Stevie Nicks Is Writing a Raw, Autobiographical Album Inspired by Prince and the ‘Fantastic Men’ She’s Known

Stevie Nicks is channeling personal memories and decades of stories into her next solo album — and this time, she’s not holding anything back. The music icon revealed at the Pollstar Awards that she’s currently working on what she calls a “ghost record,” made up of deeply autobiographical songs inspired by the real people and relationships in her life.

Nicks said the idea came unexpectedly while she was stuck in a hotel for 92 days following the January wildfires in Los Angeles. With no shows and no clear timeline ahead, she found herself writing again. “I feel like I’m on the road, but there’s no shows,” she said. “You need to go back to work. And I did.”

She’s already completed seven songs for the project, and according to her, these tracks mark a major shift in how she writes. “They are autobiographical, real stories where I’m not pulling any punches — for probably the first time in my life,” she said. “They’re not airy, fairy songs. They’re real stories of memories of mine of fantastic men.”

One of those memories centers on her longtime friendship with Prince. Nicks recalled attending the premiere of Purple Rain back in the ’80s but admitted she only made it halfway through the film before leaving, disturbed by a scene where Prince’s character slaps Apollonia. At the afterparty, Prince asked her what she thought of the film. When she confessed she didn’t finish it, she offered him a gift instead — a 24-karat gold necklace with heart charms.

Prince refused the necklace. Instead, he told her, “You always bring me a gift. You never bring me you.” That moment, Nicks said, was the launch point for the album she’s working on now.

With eight solo albums already behind her — on top of her work with Fleetwood Mac — Nicks says this one feels different. It’s personal. Unfiltered. And for the first time, she’s telling the stories exactly as she remembers them.