Rolling Stone Bekka Interview

[Penguin Emeritus]

Originally Posted by Mr Scarrott

What a great interview. It's a shame there hasn't been much more from her about her experiences with FM since 1995. I quite liked this answer. "These Strange Times" was a pretty apt title for a song on an album like "Time" and I'm glad it made it onto it. No wonder Mick himself ended up playing guitar on it!

It’s nice that you and Mick Fleetwood are still tight.

When we did the Time record, I was the little tiny baby penguin poking out of the shell [on the cover]. That’s me, he said. The penguin is their spirit animal. It’s just a big white album with a tiny penguin poking out of the egg. “That’s Bekka!” Isn’t that lame? But it’s cool.

Anyway, there was this one song that everyone f*ckn’ fought against him. Mick said to me, “Nobody let me do any of my songs on any of these records.” I was like, “What now? Say what? Did you just say that? What now, Mick?” He said, “Ain’t none of my songs on here. They never let me do a song I did myself.”

And he wrote a song called “These Strange Times.” I fought for it. Christine wouldn’t do it. They wouldn’t do it. Billy is always Switzerland. Dashut didn’t know what to do. So we went literally across the street and cut this thing, and then we got Lucy to go “Daddy, Daddy.” It’s called “These Strange Times.” It’s the last song on the record.

Anyway, I’m sitting here in Nashville now. He’s sitting over there in Maui. I said to him a few years ago, “You should put that song out again, dude.” He goes, “Let’s redo it, me and you.” I said, “I’m here.” He got Rick Vito to play guitar on it. He got a great band. I sang 12 languages on it. It came out a couple of years ago.

Bekka didn't mention it, maybe she didn't know but John was against that song also. On ebay awhile back there had been a letter from Mick to John written on hotel stationary asking him to rethink why he (Mick) who had always supported what others in the band wanted to do could not have the chance to maybe put out an idea of his own, something along those lines.

Apparently John objected to the mention of God in that song, and Mick was trying to explain how it was all about his individual struggles and journey, not supposed to be any sort of religious preaching by using that word. (I wonder if chris felt the same as john...?)

it was like 3/4 of the letter and i remember i felt kind of bad for mick, having to
beg to get one of his ideas on the album. it was actually a nice letter.

but i guess in the end he won everybody over.

--Lis