Because of FM's recent resurgence in popularity, Stevie's albums have charted in the top 20 on her name alone. Especially 24KG which reached #14 on literally no promotion.

So why didn't she promote in the UK in the 80's? :shrug:

I think that one big reason is her band. For her studio albums she always chose very valuable musicians from different bands, but I think it was difficult to find a time in which they were all available simultaneously.
Another big reason is the massive amount of time that it takes for her to record an albums, solo and especially with Fleetwood Mac.
And don't forget Fleetwood Mac, she didn't have time to tour for Bella Donna and in 1986 she toured for Rock a little, entered rehab and had to record for Tango in the night.
I think her only totally wasted opportunity was The Wild Heart but at the time she was pretty absorbed by Robin's death, marriage/divorce and her growing addiction.

I think Stop Draggin' My Heart Around and Stand Back had the potential to become hits in the UK. I'm not sure why she didn't promote her music more in the UK during the early-to-mid 1980s. The Wild Heart and Rock a Little were both released when Fleetwood Mac were on hiatus, she could have easily come over for promotional trips and live dates. Oh well, six top 20 albums is nothing to sniff at.

She had enough to do in the states. If you look at her career in the 1980s, it was jammed packed.

Among all the variables, I'll cite a poor management team besot with tepid marketing strategies. You can't think outside the box when you are the box.

That also goes for Fleetwood Mac. They rarely stray from their comfort zone.

Oh please! Stevie managed to tour Australia in the mid-1980s. Plenty of music stars with huge careers in the US in the 1980s managed to travel overseas to promote and tour. Stevie actually promoted and toured The Other Side of the Mirror in the UK and Europe in 1989. In the early-to-mid 1980s her career was established in the US to the point that her records would have sold even without massive on-going promotion. She could have focused a little more on markets that weren’t so strong. That’s how a singer and a band break them. Stevie still ignores Europe a lot today.

That 1989 tour was the only time she came to Europe as a solo artist. She only performs in Europe with Fleetwood Mac.

I wonder how popular she is in Europe. Is there enough of a fan base there for her to sustain a successful tour? I assume she could sell out 3000- 5000 seat venues; those would be nice intimate shows. But I may be way off. How big were the concert venues she performed on her European tour? Were there any full houses?

She was never embraced over there.

I can't say for '89, but at the 2011 In Your Dreams promo in London - Hard Rock Calling and the subsequent album signing, it was packed with Stevie fans and she got huge roars from the crowd.

I don't think she'd fill the big arena's like the Mac do, but venues like The Royal Albert Hall with around a 5000 capacity would be perfect for her!

Can so imagine Stevie at The Royal Albert Hall.
Sue

I'm glad to see FM heading over there.

I wonder if its the cost of touring over there is one reason why she does not tour besides her popularity issues .

Some artists or band from UK I like did not do good in the states and I wish they would be a hit here.

I think Stevie only had missed opportunities during the Wild Heart era. MTV and videos were at their peak and her videos were extremely popular. I always believed the Wild Heart died a premature death. I feel it was almost done on purpose releasing the odd ball Nightbird as a single. Even though it made the top 40, there were other songs on the album that could have done much better especially with a video. I will run to you, Nothing ever changes, or even Enchanted.
It just seemed to me when the tour was complete in October 1983, If anyone falls was peaking and fell from the charts and someone figured oh well its done... just release Nightbird so we can call it a day.

Note: Nightbird fans don't flame me. I am not saying I hate the song but for a single off a great album I would not think its single material especially with no video in the peak of the video days.

Hahahaha. I wont flame you but I love Nightbird.I love the live video with the girls singing with her.

Even then Stevie lack promotion like others which got over promoted and over exposed like Madonna and Michael Jackson and so on.Today she works her a$$ off trying to promote her work and getting ignored like she got ignored then.

MARK AS SOLVED