Mick Fleetwood Stole Part of a Toilet and Made It Worth $128,000
The story of Fleetwood Mac is nearly as memorable as the songs the band created. The quintet that led the band to the top of the charts in the 1970s had relationships and affairs that nearly drove the band apart. Still, the band remains one of the most popular bands of all time. When items from Fleetwood Mac’s history went up for auction, a part of a toilet Mick Fleetwood stole in the 1960s sold for $128,000.
Nearly 900 Fleetwood Mac items just went to auction
Fleetwood Mac suffered a huge loss when longtime member Christine McVie died at 79 years old on Nov. 30, 2022. It was only a coincidence that Julien’s Auctions held an event a few days later (on Dec. 3 and 4, 2022) to auction off items from McVie, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie’s personal collection.
Several items from Christine McVie’s collection brought in big bids. An outfit she wore during a 1971 concert sold for $31,250. The dress she wore on the back cover of Rumours went for $56,250, while one of her Hammond organ speakers fetched $37,500, reports Billboard. A top hat designed by Stevie Nicks sold for $16,000.
Those four items alone sold for $141,000. But the part of a toilet Mick Fleetwood stole in the 1960s fetched $128,000 on its own.
Mick Fleetwood stole two balls from a toilet chain, and they sold for $128,000
Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours might be one of the most famous album covers of the 1970s. The Mac’s namesake drummer and Nicks engage in a strange, ethereal dance involving a small stool, a crystal ball, and vaguely Victorian-era clothing.
They’re pictured in black and white on a custard-colored background, but one can’t help but notice one item on Rumours’ cover. Or is it two? Fleetwood has a pair of wooden balls dangling between his legs.
Fleetwood once revealed he stole them from a bathroom after enjoying a few drinks before one of Fleetwood Mac’s early gigs in the late 1960s. They’ve been with him ever since, but the Rumours album cover is the first time they ended up on a record sleeve. (Older toilets placed the tank much higher than the bowl. They necessitated long chains to reach further down, which explains why they’re dangling between Fleetwood’s thighs).
Fleetwood and Nicks had a close relationship and messy affair during that Mac era. Still, the drummer’s wardrobe accessory wasn’t just him bragging about his little Mick. He said it was also a nod to the blues, whose suggestive sexual innuendo massively influenced Fleetwood Mac’s early years.
The drummer’s stolen toilet accessory reappeared on another Fleetwood Mac album cover
Fleetwood admitted he stole his iconic wooden balls from a public lavatory before a show in Fleetwood Mac’s early years. Based on the band’s history, that could have been late 1967 or early 1968; the band initially formed in the middle of 1967.
Fleetwood still possessed his stolen keepsake in 1977 when he and Nicks did the Rumours cover shoot. They reappeared on another Mac album cover two decades later.
Fleetwood Mac released The Dance, a planned live album, in 1997. The record relied heavily on Rumours’ track listing, and the band recreated the cover from the record-setting album 20 years later. Fleetwood strikes the same pose — left leg lifted, outstretched left hand holding a crystal ball in Nicks’ direction. The difference is the rest of the band joins them on the front of The Dance.
Did the drummer pay back the establishment that was suddenly missing its wooden balls because of his sticky fingers? That’s unknown. At the very least, Mick Fleetwood’s stolen toilet part helped raise money for the MusiCares charity, as a portion of the auction proceeds benefited the organization (per Billboard).
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