Wednesday 11 November 2009

Fleetwood Mac - Sounds Write


WHEN guitarist Fleetwood Mac , singer and principal songwriter Lindsey Buckingham told the audience at Manchester’s M.E.N arena that, “This band have a complex and convoluted emotional history and it has not always been easy”, the comment was undoubtedly one of the understatements of the century. If for the forty year plus rollercoaster life and times of the supergroup were ever to be dramatised, it would certainly make for the most compelling viewing with its tales of marital splits, inter band affairs, acrimonious bust ups, casual bed-hopping, copious amounts of drug taking/life threatening addictions, alcohol abuse, mental illness, therapy and rehab, flirtations with religious cults and all this whilst simultaneously managing to create some of the finest and biggest selling albums of all time.
The fact that Fleetwood Mac in 2009 are now, seemingly, the most stable of units is nothing short of a phenomenon and a testament to their individual and collective survival instincts. Messrs Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie (Christine McVie quit the band in ’98, opting for a quiet life these days down in Kent) have long since cleaned up their acts and settled their personal differences and, on the recent ‘Unleashed’ world tour which rolled up in Manchester last week for a sell out show, they convincingly demonstrated that their performance levels are as high now as any point previously in their lengthy career.
In the early 1970’s, Fleetwood Mac were a British blues/rock group whose moderately successful career up to that juncture had been seriously derailed by the departure(due largely to one too many bad acid ‘trips’) of founder member, legendary guitarist Peter Green. The group continued to splutter along for a while until the pivotal moment when an American duo, Buckingham and Nicks, joined the band. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were lovers as well as performers and came very much as a package, with Buckingham, having been identified as a replacement for Green(after a succession of other players had not worked out), refusing to join Mac unless his partner came ‘on board’ too. The introduction of the duo in 1975, who had previously been bit part players on the West Coast music scene, struggling to eke out a living, succeeded in adding a radio friendly sheen to Fleetwood Mac’s blue/rock roots, turning around their fortunes in the process and completely revitalising the group’s career. The now new look Anglo American Fleetwood Mac embarked on a glorious period of unbroken musical success throughout the remainder of the 1970’s/early 80’s but the new chapter in the group’s history also heralded the start of those well-documented problems that very nearly destroyed the band.
The 2009 ‘Unleashed’ tour has a real celebratory triumph over adversity feel to it and the crowd pleasing tone of the evening was set in place from the very moment Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham walked out on stage hand in hand to thunderous squeals of delight. And in truth, the two and a half hour show that followed did very much belong to the duo who were undeniably the main focal point with their great on stage dynamic.
Fleetwood Mac don’t presently have any new album to promote, their last one being 2003’s ‘Say You Will’, though they did hint during the show that there could well be one in the offing, news that was met with great audience excitement. The set list of the recent show is drawn largely from the group’s trilogy of 1970’s albums, the self titled ‘Fleetwood Mac’, the 25 million plus selling ‘Rumours’ and ‘Tusk’, records which marked the band’s halcyon days. “This time we said, ‘let’s just go out and have fun’”, Buckingham told the crowd when explaining the show’s rationale and content and so, what was subsequently served up amounted to a veritable Fleetwood Mac musical feast for fans with great big dollops of classic songs such as ‘The Chain’, ‘Dreams’, ‘Rhiannon’, ‘Gold Dust Woman’, ‘Gypsy’, ‘Oh Well’ – a solitary doff of the hat to the Peter Green Mac era, ‘Never Going Back Again’ and ‘Second Hand News’, which Buckingham introduced, with another reference to their ‘crazy’ years, by saying, “This next song, if memory serves, and these days it often doesn’t serve, due to living one’s life a certain way for a number of years, was the first song written for the Rumours album.”
Buckingham himself is, physically, remarkably well preserved these days and with his boyish, skinny frame, still thick though greying mop of tousled hair, makes a mockery of his sixty years. As for his guitar playing, it is nothing short of dazzling and if anyone present had any doubts beforehand about him deserving to be ranked right up there alongside the greats, they would surely have left the building utterly convinced that he is indeed, a bona fide guitar maestro. He plays his instrument with a manic intensity, at times a picture of almost demonic intent and his spine tingling solo performance on acoustic guitar for ‘Big Love’ (from the ‘Tango In Night’ album) was something very special to behold, with his breakneck speed of hands building to an awesome finger shredding climax. Elsewhere, he turned in immense solos on ‘Tusk’ and ‘Go Your Own Way’, shamelessly playing up to the crowd with his whoops and stomping of feet as well as his frequent forays to the very edge of the stage where, on bended knee while soloing, he allowed fans to run their eager fingers all along his guitar fretboard. He still sings great too, possessing a natural flair for harmonising and he does all this, whilst visibly drenched right through in sweat from the second song in yet never once bothering to remove his short black leather jacket in a great display of ultimate rock star ‘cool’.
Miss Stevie Nicks, the perfect onstage foil for Buckingham, still sports her career ‘uniform’ of cropped style riding jacket complete with floaty shawl, billowing skirt, suede platform boots and (occasional)Victorian top hat whilst her mic stand and tambourine are draped with trademark sheer scarves and long ribbons. At sixty one, despite her years of hard living having clearly taken their toll on her looks and her once svelte figure certainly a little more rounded these days, Nicks remains effortlessly sexy and the epitome of Californian hippy/mystical chic. Her vocals however are her greatest seduction tool, as smoky and ethereal as ever and although she now noticeably avoids notes in the higher register, her dulcet tones still cast quite a spell.
There’s some lovely Buckingham/Nicks coming togethers’ during the show that are played out for maximum effect and which the audience readily lap up. A stunning Nicks rendition of ‘Landslide’ sees her alone on stage with her former paramour accompanying on acoustic guitar and, at the conclusion of ‘Sara’, the pair warmly embrace and hug, sway momentarily in each others arms with a resting of heads on shoulders and there’s a tender kiss from Buckingham to the back of Nicks’ hair. It’s all a little too stage managed but it’s a poignant moment nonetheless and elicits the intended crowd cheers.
As something of a backdrop to the Buckingham and Nick’s floor show, there’s the two ageing gents and somewhat unsung heroes of the group, bassist John McVie (64) and drummer Mick Fleetwood (62), driving things along at a frenetic pace as one of the tightest rhythm sections in the business. McVie, typically motionless and doing his best to avoid eye contact with all, hiding under his flat cap, could easily pass for a grizzled farmer that had just parked his tractor at the back and ambled on stage whilst the towering 6ft 6in Fleetwood, with his grey/white hair slicked back in a short ponytail, wild, wide-eyed gaze, white shirt and black waistcoat and, with those omni present, what appear to be, pair of oversized clackers dangling from his waist, looks for all his worth as though he has come straight out of the pages of an old English medieval novel. And when he gets his big moment under the spotlight during a fairly lengthy drum solo towards the show’s end, he goes into full on frenzy mode, battering the hell out of his monstrous kit as he barks out some incomprehensible words to the crowd and generally exhibiting characteristics of a deranged madman. The alln-absorbing and enthralling concert reaches a actual peak with everyone coaxed to their feet for the big crowd sing-a-long anthems that are ‘Go Your Own Way’ and the rousing encore of ‘Don’t Stop’. It leaves the audience on an exhilarating high and the final utterance from the stage of “We’ll see you next time” is a promise all present surely hope Fleetwood Mac will keep.

Thursday 5 November 2009

Birmingham, Fleetwood Max at the NIA


It is rare for a rumbling bass guitar it is rare riff to get one of the biggest cheers at a concert but it happened when John McVie played those famous notes of The Chain, introduced to a whole new audience thanks to their use as the theme tune to TV’s Grand Prix racing coverage.
And, just like an F1 car, Fleetwood Mac got off to a flying start as they took the audience on a Greatest Hits trip. The Chain, the second track of a 22 song set, was followed by Dreams and a rockin’ I Know I’m Not Wrong.
Frontman Lindsey Buckingham explained: “We’ve got no new album to sell so we’ve decided to do the songs we love – and we hope you love them too.”
While 60 year old Lindsey provides the hard edged rock ‘n’ roll, former girlfriend Stevie Nicks, a year his senior, enchants with her more ethereal tunes.
Rhiannon and Gold Dust Woman were highlights of the two hour 20 minute show, while at the end of Sara, Nicks and Buckingham hugged, a sign that time has healed the rift between them.
The duo may be in the spotlight at the front but the power is at the back of the stage in the shape of 63 year old McVie and towering 62 year old drummer Mick Fleetwood who provided the muscular rhythm for another show stopper, the mighty Tusk.
When it comes to guitar maestros, however, it’s hard to top Buckingham who played a blistering solo at the end of I’m So Afraid.
He has the stage to himself for Big Love, a song, he explains, that was written as an ensemble piece but has evolved into a solo performance.
Drummer Fleetwood encores with a madcap solo before a rip roaring finish of Don’t Stop which had the sold out crowd singing along.
The Mac are well and truly back.

Sunday 1 November 2009

Michael Jackson: This Is It, Kenny Ortega, 112 mins, (PG)


The biggest musical event this week isn't a concert at all, but it's coming to a popcorn pit near you. By the time I'm writing this and you're reading it, Michael Jackson was meant to have performed 27 dates of his This Is It farewell show at the O2 in London, with a further 23 to follow in the spring.
Whether you believe he would even have made it this far without cancellations is a matter for personal conjecture. And it's a question that the feature film, cobbled together from his rehearsals at Los Angeles' Staples Center, only hints at answering.
The Star Wars scroll-up at the start tells us that This Is It was going to be "an entirely new concert experience". Entirely new? Not exactly. A very high-concept version of the existing concert experience, perhaps. But it's typical of the uncritical hyperbole that defines and dogs this documentary.
The main problem with This Is It lies in its choice of director: Kenny Ortega, the director of the stage show itself, who has cherry-picked the clips which make his production appear in the best possible light.
It would, unquestionably, have been a cracking concert: the dancers who pop up from below-stage at toaster speed, the black widow spider from which Jacko emerges in "Thriller", the appearance of an actual bulldozer for "Earth Song", the Zelig/Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid-style film preceding "Smooth Criminal" in which MJ is placed inside a montage of film-noir scenes (admiring Rita Hayworth in Gilda, dodging Bogey's bullets in Dead Reckoning, and so on).
But had the footage fallen somehow into the hands of an impartial documentarian, we might have seen a completely different film from the hagiography Ortega has given us.
The most fascinating scenes, nevertheless, are the candid moments in which Michael, bespectacled and studious, chomping on snacks or sucking on a lollipop, supervises auditions, oversees choreography on his laptop, bosses the band (who all call him "Sir") into making it "more funky" and admonishes them for "not letting it simmer!", while emphasising that his criticisms are always delivered "with the love, L.O.V.E".
His face, it's sad to say, looks like someone who's been in a fire, but his physical condition isn't as poor as one might expect. The 50 year old was still super mobile, as the awe inspiring spin he throws into "The Way You Make Me Feel" proves, and his voice on "Human Nature" is out of this world. What he lacks, it seems, is stamina: he complains that he needs to save his voice rather than rehearse the outro of "Just Can't Stop Loving You", and can't hack a retake of the routine for "Beat It". Interestingly, the one character we never meet is Dr Conrad Murray, dosing Jacko up and pushing his body to the limit to meet AEG's concert schedule.
Despite the stress he's under, at no point does the King of Pop kick off, throw his toys out of pram or reach the end of his tether. Instead, he spends his down-time delivering a softly-spoken soliloquy on climate change. Maybe he actually is that saintly. We'll never know, because Ortega's sometimes inspiring, but mostly somewhat sad film is ultimately – no apologies for the pun – a whitewash.
If she didn't mean it, it wouldn't work. Stephanie Lynn Nicks may have been working as a waitress in a cocktail bar when Fleetwood Mac found her, and cleaning the producer's toilets to pay for her first record, but the buck-toothed blonde from Phoenix never stopped imagining herself as a Welsh witch goddess.
Thirty-five years on, she hasn't ceased: swishing about in a bat-winged cape and a diamante half-moon pendant, and bleating about a "woman taken by the sky". Mystery-and-magic isn't merely an act for Stevie. She believes it, and bless her to bits for that.
If Stevie on a British stage is what really sends the hackles tingling for the faithful, then it's only in the context of a truly stunning Fleetwood Mac concert. Her foil and sometime lover Lindsey Buckingham, spindly-legged and still offensively handsome, is a fast-fingertipped phenomenon on guitar. His solo spots for "Big Love" and "Oh Well" are breathtaking; the title track of his 1979 folly Tusk is so berserk you can almost taste the Hollywood A-grade in your septum.
Together, they conjure such an electricity that the rhythm section John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, whose British blues band was transformed by the Buckingham-Nicks takeover in 1974, can only stand and watch. "I think I had met my match," she sings in the sublime "Sara", and she looks at him with lazy eyes. He catches the glance, and bites his lip. As the song ends, they waltz and he kisses her hair. It must drive their current partners insane. Because it sure as hell sends a shiver through everyone else.

Tuesday 27 October 2009

SECC, Glasgow, Fleetwood Mac


To those familiar with their patchwork history, the fact that this recent avatar of Fleetwood Mac has remained stable for a little over a decade is something approaching a miracle.
Guitarist, sometime singer and key songwriter, Lindsey Buckingham, alludes to previous traumas with mention of recording their classic album, Rumours, during which period he and Stevie Nicks were breaking up their relationship: "there were a lot of emotional opposites between us". Yes, there was "aggression" to be worked out during "Second Hand News", but rarely has such spite sounded as joyful as it did here.
Whatever bridges may have been burned during this era and Buckingham's departure from the band following 1987's Tango in the Night have obviously been long since rebuilt. At the end of "Sara", Nicks – a hippyish figure in a changing array of sequinned shawls and dresses, her eyes dreamy and her hair a fresh bottle-blonde – takes Buckingham in a tender embrace of friendship. To applause and camera flashes from the audience, words are whispered between the pair, and it's another moment for the photo album when they emerge holding hands for the encore an hour later.
These two have clearly settled into a lifelong friendship, but many might have noticed the opposite attraction of their musical relationship. While the pair's voices manage a beautifully rootsy combination on duets like "Don't Stop" and particularly a stripped-back acoustic pairing for "Never Going Back Again", their individual contributions are markedly change.
Nicks, spinning gently on the spot, is a folky bohemian, a rustic chanteuse during familiar tracks like "Gypsy", "Rhiannon" and an acoustic "Landslide". While the musical styles of the Janis Joplin-esque "Gold Dust Woman" and "Stand Back"'s alarmingly contemporary electronic keyboard riff are markedly different, Nicks's persona doesn't shift.
Buckingham, on the other hand, is a study in almost manic intensity, specially when Nicks has walked off to effect another costume different and he's left alone to indulge himself with the stalwart rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. Perhaps over-fond of the extended instrumental, he plays with a serious stare and punctuates each song with whoops and stamps of the feet. It's a little overwrought, but Buckingham conjures a young man's vitality during "Tusk", "Go Your Own Way", "Oh Well" and a truly spine tingling acoustic take on "Big Love".
For a band who deal in definitively enduring pop classics, there was the odd clunking moment – a dull "Go Insane", Fleetwood's literally barking drum solo during "World Turning". Yet the magic far outweighed these brief lulls, and the drummer's assertion at the end that "we'll see you next time" was a promise we'd like to hold him to.

Friday 23 October 2009

Review, Fleetwood Mac


As famous Fleetwood Mac are almost for the bed hopping, powder-sniffing emotional trauma they have visited on each other over the years as they are for their era-defining monster hits. But with their heydays now 20 and 30 years behind them, can the music still thrill without the chemical and emotional charges of old?
In their most famous avatar, featuring Lyndsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac were million-selling megastars of soft rock in the 1970s and masters of airy synth anthems in the 1980s.
Nicks, Buckingham and rhythm section stalwarts Mick Fleetwood and John McVie are back on the road touting a greatest hits tour with no distracting new album to promote. “Yet,” said Buckingham, teasing. The expected roar of anticipation petered out almost before it had begun.
The crowd in Glasgow was a muted mirror of the band themselves, reflecting back what they were given. In the many long, baggy, drawn-out echoes of songs that peppered a flabby set they were silent in their thousands, still and mooning at the stage, clapping politely between numbers. But on the few occasions when the band came to life the crowd went off like firecrackers.
Buckingham’s maudlin posturing and hammy vocal theatrics had many on their feet and cheering, while the sudden liveliness of Tusk or the let-rip relief of the bluesy Oh Well brought roars of delight. The likes of Don’t Stop, The Chain and Go Your Own Way were full of real energy.
But for every one of those tracks there was a Sara or a Landslide, in which a listless and heavy-lidded Nicks struggled to push much range or power from her voice. Or an I’m So Afraid, with a bland and seemingly never-ending guitar solo.
The musical star of the night was Fleetwood, whose drumming lent every song dynamics, energy and, in Tusk and the last section of World Turning, some unexpected groove. He looked as if he was having a riot throughout.
It’s a shame his enthusiasm wasn’t more infectious – this canny dinosaur of a band had the good sense and good grace to snap into focus for arresting performances of the landmark songs, but its brio was too often short-lived.

Saturday 10 October 2009

SHERYL CROW MYSTIFIED MAC


Fleetwood Mac say Sheryl Crow was not invited to join the band following the departure of Christine McVie, despite the singer's previous claims.
Sheryl Crow stunned Fleetwood Mac when she announced she was joining them because she had never been asked.
The 'All I Wanna Do' star announced she would replace Christine McVie when the singer and keyboardist retired from the band in 1998, but singer and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham claims they never needed a replacement.
He said: "There aren't too many people who would be able to fit the bill. With Sheryl I thought it was pretty funny.
"She announced she was joining Fleetwood Mac but I didn't know any of it."
His bandmate Stevie Nicks added: "We spent seven weeks battering our heads against a wall trying Christine's songs, but we just can't. She can't be replaced."
Mick Fleetwood the group's founder said they didn't want Sheryl to join the band because she had too much going on with her personal life.
He explained: "There was talk of Sheryl Crow taking Chris's place but she'd been through too much.
"She'd had cancer, lost a lover and adopted a child. Being on the road was the last thing for her."

Thursday 8 October 2009

keeps hits in the family to Singer Colbie


Californian singer songwriter Colbie Caillat music run in the family for 23 years old, who currently scored her first US number one album.
Her father Ken co-produced one of the best selling releases of the 1970s, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, and has produced many of the songs on his daughter's latest album Breakthrough.
COLBIE CAILLAT
Colbie and Ken Caillat would "butt heads" while making her new album When I was four or five, I remember my family having parties. We'd be blasting music all day long it was all about music and it was always fun.
It was all classic rock the Steve Miller Band, Tom Petty, Joni Mitchell, Fleetwood Mac.
The first concert I ever went to was Fleetwood Mac at the Hollywood Bowl and we were allowed to go backstage.
My parents have stayed friends with Fleetwood Mac over the years. The first time I ever went out on a boat, we went out on John McVie's yacht in southern California and I threw up off the side.
Dad would take me, my sister and my mom into the studio all the time. We'd be at the console and watch him. When he had his record label, I'd go into the offices.
Sometimes we'd sit in on meetings. My sister and I helped them name one of their record labels. We were brainstorming with them on what a cool name would be for a label. We ended up with Silverline.
My parents are so proud now seriously, they wanted to take another tour bus and follow my tour
When Steely Dan's song Hey Nineteen would come on at home, I'd rock out and sing all the words to it. That's when my parents saw the interest. My dad started teaching me what song structure was. That's how it started.
Working with my dad now, we can be honest with each other and I'm not nervous to tell him if I don't like one of his ideas and he's not nervous to tell me if I need to re-do a vocal. Of course there are times when we butt heads and argue but we end up compromising. It's all about the music and not about ego.
My parents are so proud now. Seriously, they wanted to take another tour bus and follow my tour. They knew I've been wanting to be a singer since I was 11 years old when I sang my first talent show with my two best friends in sixth grade.

Sunday 27 September 2009

“Seven Wonders”

So it’s been exactly a month since I last had a cigarette or an alcoholic drink. I’ve done it cold turkey, and I feel great (physically) but the not entirely unexpected side effect has been that I’ve become rather short tempered. Basically, I’ve gone from being a chilled out entertainer to feeling homicidal whenever I am around total morons. The only thing that is calming me down whenever I encounter idiots is Fleetwood Max Greatest Hits. I am not kidding.
I carry a tiny iPod shuffle (with Seven Wonders cued up) in my jacket pocket, and whenever I feel myself wanting to punch someone in the face, I stick my headphones in and soak up Stevie Nicks’ faintly ridiculous vibrato and I feel instantly better. I hope if you’re having a stressful Tuesday, it’ll have the same effect on you.

Thursday 24 September 2009

“Seven Wonders”, Fleetwood Mac


So it’s been exactly a month since I last had a cigarette or an alcoholic drink. I’ve done it cold turkey, and I feel great (physically) but the not completely unexpected side effect has been that I’ve become rather short-tempered. Basically, I’ve gone from being a chilled out entertainer to feeling homicidal whenever I am around total morons. The only thing that is calming me down whenever I encounter idiots is Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits. I am not kidding.
I carry a tiny iPod shuffle (with Seven Wonders cued up) in my jacket pocket, and whenever I feel myself wanting to punch someone in the face, I stick my headphones in and soak up Stevie Nicks’ faintly silly vibrato and I feel straight better. I hope if you’re having a stressful Tuesday, it’ll have the same effect on you.

Friday 4 September 2009

Still going their own way


Lindsey Buckingham is surprisingly laid back about being a spurned lover. It's been more than 30 years since his then girl friend and Fleetwood Mac band mate, Stevie Nicks, got it on with the band's drummer, Mick Fleetwood, while on tour in New Zealand.It's not that time has cured his aching heart. You see, back when the unfaithfulness happened Buckingham didn't give a hoot either it was 1977 and they were promiscuous and drug fuelled times, after all.In a current interview the guitarist and pop genius of the pair recounted how Nicks and Fleetwood made a big deal of coming round to his house to tell him about their affair, to which he replyed, "Yeah? So? That's it?"And he's just as flippant on the phone today from his home in Los Angeles: "Stevie and I were on the road to breaking up before we coupled the band."Considering the two lovers who before Fleetwood Mac were making music as the duo Buckingham Nicks coupled the band in 1975 it must have been a long, rocky break up.No band has mixed a cocktail of melodrama, romantic shenanigans, and hedonistic substance insult quite like Fleetwood Mac and through it all they came up with two cracker albums, the mega-selling Rumours (1977) and kooky double album Tusk (1979).It was Rumours, though, with songs like Buckingham's Go Your Own Way, Nicks' Dreams, and keyboardist/singer Christine McVie's Don't Stop, that went on to sell more than 40 million copies recently the tenth best selling album ever and made Fleetwood Mac the longest band in the world.It's these songs, and many others, that the band will be playing at New Plymouth's Bowl of Brooklands on December 19 when they come back for the first time since 1980's Tusk tour.The Unleashed Tour is a two hour plus show of wonderful hits material and the Downunder dates follow a sold out 55 city North American tour earlier this year, and a European leg which starts in October.The version of the band coming to New Zealand is the classic Rumours line up of Buckingham, Nicks, Fleetwood and bassist player John McVie, minus his former wife Christine McVie who stop the band in 1998 because of her fear of flying."One of the things that makes the tour fun, and a little bit fundamental for us is that we don't have a new album yet anyway so we're not trying to go out there and do stuff that is unfamiliar," says 59 year old Buckingham. "And oddly enough, for the first time, we've been able to sit back and take parentage of the body of work that we have and appreciate it."When you're in the second of making songs, and particularly for us with the politics and all the drama that went on, it has never been that easy, and the fun of being on stage has always been tempered by all of that."

Friday 28 August 2009

Fleetwood Mac legend to perform at grace Aldershot stage


FLEETWOOD Mac legend Peter Green will be playing the West End Centre in Aldershot.
He is touring to play the band’s classic hits and will seem at the West End Centre on September 3.
He played with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and, most excellently, Fleetwood Mac.
Raised in the East End of London, Peter was playing bass in several amateur bands before he met drummer Mick Fleetwood during a brief stint playing lead guitar with Peter B’s Looners.
He left the Looners to replace Eric Clapton as guitarist in the John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.
Taking Clapton’s place was never going to be easy but it didn’t take too long for Peter to prove his worth and become the new ‘darling’ of the blues scene.
After Peter joined them the Bluesbreakers recorded their seminal Hard Road album, which included his major instrumental masterpiece The Supernatural.
Having collaborated on just the one album, Peter left the Bluesbreakers to start his own band, with Mick Fleetwood on drums and John McVie on bass, and Fleetwood Mac was born.
The band liberationed their first album in 1968 to rave reviews, and Green’s classic tracks Black Magic Woman and the number one hit Albatross cemented the band’s achiever.
Drugs took their toll on Peter’s mental health and he decided to leave Fleetwood Mac in 1970.
He recorded a solo album but then faded into obscurity.
He made guest visual aspect on albums by ex-band mates and friends before recording more albums in the late 70s and early 80s.
In 1998 he and the rest of Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
At the time, Mick Fleetwood said of Green: “He’s back in the studio, he’s really playing again, which is why he’s here on this planet. I do earnestly believe he has a magic touch. I think you will never see Pete back out in the showbiz sense of the word but I think you will hear some more music from Peter Green and I hope I’m part of that. I hope that comes to pass.”
Westy employee Nicci Hewett said: “We’re pleasured Peter has chosen to play at the Westy, because you actually never know when you will get another chance to see this legend, who played such a large part in shaping contemporary music.”

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Fleetwood fluster over ticket prices


Tickets to the Fleetwood Mac gig haven't gone on sale yet but earlier there's puzzlement over how much they will cost.
One website, www.showbiznz.co.nz, has begun offering pre sale tickets at $147.50 for general acceptance to $369 for the best seats on the platform over the lake at New Plymouth's Bowl of Brooklands.
But these prices look to be more valuable than what will be suggested when tickets go on general sale next month the Taranaki Daily News understands they will range from $120 to $320.
That won't be officially known until September 4 when first claim on Fleetwood Mac's December 19 gig will go to TSB Bank customers, who will be able to buy them on line until September 8. Public sales will then open the next day.
Leesa Tilley, general manager of promoter Andrew McManus Presents, said promoters often worked with on sellers like Showbiznz who were admeasured a very limited number of ticket "holds".
"These aren't real tickets these won't be available until the general public tickets go on sale and they can market or sell them however they like," she said.
"How they market and sell them is up to them."
The prices to be asked for the big gig look similar to pricing for Taranaki's last major concert, the performance by Sir Elton John in December 2007.

Sunday 23 August 2009

Fleetwood Mac play at Pokolbin


HUNTER conferences will get the chance to see rock super group Fleetwood Mac accomplish live when they play at Pokolbin's Hope Estate later this year.
The band, which recently finished a 55 city sold out tour of North America, will act a two hour plus show at Hope Estate on December 5.
The tour is its first in five years and will feature wonderful hits including Rhiannon, Dreams, Tusk, Go Your Own Way and Sara.
After the successful American tour, Fleetwood Mac also included a two month European leg.
The Australian tour will start at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on December 1 and then head to Hope Estate before accomplishment in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane. Tickets are on sale through Ticketek from September 4.

Tuesday 18 August 2009

Fleetwood Mac on the way


The rumoured appearance of Fleetwood Mac on West Australian shores act to be true, with the band believed to be playing at Member's Equity Stadium on December 11 and 12.
The band are gearing up for their Unleashed wonderfu hits tour, with fans hoping a New Zealand and Australian leg will be approved.
It seems some more big musical action could also be recent headed to Perth later this year that's if some cryptic clues delivered by the administration of Member's Equity Stadium at a event are anything to go by.
Allia Venue Administration chief executive officer Peter Bauchop addressed a crowd of sports representatives assembled for a night of celebration at the venue hinting at big things to come. And the events had nothing to do with sport.
"I don't want to scattered any rumours, and I would much rather stay alive, than take the glory and the consequences," he said.
He told the crowd the months of November and December would be huge for the arena, but assert that he was only joking around and could not conform anything.
But the guessing games started with hopes that his reference to "rumours" referred to Fleetwood Mac's legendary album,"stay alive" to Pearl Jam's hit Alive and "take the glory" to Badly Drawn Boy.
Pearl Jam is playing at the stadium on November 14. Tickets are on deal now.
There is now a list of major acts heading for the city, including Beyonce, Marilyn Manson, Britney Spears, Greenday and ACDC.

Monday 17 August 2009

Fleetwood Mac: To Play Winery On Australian Tour




Expect an notification any day now for Fleetwood Mac with an Australian winery included as part of their loose tour.
The Australian and New Zealand tour is set for December and will one winery show, secre hears.
Actual published dates for Fleetwood Mac’s loose tour go through to the European tour in November. Australasia is next.
The loose tour is a greatest hits tour. There is no new music from Fleetwood Mac in the works. In a phone hook-up with Undercover, Lindsey Buckingham said that not having new music on this tour "frees you up to enjoy each other as people. Let’s have a good time and value the friendships and history. It takes the pressure off and accept more fun than we would commonly be able to have."
The Fleetwood Mac line-up is Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. Christine McVie has been out of the band for more than a decennary now and happily living the depart life in England. "I’ve been the only girl in Fleetwood Mac since 1998, so I’m used to it now,” Stevie said during the conference all. “But I miss Christine. The loss of Christine as one of my best girlfriends was horrific to me. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish she would call up and say, 'I’m back.' "
An official announcement for the tour is due soon.
Fleetwood Mac expected Australian dates:
December 1 and 2, Brisbane, Entertainment CentreDecember 5, Hunter Valley, Hope Estate WineryDecember 7 and 8 Sydney, Acer ArenaDecember 11 and 12, Perth, Members EquityDecember 15 and 16, Melbourne, Rod Laver ArenaDecember 19, New Zealand

Friday 14 August 2009

Australian Wineries to Fleetwood Mac


by Paul Cashmere - August 15 2009photo by Ros O'Gorman.

Assume an declaration any day now for Fleetwood Mac playing the Australian wineries as part of their unchain tour.
The Australian and New Zealand tour is set for December and will include the winery shows, Undercover hears.
Current announced dates for Fleetwood Mac’s Unleashed tour go through to the European tour in November. Australasia is next.
The Unchain tour is a greatest hits tour. There is no new music from Fleetwood Mac in the works. In a phone hook-up with Underground, Lindsey Buckingham said that not having new music on this tour "barren you up to enjoy each other as people. Let’s have a good time and value the friendships and history. It takes the pressure off and allows more fun than we would unusually be able to have."
The Fleetwood Mac line-up is Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. Christine McVie has been out of the bridle for more than a decennary now and happily living the retired life in England. "I’ve been the only girl in Fleetwood Mac since 1998, so I’m used to it now,” Stevie said during the conference all. “But I miss Christine. The loss of Christine as one of my best girlfriends was horrific to me. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish she would call up and say, 'I’m back.' "
Fleetwood Mac Australian dates will be announced this week.

Friday 7 August 2009

FLEETWOOD MAC MY STAGE SHOW


British-American band Fleetwood Mac are to perform in New Zealand.
Ticket agency Ticketmaster is advertising on its website that the band will perform one show in New Zealand, but without listing the city or date.
It has asked people to supply their email addresses so they can be contacted with each other and establish when the city and date are confirmed.
Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks performed at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth in 2006 and there is speculation that the band will perform there.
New Plymouth District Council's manager for business developments and events, Garry Sharpe-Young, declined to comment on whether it would be Bowl of Brooklands.
But he said he understood an announcement would be made soon.
"Some acts are perfectly suited to certain types of venues and I'm a great believer that we've got the iconic New Zealand venue. We'll wait and see."

Monday 20 July 2009

Pauline Doucette recall memories from Fleetwood idols


Pauline Doucette tried refresh the memories when she met her Fleetwood Mac idols. She tried to bring back the band.Doucette, 44, had the chance to chat with Stevie Nicks backstage at the band’s recent concert in Edmonton. Doucette wasted no time after learning Nicks needed some down time.

Thursday 2 July 2009

Fleetwood Mac are planning to reform for a tour.

No dates have been finalised as yet, but the band are planning the reunion shows for early next year.

The American pop-rockers' guitarist Lindsey Buckingham has said that the band are planning to record a new album following the live dates.

According to CMU Daily he said: "I think maybe there was even a sense that we would make a better album if we went out and hung out together first on the road.

"Maybe even sowing some seeds musically that would get us more prepared to go in the studio rather than just going in cold. It takes the pressure [off] from having to go in and make something cold."

Buckingham also added that recent rumours suggesting that Sheryl Crow may join the band are untrue.

He explained: "I think with Stevie [Nicks], maybe to some degree there was a little too much testosterone on stage when we went out in 2003, and I think the band was looking to kind of balance that out a little bit, [but Sheryl's involvement] just kind of lost its momentum."

Tuesday 2 June 2009

Fleetwood Mac has announced a new UK Tour

One of the hot selling bands British/American of all time Fleetwood Mac are set to come together for a very special UK arena tour.

Rising from the British blues boom, Fleetwood Mac would go on to dominate the pop market with some of the most well-liked albums ever released. The band perhaps peaked with the spectacular success of 'Rumours', and the arrangement that ability this album is set to meet for an extremely uncommon tour.

To gather the roots of Fleetwood Mac would take a box set. created by guitar hero Peter Green, the band used some of the finest musicians from the British blues scene. However Green would depart in 1970 after a period of mental decline, leaving the band to battle on.


Hell, even solo appearances are hard to come by. Since the launch of a live album in 1998 the band members have taken time off, with Mick Fleetwood said to be the lynchpin behind accomplishment the group to reform.

More than thirty years on from the release of 'Rumours' Fleetwood Mac remain one of the most popular groups on the planet. A rare possibility to grasp this band in the live arena, make sure you don't miss out!

Fleetwood Mac are set to play the following dates:

October
22 Glasgow SECC
24 Dublin O2 Arena
27 Manchester Evening News Arena
30 London Wembley Arena

November
2 Sheffield Arena
3 Birmingham National Indoor Arena

All Fleetwood Mac Tickets are available on The Online Ticket Shop

Fleetwood Mac Popular Videos






Fleetwood Mac Tickets Touts

There are lot of tickets agents in the market who sell Fleetwood Mac Tickets but not all of them give the guarantee of Fleetwood Mac Tickets. Among them, only few are successful to delivered the Fleetwood Mac tickets to their customers. The list of those tickets agents are as under:-

Fleetwood mac concert Tickets are on sale now

The last time Fleetwood Mac toured as a band was 5 years ago, the reunion tour, and now they are planning to hit the road again on a Unleashed Greatest Hits Tour on March 1, 2009. A good news for the UK fans of Fleetwood Mac that tha band announced a UK Tour with five gigs dates. so dont miss the chance and buy Fleetwood mac cocnert Tickets. All Fleetwood Mac Tickets are on sale at The Online Ticket Shop. The dates of Fleetwood Mac are as follows


Thursday22 Oct 09(19:00)
Fleetwood Mac Tickets
The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Center (SECC)Glasgow, United Kingdom Seating Plan


Tuesday27 Oct 09(19:00)
Fleetwood Mac Tickets
MEN ArenaManchester, United Kingdom Seating Plan

Friday30 Oct 09(19:00)
Fleetwood Mac Tickets
Wembley ArenaLondon, United Kingdom Seating Plan

Monday2 Nov 09(19:00)
Fleetwood Mac Tickets
Sheffield ArenaSheffield, United Kingdom Seating Plan


Tuesday3 Nov 09(19:00)
Fleetwood Mac Tickets
National Indoor Arena (NIA)Birmingham, United Kingdom Seating Plan

Fleetwood Mac 'The Chain' Lyrics

Written by lindsey buckingham, stevie nicks,
Mick fleetwood, christine mcvie, and john mcvie.

Listen to the wind blow
Watch the sun rise

Run in the shadows
Damn your love
Damn your lies

And if
You dont love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain.

Listen to the wind blow
Down comes the night

Run in the shadows
Damn your love
Damn your lies

Break the silence
Damn the dark
Damn the light

And if
You dont love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain.

Fleetwood Mac Archival releases

The Original Fleetwood Mac (CBS, 1971)
Live at the Marquee, 1967 (released 1992)
Live at the BBC (released 1995) (UK #48)
Masters: London Live '68 (released 1998)
Live at the Boston Tea Party, Vols. 1-3 recorded Feb 5-7, 1970 (Snapper, 1998-2000)
The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac: 1968 to 1970 (2 CD) (1998)
Shrine '69 (live 1969, released 1999)
Original Fleetwood Mac: The Blues Years (3 CD) (Castle, 2000)
Show-Biz Blues: 1968 to 1970 Volume 2 (2 CD) (Castle/Sanctuary, 2001)
Jumping at Shadows: The Blues Years (Castle/Sanctuary, 2002)
Men of the World: The Early Years (3 CD) (Sanctuary, 2005)

Fleetwood Mac Compilations

English Rose (January 14, 1969)
The Pious Bird of Good Omen (August 16, 1969)
Fleetwood Mac in Chicago/Blues Jam in Chicago, Vols. 1-2 (December 5, 1969)
Greatest Hits (CBS, November ??, 1971)
Greatest Hits (Warner Bros, November 15, 1988) 8x Platinum
25 Years - The Chain (November 24, 1992)
The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967-1969 (September 16, 1999)
The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (November 11, 2002)
The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (October 12, 2002) Platinum
The Essential Fleetwood Mac (June 4, 2007)
Perfect Days (May 13, 2008)
Unleashed (Late 2009)

Fleetwood Mac Live Albums

Year

Album

U.S.

UK

AUS

CAN

GER

SWI

AUT

FRA

Certifications

1980

Live

14

31

20

-

51

-

-

-

Gold (US)

1997

The Dance

1

15

4

19

20

-

-

-

5x Platinum (US)

2004

Live In Boston

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Fleetwood Mac Albums Country Wise

Year

Album

U.S.

UK

AUS

CAN

GER

SWI

AUT

FRA

BPI / RIAA Certification

1968

Fleetwood Mac

198

4

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1968

Mr. Wonderful

-

10

-

-

-

-

-

71

-

1969

Then Play On

109

6

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1970

Kiln House

69

39

26

-

-

-

-

-

-

1971

Future Games

91

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Gold

1972

Bare Trees

70

-

37

-

-

-

-

-

Platinum

1973

Penguin

49

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1973

Mystery to Me

67

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Gold

1974

Heroes Are Hard to Find

34

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1975

Fleetwood Mac

1

23

3

15

-

-

-

-

Gold/5x Platinum

1977

Rumours

1

1

1

1

6

-

25

27

10x Platinum/19x Platinum

1979

Tusk

4

1

2

2

3

-

4

6

Platinum/2x Platinum

1982

Mirage

1

5

2

4

12

-

-

5

Platinum/2x Platinum

1987

Tango in the Night

7

1

5

2

2

7

25

25

8x Platinum/3x Platinum

1990

Behind the Mask

18

1

9

20

4

9

19

36

Platinum/Gold

1995

Time

-

47

-

-

92

-

-

-

-

2003

Say You Will

3

6

24

-

10

51

-

-

Gold/Gold

Fleetwood Mac Remasters

The 1967-69 Blue Horizon albums Fleetwood Mac, Mr. Wonderful, The Pious Bird of Good Omen, Fleetwood Mac in Chicago and 1971 outtakes album The Original Fleetwood Mac have been fully remastered & reissued on CD, as have the 1975-79 Warner Brothers albums Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, and Tusk. Mirage and Tango in the Night are still awaiting the remaster treatment as are the Fleetwood Mac Live, Behind The Mask and Time albums.

All about Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac's Origins: 1967 in England
Original Name:Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac featuring Jeremy Spencer
Origin of the Name:Derived from last names of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bass guitarist John McVie
Original Members:Peter Green – vocals, guitarJeremy Spencer – vocals, guitarJohn McVie – bassMick Fleetwood – drums
Other Fleetwood Mac Members: Bekka Bramlett – vocalsBob Brunning – bass Lindsey Buckingham – vocals, guitarBilly Burnette – vocals, guitarDanny Kirwan – guitarDave Mason – vocals, guitarChristine McVie – vocals, keyboardStevie Nicks – vocalsRick Vito – vocals, guitarDave Walker – vocals

Fleetwood Mac - Gallery






















About Fleetwood Mac

The one of the famous British/American rock Fleetwood Mac band shaped in 1967 which has got a high turnover of personnel and varied levels of success. From the band's inception through the end of 1974, no incarnation of Fleetwood Mac lasted as long as two years.
The only member present in the band from the very start is its namesake drummer Mick Fleetwood. Bassist John McVie, despite his giving part of his name to the band, did not play on their first single nor at their first concerts. Keyboardist Christine McVie has, to date, come on all but two albums, either as a member or as a session musician. She also supplied the artwork for the album "Kiln House".
The two most great periods for the band were during the late 1960s British blues boom, when they were led by guitarist Peter Green, and from 1975 to 1987, with more pop-orientation, featuring Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The band got more modest success in the intervening period between 1971 and 1974, with the arrangment including Bob Welch, and also during the 1990s which saw more personnel variatoins before the return of Nicks and Buckingham in 1997, and more recently, the departure of Christine McVie.