Thursday, November 21, 2019

Fleetwood Mac Ends World Tour in San Francisco Nov 20, 2019


Fleetwood Mac ended their 2018/2019 World Tour rocking through its massive songbook on Wednesday (Nov. 20) at Oracle Park in San Francisco. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act — featuring Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Mike Campbell and Neil Finn — performed as the headliners for the 10th annual Concert for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, which is held in conjunction with Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce event.

The band performed such fan favorites as “Rhiannon,” “Second Hand News” and “The Chain”. As many as 40,000 people attended.  Grammy-winning modern-rock hero Beck opened the show.







Sunday, November 17, 2019

Fleetwood Mac Live in Las Vegas, November 16, 2019

Fleetwood Mac's last regular tour stop on the 2018-2019 World Tour was in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena.



Above photos: Ho Calderone


Above photos by: KTNV Action News and Sin City Times

Videos below

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

REVIEW - The ghost of a living man haunts Fleetwood Mac - November 12, 2019

Fleetwood Mac deliver time-tested hits in return to Rogers Place

TOM MURRAY
EDMONTON JOURNAL
PHOTOS: IAN KUCERAK



Considering the 11 talented musicians packed on the Rogers stage Tuesday night you wouldn’t think that was possible, but it’s true. The half-century-old group can still put on an entertaining and polished show, though the gap where guitarist, songwriter, and musical spark plug Lindsey Buckingham normally stands is very evident in the retooled Mac.

The band itself obviously knows this, which is why they brought in some heavy hitters to up the supergroup quotient. Neil Finn (of Crowded House and Split Enz) and Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) split Buckingham duties, Campbell unspooling stinging solos, the affable and energetic Finn providing supportive guitar work and vocals.

Each got a few moments in the spotlight to shine on their own, Finn reaching all the way back to 1980 for I Got You and then later sharing the mic with Nicks on a lovely, understated Don’t Dream It’s Over. He also helmed an incendiary version of Go Your Own Way, while Campbell stepped up for Oh Well and led the band in tribute to his old boss with a Nicks-sung version of Free Fallin’. It was not unlike those Ringo Starr tours of the ’90s where the Beatles’ drummer brought along a cavalcade of celebrity musicians to take a turn at the mic for their best known songs.

Husky-voiced Stevie Nicks had to dip under the high notes a few times, understandable given that she’s edging in on 72. She still has the back catalog of perfect pop jams and mystic hippie moves to draw from, spinning during Gypsy and Dreams, giving herself over to full interpretative dance on psych-jam Gold Dust Woman. The drawn out Black Magic Woman was given a pronoun swap; after years of constant radio rotation Landslide was every bit as gorgeous and fragile as you would have expected, just as Rhiannon maintained the necessary sultry, mysterious vibe.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Mick Fleetwood Will Host Concert Honoring Peter Green and Early Fleetwood Mac

Mick Fleetwood Announces Concert to Honor Peter Green and Early Fleetwood Mac


Mick Fleetwood will host a one-of-a-kind concert honoring the early years of Fleetwood Mac and its co-founder Peter Green on February 25th at the London Palladium.

Fleetwood has enlisted an all-star cast of musicians to perform, including Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Jonny Lang, John Mayall, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey, Steven Tyler and Bill Wyman.

“The concert is a celebration of those early blues days where we all began, and it’s important to recognize the profound impact Peter and the early Fleetwood Mac had on the world of music,” Fleetwood said in a statement. “Peter was my greatest mentor and it gives me such joy to pay tribute to his incredible talent. I am honored to be sharing the stage with some of the many artists Peter has inspired over the years and who share my great respect for this remarkable musician.”

Fleetwood will act as the house band alongside Andy Fairweather Low, Dave Bronze and Ricky Peterson, and producer Glyn Johns will be the executive sound producer for the concert. The event will be filmed for eventual release and directed by Martyn Atkins.

Exclusive pre-sale tickets go on sale Wednesday November 13th at 10 a.m. GMT while public tickets go on sale Friday November 15th at 10 a.m. GMT via Ticketmaster. A donation from the event will go to Teenage Cancer Trust, a U.K. charity dedicated to providing specialist nursing and emotional support to young people with cancer.

Green co-founded Fleetwood Mac in 1967 alongside Fleetwood, John McVie, Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan. Fleetwood told Rolling Stone in 2017 that there was little possibility of the original lineup of the band reforming down the road.

“I went there many years ago,” he said. “We got into it and we were going to put a whole thing together at the [Royal] Albert Hall. This is years and years and years ago. Probably about 15 years ago. And right at the last minute, Peter, in the world that he lives in, just suddenly pulled out. … Suddenly it was not a good idea. And we had put a whole bunch of things together, I had even booked the venue. So I would never do that again.”

REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Live in Calgary November 10, 2019

When it's Fleetwood Mac, every song is an encore
STEPHEN HUNT - CALGARY HERALD
PHOTO: Replicant Tusk



Fleetwood Mac — a walking, talking, drumming and humming Rock and Roll of Fame — returned to Calgary Sunday, to perform a makeup concert for Calgary that Stevie Nicks said was cancelled three times.

All of which, she added, were completely her fault.

“But don’t worry,” Nicks added, in that instantly familiar husky voice that seemed to spin the clock inside the jam-packed Saddledome back to 1977, the year Rumours was released, and changed music history.

“We will always return,” Nicks said, “to the land of snow-covered mountains.”

Then Nicks, and Neil Finn — taking over the role of Lindsey Buckingham in the 2019 edition of Fleetwood Mac — broke into Landslide, one of the great ballads (Nicks wrote it when she was 23 and it still sounds spectacular), and 18,000 people in the Saddledome sang along and many, many gigabytes of digital camera memory were chewed up by people videotaping the song on their phones.

That is, if they had any digital memory left, because to attend a Fleetwood Mac concert is to sit in awe of their songbook and your first temptation is to try to get some visual proof that you were actually there.

It’s astonishing — a concert where every tune is an encore.


REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Live in Winnipeg November 7, 2019

Venerable band rolls out the hits
Fleetwood Mac starts late and loud
By: Erin Lebar
Winnipeg Free Press



CONCERT REVIEW
Fleetwood Mac
Nov. 7, Bell MTS Place
Attendance: 11,800
4.5 stars out of 5

It’s been five years almost to the day since Fleetwood Mac last graced the Bell MTS Place stage. It wasn’t supposed to be quite that long, of course, but an ill Stevie Nicks meant the band’s previously scheduled April 11 Winnipeg tour stop had to be rescheduled — one of a handful of cancellations and postponements this year due to health issues of older performers. 

But, that’s the risk one takes when touring with a band that has an average age of 70.

Fleetwood Mac only took a few weeks off in the spring for vocalist Nicks to recuperate, however, and have managed to hammer out the rest of their summer and fall dates, with the rescheduled Winnipeg show being the fourth-last stop on their list before wrapping this tour up later in November. 

And apparently just a few weeks off were all they needed — Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham replacements Mike Campbell and Neil Finn, in true rock ’n’ roll style, started late and started loud, quickly amping up the crowd with the iconic thumps of The Chain, the first of many tracks off the band’s landmark 1977 album, Rumours.

"Thank you for coming back," Nicks said. "Let’s get this party started." 

Friday, October 04, 2019

5 FLEETWOOD MAC ALBUMS TO BE RELEASED ON COLORED VINYL DEC 6, 2019

Five of Fleetwood Mac’s classic albums will be reissued individually on colored vinyl on November 29 (December 6 in the US).

The albums include: 

  • FLEETWOOD MAC on white vinyl, 
  • RUMOURS on clear vinyl, 
  • TUSK on a silver vinyl 2-LP set, 
  • MIRAGE on violet vinyl, and 
  • TANGO IN THE NIGHT on green vinyl. 


On the same day, all five colored-vinyl LPs will be presented together in slipcase as a limited edition, individually numbered set of 2,000 copies, available exclusively at the Rhino.com store. This Individually Numbered, Limited Edition Colored Vinyl Boxed Set Is Exclusive to the Rhino Store.

Fleetwood Mac released five back-to-back multi-platinum albums between 1975 and 1987, an astonishing feat that drove them to become one of the best-selling bands in the world.

This collection includes: Fleetwood Mac on white vinyl; Rumours on clear vinyl; Tusk on a silver vinyl 2-LP set; Mirage on violet vinyl; and Tango In The Night on green vinyl.

A new incarnation of Fleetwood Mac debuted in the summer of 1975 that included Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie, along with new members Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. The group’s first album together, Fleetwood Mac (sometimes called “The White Album”), topped the Billboard album chart, spent more than a year in the Top 40 and sold more than five million copies in the U.S. thanks to songs like “Landslide,” “Say You Love Me,” and “Rhiannon.”

In 1977, the band followed up with Rumours, considered by many to be among the greatest albums of all time. It won the Grammy® for Album of the Year and has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Its unforgettable tracks include: “Go Your Own Way,” “Gold Dust Woman” and the band’s first number one smash, “Dreams.”

The Grammy®-nominated double-album Tusk arrived in 1979. It sold more than four million copies worldwide and introduced fans to hits like “Sara,” “Think About Me,” and the title track. Three years later, in 1982, Fleetwood Mac again topped the U.S. Album Chart for five weeks with Mirage. Along with hits like “Hold Me” and “Gypsy,” Mirage also features great album tracks like “Oh Diane” and “Straight Back.”

In 1987, Tango in the Night became the second-most successful album of the band’s career, selling more than 15 million copies worldwide with the massive hits “Everywhere,” “Big Love” and “Little Lies.”

Fleetwood Mac Announce Final Show Of World Tour - LAS VEGAS November 16th

Fleetwood Mac Announce Final Show Of World Tour After Eight Countries And 80+ Shows; Saturday, November 16 At T-Mobile Arena In Las Vegas




Due to overwhelming fan demand from around the world, the legendary GRAMMY Award-winning band Fleetwood Mac announced today the FINAL show of their 2018/2019 sold out world tour. The tour kicked off last October and after nearly a year on the road with 80+ concert events across eight countries, the band will mark their FINAL show of the tour on Saturday, Nov. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Produced by Live Nation, the tour featured the newly minted line-up of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie along with newcomers Mike Campbell and Neil Finn. The group received critical and fan acclaim at every show, with rave reviews including: 

"…EPIC ROCK CONCERT" – Las Vegas Sun

"FLEETWOOD MAC IS BACK" – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Tickets for the FINAL show will go on-sale to the general public starting on Friday, Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. PT. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Monday, Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. PT through Thursday, Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. PT. A limited number of LaneOne VIP Packages will also be available, including amazing seats with premium benefits such as transportation, preferred entrance and more. 

Tickets ranging in price from $99 to $750 (not including applicable service charges) go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. PT at www.axs.com. M life Rewards members and Live Nation and AXS customers will receive access to a presale beginning Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. PT. To join the M life Rewards program or for more information, visit mlife.com.

Tickets for the FINAL show will go on-sale to the general public starting on Friday, Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. PT. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Monday, Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. PT through Thursday, Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. PT. A limited number of LaneOne VIP Packages will also be available, including amazing seats with premium benefits such as transportation, preferred entrance and more. 

Tickets ranging in price from $99 to $750 (not including applicable service charges) go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. PT at www.axs.com. M life Rewards members and Live Nation and AXS customers will receive access to a presale beginning Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. PT. To join the M life Rewards program or for more information, visit mlife.com.



Monday, September 23, 2019

Review Fleetwood Mac Live in Dunedin, NZ Sept 21, 2019

DUNEDIN was once again pumping as thousands of fans poured into the city for Saturday night’s Fleetwood Mac concert at Forsyth Barr Stadium.



By Daisy Hudson
Otago Daily Times

Close to 30,000 fans with a serious case of Fleetwood fever, many of them having travelled from outside Dunedin, packed into the roofed stadium for the show, after hitting the city’s bars, restaurants and shops earlier in the day.

Retailers reported the city, bathed in the brilliant sunshine of an early spring day, was humming as fans soaked up the atmosphere.

The result was expected to be a cash injection worth millions to the city’s economy, as well as another marketing bump for the city on social media.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Fleetwood Mac still love what they do, and it shows. - Review

Fleetwood Mac, Auckland NZ, 2019
Review by Mike Beck. Photography by Richard Myburgh.
Abmient Light - Photo Gallery



Formed amidst the British blues boom of the late 1960’s, with a rhythm section whose surnames had the rare distinction of combining to create the band’s title, Fleetwood Mac have come a hell of a long way.

Casualties, internal relationships, big success, breakups, addictions, enduring friendships, long-term musical magic and memories are all part of their story. And with another significant line-up change occurring in 2018, two questions came to mind at last night’s opening show minus key playmaker Lyndsey Buckingham; how are they travelling without him, and how would one of his two replacements, local hero Neil Finn, fair in such a pivotal role?

The first of four nights at the city’s premier indoor stadium Spark Arena, last night’s show also held special significance, as it was the first glimpse of the band with Neil Finn on his home soil. Along with Finn, ex Tom Petty Heartbreaker, guitar gun-slinger Mike Campbell have collectively replaced Buckingham, who was ousted last year due to internal conflicts. This is the second time in the history of the band that they have replaced Buckingham with two musicians. Some big boots to fill then?

So, it was with heightened anticipation, that the ominously tall founding member Mick Fleetwood led the band out onto the stage, activating joyous applause for both the beloved group itself, as well as the arrival of the boyish Finn. Fittingly they opened with ‘The Chain’ off their mega album Rumours, a song affiliated with the bands tenacity to stick together through the trials of adversity. The dual vocals required for the tune, coupled with its extended guitar solo coda, meant that both Finn and Campbell were featured straight away on lead vocals and guitar respectively. And they didn’t disappoint, both adding experience, class, style and character to the Mac sound. Underpinning all was the bassline of foundation member, the super solid John McVie.

The Mac’s female star combination of Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks both got early entries for two of their signature tunes; ‘Little Lies’ and ‘Dreams.’ Here the audience were presented with a taste of what had been observed in previous shows, that this configuration of Fleetwood Mac has consented to perform in a notably more laid-back mode than previously heard. The slight tempo pull-backs of many of the songs the best indicator of this.



Syncing with Maori language week, Neil Finn addressed the audience with “Kia Ora NZ!” before turning in a rather decent version of ‘Second Hand News.’ Again, in cruise control, McVie had the audience incrementally on their feet for ‘Say You Love Me.’ As expected last night’s set featured more than a few tracks – seven in total – lifted from Rumours, the record that propelled Fleetwood Mac into superstardom status in 1977. In its day, Rumours became the biggest-selling album of all-time, its west-coast rock appeal producing so many hits that the band unequivocally ruled the airwaves.

The first of the Fleetwood NZ shows ticked all the right boxes

Fleetwood Mac - Auckland - Thursday September 12th, 2019
By Francine Auger
Date: Thursday September 12th, 2019
Libel Music
All Photos by: Megan Moss - Gallery

Neil Finn playing with the mighty Fleetwood Mac. Not only playing with, but touring with and officially part of the band. What kind of quirky, strange, yet fascinating parallel universe could this happen in? Well, oddly enough – this one! And the long awaited tour last night finally hit Auckland; ahead of three more Auckland shows on September 14th, 16th and 19th before heading to Dunedin on September 21st. 

Auckland’s Spark Arena was packed to the rafters, with everyone high on anticipation for what to expect. Would everyone’s favourite songs be played? Would we get a stonking Mick Fleetwood drum solo? Would the Kiwi flavour of Neil fit like a well-used glove in the Fleetwood machine? Well, it was time to find out…

The show starts off with ‘The Chain’, as the suave and sophisticated Mick Fleetwood takes his place behind the drums and is soon joined by Miss Stevie Nicks. We then see Neil Finn heading out, who got a massive reception. With his guitar on fire, it seems Neil is reveling in this latest role and is enjoying being part of this huge setup.

Stevie Nicks dedicates "Landslide" to her "favourite little people" - Auckland

Review: Neil Finn's Fleetwood Mac debut in Auckland an out-of-body experience
by Monika Barton
Newshub


After witnessing the majesty of Fleetwood Mac in Auckland on Thursday night, I'm still reeling, electrified, and a little confused. Of two things, though, I am sure: 

1. Mick Fleetwood is not of this mortal plane 

2. Neil Finn really is in the band

Storming onto the Spark Arena stage with his guitar held triumphantly aloft, Finn is bursting with pride and energy. The iconic band comes to us off the back of no less than 76 shows, but this one is his. 

As the spine-tingling refrains of 'The Chain' ring out across the arena, I ask myself: 'Is Neil Finn sexy now?' The look of admiration he frequently receives from Stevie Nicks points to yes. 

One flawlessly executed guitar solo later, there's no doubt that Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell, another recent addition to the lineup, can keep up and then some. 

We leap into a jaunt through the band's catalogue of lighter, soft-rock hits, learning that the only thing more infectiously joyful than the intro to 'Everything' is the look of perpetual glee plastered on Mick Fleetwood's face. 

Every bit the mythical enchantress we dreamed she would be, Stevie draws us under her spell with her inimitable presence, collection of sparkly shawls and, of course, those pipes.

From the way she purrs 'Black Magic Woman', to her crisp, soaring, exactly-as-it-sounds-on-the record delivery of 'Rihannon', she truly is the stuff of legend. 

Fleetwood Mac feels like a band re-energized and refreshed

Gig review: Fleetwood Mac at Spark Arena Sept 12, 2019
By: Karl Puschmann
New Zealand Herald
Photos: Ken Buist

In the moment between walking on stage and kicking the night off with the blues stomp of The Chain, Neil Finn took a moment to shake off his nerves. As the newest member of Fleetwood Mac he'd been playing a run of successful away games but last night was the first in front of the home crowd. A quick waggle of his hands and he was off.

In a band of vocalists Finn's is the first voice you hear and the song's roaring chorus could almost be a challenge to fans still harbouring ill will about the recent departure of long-term - some would say critical - member Lindsey Buckingham.


"And if, you don't love me now," he sang as the chorus crashed around him, "You will never love me again," and there was a lot of truth in those two simple lines. Buckingham's departure may have required two world-class musicians to cover, Finn and guitarist Mike Campbell from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but this is a new era for a band that have had more "new eras" than most.

Fleetwood Mac made their New Zealand debut last night - Review

Fleetwood Mac – Spark Arena September 12, 2019
By Marty Duda
13thFloor
Photo: Veronica McLaughlin
Check out the photo gallery, link above



The Finn-infused version of Fleetwood Mac made their New Zealand debut last night with the first of four shows at Auckland’s Spark Arena.

I have a confession…when I heard about the ouster of Lindsey Buckingham and the fact that he was being replaced by Neil Finn and former Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, I found myself more interested in hearing the band live. After all, we all know what those five musicians are going to sound like, and they did their thing just a few years ago at Mt Smart Stadium. My only complaint was that it was Buckingham who left and not Nicks, but I do understand that Stevie carries more of a fanbase than Lindsey and I’m sure economics played a part in that decision.

So, here we are with a line-up consisting of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Neil Finn and Mike Campbell, along with five other musicians on stage to fill and musical holes…two backing vocalists, a guitarist, a keyboard player and a percussionist. To the band’s credit, these ringers weren’t tucked away and hidden, they were introduced and given appropriate amount of respect.


Review Fleetwood Mac -- what they do together now isn’t always perfect but it’s always magic.

Fleetwood Mac live at Spark Arena September 12, 2019
by Samuel Scott
Photo: Garry Brandon
RNZ.co.nz



Fleetwood Mac performed a magic show at Spark Arena last night with new member Neil Finn.

I was pretty pumped to be heading along to Fleetwood Mac last night. How could I not be? Their songs are built into our DNA.

When aliens dig up our remains in a bajillion years they’ll find 40 million copies of Rumours amongst the many layers of chicken bones.  They'll assume that our world was populated by small, flightless birds with a penchant for chill pop songs with a cosmic hippy edge.

So much has been written in the last 18 months about Neil Finn joining Fleetwood Mac. People wondered if the shows would be the same, if they’d be as good without lead guitarist Lindsay Buckingham.

Of course they wouldn’t be the same ... and of course they’d be just as good.

Fleetwood Mac Live in Auckland, NZ September 12, 2019

Fleetwood Mac Delights Auckland With New Musical Chemistry
By David Boyle
Radio13
Photos:  Reuben / SomeBizarreMonkey



Legendary blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac swooped into the Spark Arena in Auckland, NZ like an albatross and delivered one of the best shows of the year.

Spoiler alert: if you are one of the many punters going to the next Fleetwood Mac concert stop reading now. If you were one of the ecstatic crowd that went last night read on with a grin because it is very likely you’ve been wearing that smile all night.

Rumours will forever be etched in my adolescent years, probably more than most because my mate Boy (really Michael) had a cassette of the album, his only one actually, jammed in his car stereo. Hopeless! So every time we went out with the boys in his car it was all we heard. Even then I didn’t get sick of it. Great days!

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Adding Neil Finn to Fleetwood Mac has been a huge and lovely success

DON’T STOP
The New Zealand Herald
Sept 12, 2019

 From the September 12, 2019 edition of Time Out
New Zealand Herald

Mick Fleetwood talks to Karl Puschmann about the new-look band and touring with Neil Finn Downunder

Adding Neil Finn to Fleetwood Mac has been a huge and lovely success, Mick Fleetwood tells Karl Puschmann.

IF, AT times, it’s been a particular torture being in Fleetwood Mac, is it then safe to assume that joining Fleetwood Mac is also painful and fraught?

“Oh yeah,” Mick Fleetwood says. “We hung him up by his toenails.”

We’re talking, of course, about Neil Finn, the newest recruit to one of pop music’s greatest and most enduring bands, Fleetwood Mac. Finn was brought in, along with Mike Campbell, former guitarist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, to join the Mac last year as replacements for long-term member Lindsey Buckingham, who left under fairly acrimonious conditions.

Today, however, Fleetwood’s in a chipper mood. He’s full of beans and excitement for tonight’s show in Sydney.

“It’s a show day,” he says, when I ask how he’s going, “It’s a circus.”

And, just like a circus, the show must go on. That means there’s not much time for talking, so I cut to the chase. The big question everyone in New Zealand wants to know is how Neil Finn came to join Fleetwood Mac.

It turns out Fleetwood’s been a Finn fan for more than 20 years.

“I’d always been a huge fan of his, unbeknown to him,” he says.

“Not only the artiste in him, but the songwriter and the singer in him is — for me and many other people, and especially for you folks there in New Zealand — something very special. But I always followed him as an artist and loved his songs.”

The fan eventually met his hero after they both played a benefit gig for Paul McCartney’s wife Linda, who had recently died.

“I met him at an after-party and we spent the whole night chit-chatting,” he says.

“I actually said, way back then, ‘One day, it’d be great to be in a band together’.”

Prophetic, perhaps, but not immediately meant to be.

“That was that; we went off into the night and never saw each other for another 18 years until I bumped into him backstage at an awards show in Auckland,” Fleetwood says, referencing the 2015 New Zealand Music Awards that he attended as a surprise guest. “Ever since then we’ve remained very close family friends.”

Soon after, Fleetwood returned and spent about six months in the studio with Finn and his son Liam, drumming on their excellent joint album, Lightsleeper, which was released last year.

“That was really where the magic of putting together this funny puzzle of us becoming very, very close friends happened,” Fleetwood says.

“So, when this all came up with Fleetwood Mac it felt eventual. I asked him whether he would be up for doing what he’s doing and it’s been a huge success.”

“So,” he says, capping off his story, “that’s how it happened”.

The other question fans want to know is why it happened? Buckingham’s sudden departure, both shocking but, perhaps, not unexpected.

In the 52 years Fleetwood Mac has existed (the band formed in 1967), roughly a dozen musicians have cycled through the band — a tally that does not count its six current members, which include Christine McVie on vocals and keys and iconic singer Stevie Nicks.

The only constant in all this time has been Fleetwood and his old mate John McVie on bass.

Which is only fitting, seeing as the band is named after them, although Fleetwood clarifies that it was long-departed founding member Peter Green who came up with the name, “somewhat ironically”.

So, when asked what’s kept them going through all the band’s tumultuous periods — in-band romances, marriages, adultery, divorces, backstabbing, bickering and monumental cocaine use — Fleetwood simply says, “It’s probably stubbornness or the English grit in me where, no matter what, you keep going with a stiff upper lip.

“Me and John McVie just aren’t giver-upperers. We always had the nucleus of a band. We don’t sing. We are the rhythm section.

“When Peter Green left it was a huge blow to us but it was a lesson learned — that you can survive and come out when you think you can’t,” he says. “Having done that once in such a major way it became sort of a habit . . . We just keep going. And we haven’t done that badly if you look at what we’ve been able to pull off.” He laughs and says, “I’m being a little facetious,” which is true, when you consider what they’ve “been able to pull off”, is selling more than 120 million records, releasing a string of hits that are woven into people’s lives and being part of a band whose current live show, even with four members in their 70s, remains vital and unmissable. “The truth is it’s sticking at it and going, ‘Why wouldn’t we try that?’ The trying became the next step. It could have been we tried and we failed,” he says, before giving an example.

“Look at what we’ve done with Neil and Mike. We could have looked at what was a huge change at a very late date in this band’s history, the parting of company with Lindsey Buckingham, that could have been, ‘We’re done’. But we all looked at it and said, ‘We don’t want to be done’. The question was how do we do this with integrity?

“And it’s not been anything but a huge and lovely success. But we might have failed in the trying. We might not have been able to find those right people to put in the band, and you wouldn’t be talking to a present member of Fleetwood Mac.”

So, there you have it, the secret to Fleetwood Mac’s half-century of success; don’t stop thinking about tomorrow and go your own way. There’s probably a song or two in that . . .



Monday, September 09, 2019

NEW Christine McVie 90 Minute Documentary airs in the UK September 20th

If you are in the UK on September 20th, cancel your plans!



Fleetwood Mac's Songbird: Christine McVie
Friday 20, September 2019 21:00 BBC FOUR

Christine McVie is undoubtedly the longest-serving female band member of any of the enduring rock ‘n’ roll acts that emerged from the 1960s. While she has never fronted Fleetwood Mac, preferring to align herself with ‘the boys’ in the rhythm section whom she first joined 50 years ago, Christine is their most successful singer-songwriter. Her hits include ‘Over My Head’, ‘Don’t Stop’ and ‘Everywhere’.

After massive global success in both the late 1970s and mid-1980s, Christine left the band in the late 1990s, quitting California and living in semi-retirement in Kent, only to rejoin the band in 2014. In this 90-minute film, this most English of singers finally gets to take centre-stage and tell both her story and the saga of Fleetwood Mac from her point of view.

Interviewed Guest Christine McVie
Interviewed Guest Stevie Nicks
Interviewed Guest Mick Fleetwood
Interviewed Guest John McVie
Interviewed Guest Neil Finn
Interviewed Guest Mike Campbell
Interviewed Guest Stan Webb
Interviewed Guest Nancy Wilson
Executive Producer Mark Cooper
Director         Matt O'Casey

There are actually two channels in the UK airing shows related to Fleetwood Mac on September 20th 

(Compiled by Fleetwood Mac UK)
UK TV channels BBC Four and Sky Arts have an evening dedicated to Fleetwood Mac on Friday 20 Oct 2019

Monday, September 02, 2019

Fleetwood Mac is rock history. It’s a pity no-one new is coming even close to taking the place of talent like this.

Fleetwood Mac Bring Neil Finn Back To His Musical Home Melbourne 
by PAUL CASHMERE
Noise11
Photo: SusanMM


I guess a lot of us went along to see Fleetwood Mac tonight not really knowing what to expect. No Lindsey Buckingham meant this could go horribly wrong. Instead it went wonderfully right.

Fleetwood Mac has operated like a corporation since the inclusion of California duo Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in the mid 70s. Their addition became a nucleus of the band. A non-Buckingham Fleetwood Mac cannot bypass his legacy. Songs like ‘Second Hand News’ and ‘Go Your Own Way’ were generated from his DNA, so while the man has gone, the DNA remains. Neil Finn handled the Lindsey vocals honorably. Heartbreakers’ guitarist Mike Campbell handled Lindsey’s leads remarkably.

The songs are what makes Fleetwood Mac and this is simply one of the great bands of all-time performing some of the greatest songs of all-time.

Lindsey’s songs, his voice and that guitar style meant that no-‘one’ could replace him … so they chose two. The Heartbreakers Mike Campbell, long associated with the band through Stevie Nicks and Neil Finn, a great friend of Mike Fleetwood, faithfully reproduced Lindsey’s musical DNA. Neil is there for the voice, Mike for the guitar. Both their individual legacies are recognized with Neil’s Split Enz and Crowded House classics ‘I Got You’ and ‘’Don’t Dream Its Over’ and Petty’s ‘Free Fallin’ added to the set as a tribute to Tom in the encore.

Review - Fleetwood Mac Live in Melbourne, AU Sept 2, 2019

Review: Fleetwood Mac at Rod Laver Arena
Cameron Adams,
Herald Sun
Photo: Brett Schewitz



Given the well-documented dramas they’ve endured over the decades, you assumed by now Fleetwood Mac were pretty much invincible.

However reuniting that classic Rumours-era line-up back for the 2014/2015 tour proved they had one more soap opera-style twist up their billowing sleeves.

So in 2019, it’s either this Lindsey Buckingham-free version of Fleetwood Mac or nothing.

But the chain’s been broken and repaired so many times over the years change is the only constant in the band’s line-up.

It speaks volumes that Buckingham’s replacements are local hero Neil Finn and former Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Fleetwood Mac lives up to expectations, new lineup, same thrill

The whole room swooned — it’s Stevie
Karl Puschmann
The New Zealand Herald
August 30, 2019
Photo: Qudos Bank Arena



Fleetwood Mac lives up to expectations, new lineup, same thrill

There’s charisma, there’s star power and then there’s Stevie Nicks. Dear gawd she’s cool. She didn’t even have to do anything other than walk onto the stage at Sydney’s Qudos Banks Arena for me to feel it in every fibre of my deeply uncool bones.

I’d been pretty excited to see Fleetwood Mac live, despite not being a purist. I don’t know the deep cuts,

heck, I don’t even really know the mid cuts, but I really love the band’s hits. And that’s what I was there for.

So I applauded with appropriate enthusiasm when new guitarist, and ex-Tom Petty’s Heartbreaker, Mike Campbell walked on stage clad in the rockstar attire of a zebra print jacket, crimson shades and wide-rimmed hat. I gave Neil Finn a hometown holla as he took up his new residence at the front of the stage, and the longstanding duo of bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood got a cheer.

But then Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks walked out and the whole room swooned and I felt something like a cosmic gut punch. It was powerful and visceral and stopped me in my claps. Feeling the collective energy of 21,000 people all simultaneously in total awe and slightly gobsmacked is a trip, man.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

FLEETWOOD MAC Brisbane "It’s a night full of hits, a subtle sidestep around Tusk"

Fleetwood Mac - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
August 20, 2019
by Lauren Baxter
Photos Bianca Holderness
The Music



Walking into Brisbane’s Entertainment Centre, what looks like netball training is just wrapping up. Teens in lycra stream out of the adjacent sports complex and we overhear one ask another, “Who’s playing tonight?” 

“Dunno, some old-school band,” they reply. 

There’s a completely different vibe in the room by the time we take our seats, a wholesome group nearby welcoming us to their “concert family”, forewarning there will be plenty of dancing. No complaints here, it’s Fleetwood Mac after all – shawls and twirling are a given. We overhear parents congratulating one another for bringing their kids and raising them right and bets are made as to what the opening track will be. “You can Go Your Own Way home because it won't be The Chain...” It's The Chain.

And what a way to start. Lindsey Buckingham’s absence doesn’t seem to phase the crowd (another overheard moment: “I can live without Lindsey but I can’t live without Christine”) and his replacements, the beloved (adopted) Australian Neil Finn and Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, slot into the mix effortlessly. 

REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Brisbane "It’s rare for such a historical band to only sound better as the years go on"

Fleetwood Mac – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Written by Jack Gobbe
Photo by Mitch Lowe
SaveTonight
CLICK THROUGH FOR PHOTO GALLERY



It’s rare for such a historical band to only sound better as the years go on. But if any band could, it would be Fleetwood Mac. Over fifty-two years, Fleetwood Mac has undergone various transformations, as members come and go. Recent years have found the most iconic lineup of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Stevie Nicks, Christina McVie and Lindsey Buckingham tour for the masses, although heightened disagreements between Nicks and Buckingham saw the latter depart the band last year.

And thus formed what almost seems like a rock super-group at this point, as the addition of Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and former guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Mike Campbell allows for a breath of fresh air into the iconic lineup. Regardless of who’s playing what, Fleetwood Mac have undeniably stood the test of time, punters young and old uniting at Brisbane Entertainment Centre to catch one of the most important bands

The night was dominated by ‘Rumours’, the album that broke the band in more ways than one. As fractured relationships within the band reached their breaking point, the band’s eleventh album was a turning point in their career. As such, it was only fitting for the record to have a significant presence throughout the night, particularly as the relationship between Nicks and Buckingham has recently reached another point of conflict.

‘The Chain’ opened the night, the grand scale of the track showcasing how tight this new iteration of Fleetwood Mac is. As the track built up to its sweeping climax, you couldn’t help but sit back and prepare for a night of rock mastery. Just two songs later, ‘Dreams’sent the audience into a frenzy. The hypnotic guitar licks echoed through the venue, forcing hips to sway and hands to rise. Nicks’ everlasting vocal capacity carried the chorus to a triumphant peak, allowing the audience to revel in what is arguably one of the biggest songs to come out of the 1970s.

Despite kicking things off with many of their greatest hits, Fleetwood Mac surged through their two hour set with a repertoire of songs that never failed to amaze the crowd – a testament to their powerful discography. Deeper cuts such as ‘Black Magic Woman’ and ‘Oh Well’allowed the band to exhibit the wildly different sounds that come from a band with such longevity. While ‘Black Magic Woman’found Nicks crooning along with the bluesy cut, ‘Oh Well’saw Campbell deliver frolicking guitar-led song that wouldn’t sound out of place as the theme song for a Western.

And then there were the covers, a surprisingly vital part of the night. It’s not every night that a band’s biggest singalong is a cover, although that is exactly what happened when Finn performed his beloved Crowded House track ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’. Similarly, Tom Petty was honoured in the encore as the band covered ‘Free Fallin’, a moving tribute that sees Nicks and Finn trading perfect harmonies while Campbell honours his late frontman with dazzling guitar work.

‘Don’t Stop’seems only fitting as a closer, the title reflecting many fans’ feelings towards the night. Fleetwood Mac hasn’t stopped for fifty-two years, and by the looks of it, they won’t be stopping anytime soon.

Who would have thought that we'd still be seeing Fleetwood Mac in 2019?

Seeing Fleetwood Mac in 2019 is a strange experience — but they’ve always been a strange band

By Dan Condon
ABC.net.au
Photos Robbie Smith

 If their songs weren't so strong, endurance may be Fleetwood Mac's greatest legacy

Thirty minutes into Fleetwood Mac's set at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre this week, Stevie Nicks admitted that she didn’t realise 'Black Magic Woman' was a Fleetwood Mac song until well after she’d joined the band.

It's an astounding admission. Sure, the song had been popularised by Santana's 1970 cover, but to not know the extent of your new band's catalogue – especially the hits – before joining is almost unthinkable.

But this says more about the strange and complex entity that is Fleetwood Mac than it does Nicks' own knowledge gaps. This is a band whose history is confusing, whose music is wildly diverse, and who continue to keep us guessing.

Who would have thought that we'd still be seeing Fleetwood Mac in 2019? Moreover, who'd have thought that Neil Finn and Tom Petty collaborator Mike Campbell would join the band?

You don't get a timeline like this without a strange history.

That's why the prospect of seeing this wildly new incarnation of one of the history's most celebrated rock bands doesn't seem completely unfaithful. Consistency is not Fleetwood Mac's strong-point. When their line-up has remained staid, their very existence has been precarious, reportedly fraught with infighting and ill-feelings.

If nothing else, you have to respect the band's endurance. That they are still touring in any form feels almost miraculous.

But are they any good?

REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Brisbane August 20, 2019

STILL GOING THEIR OWN WAY
Andrew McMillen
The Australian



Since it began as a British rock band in 1967, Fleetwood Mac has undergone 19 iterations while steadily adding Americans and, most recently, a New Zealander to its line-up. Its only remaining founding member is drummer Mick Fleetwood, who recently described each version of the group as “incredibly different musical episodes in this Shakespearean play we blundered into”.

Whether at work, at play, at each others’ throats or at risk of dying young from excessive drug consumption, this group of artists has produced some of the finest songs in popular music, which is why tickets to these tours continue to sell at premium prices, and why audiences continue to show up by the tens of thousands.

Few albums in rock ’n’ roll history have sold more copies — or prompted more commentary about the unique interpersonal dynamics that surrounded its creation — than 1977’s Rumours. Towards the end of the year of its release, the group — Fleetwood, singer Stevie Nicks, singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, singerkeyboardist Christine McVie and bassist John McVie — visited Australia for a tour named Rockarena, on a bill that also featured Santana and Little River Band.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Live in Brisbane August 20, 2019

A crowded house for Fleetwood Mac’s Brisbane return
Lydia Lynch
BrisbaneTimes.com



The first few songs of Fleetwood Mac’s Brisbane return roused cringe-worthy flashbacks to one of those work Christmas parties where you end up at a dingy karaoke bar in the early hours of the morning.

The sound was off, the vocals felt groggy and the sparkle that fuelled decades of success for the 50-year-old band was just not there.

That was until the group launched into the first bars of Black Magic Woman, penned by former band member Peter Green, and the hypnotic Fleetwood Mac spirit arrived.

“When we first went into rehearsal for this tour we went through our history of Fleetwood Mac and we picked out a couple of songs we thought you might enjoy,” Stevie Nicks told the crowd on Tuesday night.

REVIEW An extraordinary group of people comprise Fleetwood Mac these days

Fleetwood Mac @ Qudos Bank Arena - Syndey
15 August 2019 | Beck
TheMusic.com
Photos Josh Groom

"The hits just kept on coming."



An extraordinary group of people comprise Fleetwood Mac these days - much technical brilliance, decades worth of experience, probably centuries really if you added it all together, and flat-out, no question, critically and commercially tested, outright talent.

Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie and Stevie Nicks may have lost Lindsey Buckingham in the last band shake-up but have added Mike Campbell (ex Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) and Neil Finn to fill the gap and it’s evident from the opening song, The Chain, that they couldn’t have done better.

The hits just kept on coming, and not little ones either. These are the BIG ones. The songs that have been feeding commercial FM radio since its inception. Over two hours worth of songs that are so deeply ingrained in our collective consciousness that we don’t even remember how we know them.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

“It’s huge, and it’s magical,” he said of the latest incarnation of the Fleetwood Mac.

NEIL’S MAC PACK
The Courier-mail
By Kathy McCabe

MICK Fleetwood believes the seed for Neil Finn to join the legendary Fleetwood Mac was planted more than 20 years ago.

Ahead of the first of four concerts in Sydney on their world farewell tour, the band’s co-founder said Finn was one of the first people he thought of when Lindsey Buckingham left the band last year.

After the bandmates decided to continue touring, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and John McVie enlisted former Tom Petty band member Mike Campbell to join them to play guitar.

And then Fleetwood suggested his “secret weapon” Finn, who he has become “incredibly close”, with their respective families sharing holidays in Auckland.

The drummer also played on their “family album”.

They first met when they were sitting next to each other at a Paul McCartney benefit at the Royal Albert Hall two decades ago and have continued to catch up at random events before forming their firm friendship.

“It’s huge, and it’s magical,” he said of the latest incarnation of the Mac.

“And this funny relationship that I had with Neil, neither of us knowing why it was that we have passed in the dark, so many times. And now we know.”

At the Live Nation Green Room event before the show, the famous drummer said he wouldn’t go into the details behind the separation between the band and Buckingham.

“Note that I’ve said it before, we were not happy, and that was really the crux of, of all the details that don’t need to be known,” he told the invited guests.

Fleetwood also reminded his fans about his other Australian friendships developed when he had a home in Mittagong, close to Jimmy Barnes’s old property.

“We called it Barnesville back in the day,” he said of the Southern Highlands town. Fleetwood credits the generational appeal of the band – and in particular their seminal Rumours record, which remains one of the best-selling vinyl records each year – to their musical integrity.

“And we put our heart into what we do. And we took a lot of trouble whenever we made our albums, and they translated into something that has become somewhat, if not extremely, timeless, which is about the biggest blessing an artist can have especially when you get into your 70s,” he said.

Fleetwood Mac began a four-night stand in Sydney last night and play at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on August 20, 22 and 24.


‘It’s a love story really’: Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks on wooing Neil Finn
Fleetwood Mac brought ‘secret weapon’ Finn into the fold after an ‘incredibly sad, incredibly challenging’ time


By Steph Harmon
The Guardian

Mick Fleetwood described Crowded House frontman Neil Finn as a “secret weapon” he held onto for two decades, before asking him to fly to Hawaii to audition for Fleetwood Mac.

In April 2018, it was announced that longstanding member Lindsey Buckingham would be leaving the band, to be replaced by Finn and Mike Campbell, the guitarist from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.