Inductee Stevie Nicks speaks in the press room during the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony - Press Room at Barclays Center on March 29, 2019 in New York City.
Nicholas Hunt/WireimageWhile some celebrities have decided to use the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an opportunity to cringepost, Stevie Nicks chose to use her platform to deliver some choice words about Russian president Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, the singer shared a letter to her fans in which she compared Putin to that of Adolf Hitler and expressed her solidarity for those in Ukraine.
“This is Hitler coming back to haunt us. In one evening, until now, an entire sovereign country has been full-on invaded,” she wrote. “How dare he.”
Earlier in the letter, Nicks described how she had checked in on a Ukrainian friend after “watching the news all night.” At first she said she was fine, but not even an hour later, “she was now ‘ just trying to escape.'”
“That changed everything,” Nicks wrote. “Now I know someone, an innocent person, who is having her freedom taken from her. I have been crying ever since.”
Nicks continued, saying that she was glad her mother “isn’t here to see this.” “My heart is broken for our new friend and for the people of Ukraine,” she wrote. “I am so, so sorry.”
10cc drummer Paul Burgess has announced that he is leaving the band because the demands of touring have become too much for him.
The 75-year-old musician, who also spent time performing with Jethro Tull, Camel, Magna Carta, and The Icicle Works, has chosen to walk away from the legendary rock group after more than five decades.
He shared: “After so many wonderful years with 10cc, I must admit that the rigours of touring are no longer manageable for me as I get older, and I feel it’s time to let go of the long hours in airports and endless travel on buses.
“I’m not planning to stop playing altogether. I will still perform but at a pace that feels right, working alongside old friends and a new group of fellow musicians called The Guilty Men.”
Frontman Graham Gouldman confessed that it will feel unusual to perform without his “longest-running musical associate.”
He explained: “When Paul and I first joined forces in 10cc, we never could have imagined that we’d still be at it after 30 years, let alone 52.
“Paul has been my longest musical partner and it will feel different to turn around and see another drummer, but I completely understand why he no longer wants to sit on a plane for 14 hours or wake up in a new hotel every day for weeks at a time.”
Ben Stone, who has previously played with Mike and The Mechanics and Bonnie Tyler, will be taking over on drums.
Paul, who had several runs with 10cc after joining in 1973, performed his final show with the I’m Not In Love band in Alexandria, Virginia this past September.
The group is set to continue their And Another Bloody Greatest Hits Tour in the UK next year.
