PHOTOS: FLEETWOOD MAC - BIRMINGHAM NOVEMBER 3, 2009

FLEETWOOD MAC - BIRMINGHAM

Photos by: Steve Thorne

Gettyimages

 

          

FLEETWOOD MAC - Tour finishes on Friday at Wembley Arena in London

Fleetwood Mac Lift The Lid
BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC

Despite a rocky past, Fleetwood Mac look set to finish their UK tour this week without incident.

The band have pulled off a series of comeback dates that wrap up in London on Friday, but as Stevie Nicks explained, it hasn’t always been such a smooth ride for them with many rows and in-fighting within the band:

“Somebody’s playing a song, and everybody in the room is going, that’s about me right? And of course it’s about you, but what you have to do is let that go, ‘cos if you don’t let that go, you can never play these songs for anybody.”

"Somebody’s playing a song, and everybody in the room is going, that’s about me right?"  Stevie Nicks on troubles in the band.

The band have not shied away from any of their hits on the tour, including songs from all four decades at the shows, which have been hailed a triumphant return for the band. They've managed to overcome several changes to the line-up and had to contend with breakups, drug problems and even a religious cult during their time together.

Lindsey Buckingham says reforming wasn’t a walk in the park, and he didn’t really face up to the full force of their previous problems in doing so: “It was kind of an exercise in denial that really was the only way to get through it, you really had to put your feelings over here and get on with what needed to be done in the rest of the room.”

The band re-released "The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac" last month, which went in at number 6 in the UK album charts. But Ken Caillat who produced their classic album Rumours, and said even during the recording Stevie Nicks, and then partner Lindsey Buckingham, were falling out in a big way:

“They were both sitting on stools next to each other and singing into two microphones, and we had to stop the tape or something, and suddenly they were screaming at each other, “Damn you, damn you, go to hell,” and I was honestly embarrassed, I didn’t know what to do, so I just rewound the tape as fast as I could and the moment I hit play they were back into singing, You Make Loving Fun Again, which I thought was very ironic.”

Since going on tour - now without singer Christine McVie - the band have been able to bury some old hatchets, according to John McVie and Lindsey Buckingham.

“We’d just come back from New York, and I don’t think the band has played better. This is a great body of work we’ve got and that allows you to sort of, all the other good feelings, and the other more objective and positive aspects of how you feel about the people, to follow.”

The tour finishes on Friday at Wembley Arena in London.

FLEETWOOD MAC "DON'T STOP" BBC DOCUMENTARY.... ON YOUTUBE

Here's the first part in a 7 part series of the BBC Documentary on Fleetwood Mac called "Don't Stop" which recently aired in the UK on BBC One. It's a new documentary on the band with new interviews and old footage that I've never seen before... I have to say, it was really well done... For additional footage: FMSahara

Watch The Full Documentary Right Here

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in Sheffield "The Night Belongs To The Pairing of Buckingham / Nicks""

Fleetwood Mac Live at Sheffield Arena
2nd November 2009
Contact Music
by: Will Orchard

As the first tour in their forty-year career without new material to offer, Fleetwood Mac's return to European shores is far from the formulaic reunions of late; saved the clumsy necessity of shoehorning new tracks into a set of, at times, 30 years familiarity, the quartet has succeeded in weaving a touching, cathartic set that does justice to the depth of their catalogue. Focussing almost solely on the band's output since their eponymous 1975 offering, their first with one-time lovers Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks at the helm, the evening's proceedings are led by the group's American contingent; the band's world-weary backbone of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie may be first to step out as the house lights dim, but the night belongs to the pairing of Buckingham/Nicks that's so long proven the fuel to the band's fire.

While the fist-raising likes of Second Hand News and I'm So Afraid - here an exhibition in Buckingham's distinctive finger-picked style - may have proven expectable highlights, it's the introspective subtleties of the band's set that provide the most gut-wrenching and emotive moments of the show; the hushed mid-set highlights of Landslide and Storms are poignant, affecting tributes to heartbreak and nostalgia. Indeed, Landslide's wistful melancholia has begun to develop a further dimension as Nicks enters her sixtieth year; the song's anxious consideration of ageing and growth - 'Can I handle the seasons of my life?' -coloured by Nicks' tumultuous experiences, yet tonight's evidence suggests she's ridden Fortune's wheel well enough. More than thirty years after much of tonight's set was originally committed to tape, it's a pleasant surprise that the band's offerings have loss none of their potency.

The relationship and tensions between the front pair, so long left unresolved, are still evident too tonight; the vitriolic Go Your Own Way, and specifically its infamous 'shacking up' line, sees Nicks turn her back on Buckingham, turning only to spit the lyrics back at him, while Sara concludes with the pair embracing, a brief respite to the conflicts that, though now more for effect, pepper the show. Nicks' bohemian tendencies are in full flow throughout, numerous changes from one velvet gown to another abound, and the sprawling disco of her own Stand Back contrasts with the brusque punk of Buckingham's offerings, yet the brief overlaps where the pair duet result in a sweet delight, nothing short of electrifying.

For an arena band, Fleetwood Mac are more than adept at fashioning a living-room mood; the stories and introductions they give to their tracks - most notably Nicks' reverentially-received tale of her years in beatnik San Francisco that heralds Gypsy - never stray into the forced sincerity of their peers, while the finale of Don't Stop and Fleetwood's parting messages for the crowd to 'look after yourselves, but most importantly each other', the band's trademark mix of AOR and refreshingly innocent hippiedom, leave the crowd grinning. Buckingham's closing offerings - 'We'll see you next time!' - will, one would hope, ring true in the not too distant future.

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Sheffield Arena November 2, 2009

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE 
SHEFFIELD ARENA - November 2, 2009
By Leeroy
GigJunkie

Fleetwood Mac are one of those classic bands that thrived due to conflict. Much has been said of the marriages, divorces, flings, and admirations within the band but throughout the years the best songs have come from the worst of times. They still would be classed as one of the biggest bands to hit the planet, with Rumours still being one of the top ten selling albums EVER!

So when they announced a reunion the initial rumours (excuse the pun) were that they'd be headlining Glastonbury, this didn't happen much to my dismay. But when a small 6 date UK tour was announced, I was one of the first in line, even at the steep price of £75 for some of the best seats in the house. Although much the tour hasn't quite sold out, there weren't many seats left vacant in the gods at the back of the arena, something a slightly lower price tag would have solved.

The line up of the bands namesake, Mick Fleetwood, fans hero Lindsey Buckingham, almost ever present bassist John McVie, and pin-up and fashion icon for many Stevie Nicks, is the same as the 2004 tour and again missing Christine McVie since leaving the tense world of Mac. Fittingly all four members all came onto stage from seperate directions, leaving a certain doubt as to whether the tension in the band still exists. The first few tracks felt like the band were just getting warmed up, even the track that introduced me to Fleetwood Mac at a young age of Formula One watching, 'The Chain', was as powerful as on record, but felt like they'd not quite gelled everything together. Luckily that was a fear that was quickly resolved a chat to the crowd from Lindsey explaining that the band this time were determined "with no album to promote 'yet'", they were just going "to have fun and play all records that we love and hopefully so do you".

Continue to Gig Junkie for full review

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in Sheffield - November 2. 2009

Fleetwood Mac Live
Sheffield Arena 2/11/09
Sheffield Telegraph

YOU know a strike's making an impact when one of the world's most famous bands delays its show as a result.

On Monday, outside the Arena, a huge queue snakes around its walls as hundreds complain their tickets haven't arrived.

"The band are delaying their show ten minutes," shouts a member of staff, only to repeat her message ten minutes later.

But the wait's worth it.

Fleetwood Mac – despite vowing they would never play again – play a set of classics, including The Chain, Rhiannon, Go Your Own Way, Don't Stop, Say You Love Me and Sara.

And surprisingly, the band play arguably their biggest hit, The Chain, second.

Delivery is impeccable - the world's most famous bass line sounds bigger and more visceral than its does opening the BBC's F1 coverage.

The line-up includes Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lesley Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

Buckingham and Nicks take their perches at the front of the stage, exchanging glances, smiles and even a cuddle throughout the show.

And, remarkably, despite it being 41 years since the Grammy-winning Rumours was released, Nicks' trademark voice – both whisky-laden and ethereal, is superbly unchanged.

At several points throughout the show Nicks disappears behind the stage, emerging wearing a different shawl or a dress.

Her black and deep red floaty costumes reflect the dual-character of her voice – which is are at once other-worldy, earthy and dark.

Buckingham's on form too, elaborating – perhaps a little excessively – on the guitar solo to Go Insane.

He also shines as a soloist, playing intricate acoustic guitar on softer numbers as the band retreat to the back of the stage.

And then, following his lone performances, Buckingham stands at the front of the stage, lapping up the applause – rightly so.

PHOTOS: Fleetwood Mac Unleashed in Birmingham, UK November 3, 2009

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE IN BIRMINGHAM

November 3, 2009

Photos by: ahisgett (View Gallery)

PHOTOS: Fleetwood Mac Captured in Birmingham

PHOTOS BY: JASON SHELDON

Junction 10 Gallery

FLEETWOOD MAC - "DON'T STOP" DOCUMENTARY COMMENTARY

Fleetwood Mac and a divorce lawyer’s Rumours
MarilynStowe

I watched an incredibly personal interview with the band Fleetwood Mac on the BBC the other night, in advance of their forthcoming British tour. The band members are clearly older and wiser than they were in the late 1970s. They had stories to tell about the emotional turbulence in their lives when arguably they were at the height of their success. It made fascinating viewing for me, a fan who keeps The Very Best Of close by in my bedroom.

I love the music and I love their voices, but I must admit that the words haven’t always made sense to me. I’ve just been conscious that these are world-class artists producing world-class timeless music. Now I understand how their tumultuous lives have contributed so much to their art.

Continue To Marilyn's Blog

(PHOTOS) FLEETWOOD MAC - SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND 11/02/09

FLEETWOOD MAC

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

Photos by: Scuba Maldives

(Gallery Link)

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac - Sheffield Arena - Sheffield, UK Nov 2, 2009

By Mike Russell
Sheffield Telegraph

GREATEST hits they promised and greatest hits they delivered - Fleetwood Mac were back last night, thrilling a packed Sheffield Arena.

Five years after they insisted they were calling it a day for good, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Lindsey Buckingham are on tour again playing songs "just for fun" - and fun it most certainly was.

This was a debut appearance in these parts for the band's most famous incarnation, the one which gave the world the mega-selling Rumours, and they came armed with a fantasy setlist designed to thrill any fan.

Bland it wasn't. Freed from its usual F1 home The Chain roared out of the starting blocks, second song in, with power to spare, while a fierce percussion-led Tusk banished any thought that the Mac are simply gentle easy-listening.

Buckingham in particular seemed determined to prove the band aren't ready for their pipe and slippers just yet, giving many of the rockers like Go Insane the big solo guitar god treatment.

With Christine McVie opting out of the current reunion, there's more focus on Nicks, whose voice remains strangely ethereal and other-worldly.

You can't go far wrong with a songbook like the Mac's - highlights included Say You Love Me, Sara, Rhiannon, Gold Dust Woman and the mighty Go Your Own Way.

There was even a nod to the original Peter Green-led version of the band, with a punchy version of Oh Well, which was one of the highlights of the night.

While McVie and Fleetwood remain as tight a rhythm section as ever, it's Buckingham and Nicks who now dominate the band, and they had plenty of references to the band's often tumultous past - a living soap opera as famous as any in pop.

Any flabby moments were soon swept away by yet another big tune. Everyone was up and bopping to encore Don't Stop - and on this form no-one will want them to.

(REVIEW) FLEETWOOD MAC "DON'T STOP" DOCUMENTARY

Review:
Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop, BBC One
Written by: Adam Sweeting
The Artists Desk

Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop lacked the caustic edge of the Rock Family Trees film about the band from 1995. That contained some great stuff about the fake Fleetwood Mac launched by their former manager Clifford Davis, true confessions from ex-guitarist Bob Weston about his affair with Mick Fleetwood's wife, and the one about addled guitar hero Peter Green wandering around with pieces of cheese in his hair. But inevitably director Matt O'Casey's new film had the advantage of being able to bring the story up to date, notably in a bittersweet coda reflecting on the still-unbridged chasm between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.

For all the doggedness of founding father Mick Fleetwood, who increasingly resembles a castaway from a tropical island - funnily enough, he now lives in Hawaii, along with original bassist John McVie - the Mac became the biggest band of their era because of Buckingham and Nicks. Of all the inter-band traumas, theirs was the most spectacular, intense and creative, and it still bites both of them hard to this day.

Nicks, in particular, wasn't pulling any punches. It hurt her when Buckingham wrote "Go Your Own Way" about her, and it still does: "Ladylike, prudish Stevie, which I am, was very offended by him saying 'shacking up is all you want to do', because I was not in any kind of shacking up mood. I was not shacking up with anybody."

By all accounts Buckingham has always been a gifted but bloody difficult band-mate - "one of those people that will go up on the cross to make a point, and die," as Nicks put it - but marriage and children have given him some equilibrium. Yet his history with teenage sweetheart Stevie is still a weeping scab. "Maybe in 10 or 15 years when Lindsey and I are 75, we'll be friends again, when Fleetwood Mac is a distant memory," she said wistfully. But like the Flying Dutchman, maybe the Mac can never stop.

Watch Don't Stop on the BBC iPlayer here.