All posts by fmfanuk

Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac, Tour Info

Christine McVie rejoins Fleetwood Mac | USA Today

Edna Gundersen
USA TODAY
Mar 27th, 2014

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — “It’s like she never left,” Lindsey Buckingham says about Christine McVie’s return to Fleetwood Mac, the band that sold 45 million copies of 1977’s Rumours and spawned almost that many rumors during its tumultuous 47-year run.

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Christine McVie is rejoining Fleetwood Mac, after leaving the band in 1998.(Photo: Matt Mindlin)

Here are the facts: After leaving the band in 1998, singer/keyboardist McVie has rejoined, completing Mac’s most popular, successful and creative incarnation.

A world tour is in the works, with U.S. dates starting Sept. 29 in Minneapolis, 17 years after this lineup last hit the road. Tickets go on sale April 4. McVie and Buckingham have been crafting songs for a new album. The last studio release to feature full participation from all five Macsters was 1987’s Tango in the Night.

MORE: McVie missed Fleetwood Mac’s ‘tight chemistry’

“We’ve only been in the studio a week, and it’s been really beautiful,” says Buckingham, 64. “I have very high hopes for all of this. It took getting into the studio before we started to see things unfold in an effective and comfortable way. Christine was not sure how her voice was going to be. It will be a little bit of a slow process with her piano chops. But all the stuff inside her is still intact, and she’s getting in touch with a process that’s been lying dormant for a while.” Continue reading Christine McVie rejoins Fleetwood Mac | USA Today →

Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham, Tour Info

McVie missed Fleetwood Mac’s ‘tight chemistry’ | USA Today

Edna Gundersen,
USA TODAY
Mar 27th, 2014

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Looking back on her 1998 exit from Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie recalls how considerate and obliging her bandmates were, particularly Stevie Nicks.

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An undated early photo of Fleetwood Mac (from left): Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, John McVie, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham.(Photo: Herbert Worthington, Warner Bros.)

A few years later, “Stevie offered me $5 million to come back,” McVie says. “She was begging me, ‘Don’t leave me in this wilderness.’ ”

As it turned out, McVie’s 15-year exile left her feeling a bit lost in the wilderness, leading to this year’s surprise reunion of the classic lineup that lit up the charts with Rhiannon, Say You Love Me, Go Your Own Way, Dreams, Think About Me, You Make Loving Fun, Don’t Stop, Tusk and Hold Me.

A tour is booked, new songs are being recorded, and “we all have great affection for each other,” McVie says.

RELATED: Christine McVie rejoins Fleetwood Mac

Bad blood played no role in McVie’s departure. She was road weary after 28 years of “being one of the guys, raised in taverns and pubs with smoking, beer-drinking men.” Continue reading McVie missed Fleetwood Mac’s ‘tight chemistry’ | USA Today →

Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood, UK Articles

Mick Fleetwood Goes His Own Way: On the road | Sunday Express

Sunday Express (UK)
By: Mick Fleetwood
Sun, March 23, 2014

The life I love is making music with my friends, and I can’t wait to get on the road again – Willie Nelson, On The Road Again.

Fleetwood Mac knew all about excess on tour [PA]
Fleetwood Mac knew all about excess on tour [PA]
All of us are familiar with my friend and comrade Willie Nelson’s lyrics. As far as I am concerned, there’s never been a truer sentiment written, since I love all those old feelings of excitement that ramp up before any tour starts.My first real tour started with the release of our hit record, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. We toured throughout Europe. Lugging equipment, setting up stages, taking small planes, ferries and buses, we had an itinerary of crummy, shared motel rooms, often sneaking five to a room and using overcoats for blankets. We travelled on no sleep and bad food, in broken-down vans, sometimes even hitchhiking to gigs. I loved every minute of it.

I adapted to the rhythm and the chaos of travelling so well because it was in my blood, having been raised in the Air Force. For me, it was the birth of the “Road Dog” – the bloke who is happier and more comfortable on the road than at home. I developed my skills as a ringmaster, organising and taking control of getting that circus out on the road. Continue reading Mick Fleetwood Goes His Own Way: On the road | Sunday Express →

Mick Fleetwood, UK Articles

Mick Fleetwood Goes His Own Way: Motoring nostalgia | Sunday Express

Sunday Express (UK)
By: Mick Fleetwood
Sun, March 16, 2014

DID you know that in the 17th and 18th centuries, “nostalgia” was deemed a mental disorder?

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Actually, I have friends who would agree because when it comes to me and my cars, my nostalgia knows no bounds. It is an important link between my past and present self.

Each car I’ve owned has a story attached. My first was a London taxi that I bought for £12 from a neighbour in Notting Hill Gate.

The perfect vehicle to carry my equipment and take me from gig to gig, I loved that cab, with its solid doors and the familiar diesel rattle and hum. I’ve never had another car that could match the turning radius.

After the cab, vanity got the better of me and I bought a Jaguar XJ-120 sports car for about £60. It was a wreck, leaked as much oil as it used petrol. I couldn’t afford to buy the hard-top roof for the winter so, rain or shine (mostly rain), I drove it with no top at all.

I had a system to weather the storms; a leather cape, one of my dad’s Air Force flying helmets, goggles and enormous Air Forceissue gloves. I’d bomb down the motorways like a mad speed racer, arriving at my destination (no heater) frozen half to death, frost-bitten and soaked to the bone. Continue reading Mick Fleetwood Goes His Own Way: Motoring nostalgia | Sunday Express →

Solo Activity, Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks to join Lady Antebellum at ACM Awards

Brian Mansfield
USA TODAY
March 14, 2014

Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks will sing with Lady Antebellum at The 49th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards next month. Along with Eric Church and Toby Keith, they’re the latest acts scheduled to perform on the April 6 awards show.

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Previously announced performers include Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Keith Urban, Florida Georgia Line and The Band Perry.

Lady Antebellum is up for vocal group of the year at the April awards show and received three other nominations for singing backing vocals on Darius Rucker’s Wagon Wheel. Lambert and Tim McGraw received the most nominations, with seven each.

The show, hosted by Bryan and Shelton, will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 6 (CBS, 8 p.m. ET/PT).

Fleetwood Mac, Tour Info, UK Articles

Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones earn more than One Direction in the US | Telegraph

By Aime Williams
6:34PM GMT 11 Mar 2014
Daily Telegraph

The two 70s bands break into the top ten for US earnings in 2013

Fleetwood Mac in concert in New York
Fleetwood Mac in concert in New York

Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones are the only British bands to break intothe top ten of an annual list ranking recording artists by their US earnings for 2013, earning more than younger superstars One Direction.

The list, compiled by American magazine Billboard, sees Fleetwood Mac ranked tenth with earnings of $19.1m, while the Stones came fifth with $26.2m. One Direction sat at thirteenth with $18.0m, though all three were beaten by 24-year-old Taylor Swift, who was the top-ranked star with an annual total of $39.7m.

Touring, recorded-music sales, publishing royalties, and revenue from digital music and video streaming were all taken into account when the earnings were calculated, although revenue from sponsorship and merchandise was not.

The Rolling Stones’ earnings were thanks to a lucrative deal with American company AEG Live, who allegedly paid the band $80m to secure the promotional rights to 15 shows in the 2013 50th anniversary tour. The band are rumoured to have earned a further $5m through their tour partnership with Citi group. Each show grossed an average of $4.7m

Despite their age, the Stones still sold 1.5 million track downloads and sold 300,000 CDs.

Fleetwood Mac’s presence on the list is due to their 2013 world tour, which earned them $17.4 million. They also made money from the release of new a EP, Extended Play, which was released for digital download.

The band’s nationality is more complicated than that of the Rolling Stones. Original members were British nationals Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Jeremy Spencer, and Peter Green, who were responsible for the band’s debut album Albatross in 1968.

They were later joined by McVie’s wife, Christine McVie and American singer-songwriters Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.

Rumours, produced in 1977, remains one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Mick Fleetwood, UK Articles

Mick Fleetwood Goes His Own Way: The Marquee Club | Sunday Express

Sunday Express (UK)
By: Mick Fleetwood
Sun, March 9, 2014

IT WAS 50 years since The Beatles first played the Ed Sullivan Show, and 50 years since the Marquee Club shaped and changed the course of my life.

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It was there I made life-long friends, saved sweethearts and survived fights. It was there I went from complete obscurity to learning the tools of my trade from the musical masters of our time.

The Marquee was the jewel of the London clubs. All the musicians wanted to play there. It was a jazz club until the brilliant, groundbreaking management of John Gee, who guided its metamorphosis into the seminal rock and roll/rhythm and blues club whose influence is still relevant today.

I have a first, stomach-turning memory of playing the Marquee with my band The Cheynes. We had no following and it was a miracle to have been asked to back the legendary blues star Sonny Boy Williamson. This giant of a man played a tiny harmonica and dressed in the coolest suits, all mismatched fabrics in wild designs. We had studied his albums and learned his every note by heart to prepare for this honour. Continue reading Mick Fleetwood Goes His Own Way: The Marquee Club | Sunday Express →

Mick Fleetwood, UK Articles

Mick Fleetwood Goes His Own Way: Custom fashion | Sunday Express

Sunday Express (UK)
By: Mick Fleetwood
Published: Sun, March 2, 2014

IT’S NOT exactly breaking news, my many dalliances with addiction in my life, but one hasn’t been well-documented, and that’s my absolute love of fashion.

Mick Fleetwood has a taste for alternative and custom fashion [GETTY]
Mick Fleetwood has a taste for alternative and custom fashion [GETTY]
Not so much fashion per se, rather my personal pursuit of theatrical self-expression through my clothes and what I present to the world.

Here’s a riddle for you: What can a broke, 18-year-old, 6ft 6in beanpole find to wear in a ready-made shop? Answer? Absolutely nothing. I was left to scour the markets, usually ending up at the Army and Navy surplus store.

Then I met Rod Stewart and the incredible blues artist Long John Baldry who, incidentally, was 6ft 7in. Imagine my initial envy, seeing this tall man in garb I’d only dreamt of.

I played with Rod for two years and I attribute much of my fashion savvy to him and John. Not only were they renowned for their style, they shared their secrets, showing me the ways of bespoke tailoring on the cheap in London’s East End.

I saved up for one thing that fit properly – a pair of trousers, a shirt – at a time. I was hooked. Finally, I had clothes that fit. Continue reading Mick Fleetwood Goes His Own Way: Custom fashion | Sunday Express →

Mick Fleetwood, UK Articles

Mick Fleetwood goes his own way: Dreams of vinyl | Sunday Express

Sunday Express (UK)
By: Mick Fleetwood
Published: Sun, February 23, 2014

CALL me retro but I still love records. I have great memories of shopping for vinyl, playing amazing albums, listening to records with friends, trading music and discovering new sounds.

The age of vinyl records is not quite over [GETTY/MODEL USED]
The age of vinyl records is not quite over [GETTY/MODEL USED]
Records have always been a huge source of inspiration. To me there is nothing better than looking at the cover artwork, reading the liner notes and taking in the album’s entire experience.

The way they master music today, much of the integrity of the sound – the emotion and subtlety – is lost. Fleetwood Mac records have an organic sound that is more comfortable to the human ear. At least to mine!

I love listening. I am a great listener, although perhaps a few of my exes might not agree! But I repeat, I am a great listener. Being a drummer, I am well trained to listen. I am not playing a melody but listening to see where the beats come in, that is my skill. My hearing is sharp, acute, first rate.

When we were in the last phases of making the Rumours album, it dawned on the band that all that listening, playing, singing and writing, all that heartache and pain, time and poetry, was just sitting there on two reels of tape, totally vulnerable.

We realised that anything could happen to it. Of course, we never had a hard drive to back it up like you do now. It could all have been lost in an instant. Continue reading Mick Fleetwood goes his own way: Dreams of vinyl | Sunday Express →

Stevie Nicks, UK Articles

Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks: “I would love to write some music for Game of Thrones"

Radio Times
Craig McLean

“I’ve written a bunch of poetry about it… on Jon Snow, on Arya, on Cersei and Jaime, on Khaleesi,” reveals the singer

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Game Of Thrones is the fantasy-world show that’s a real-life phenomenon.

Since premiering in 2011 this mammoth HBO production has won enough Emmys and Golden Globes to smelt its very own Iron — if particularly shiny — Throne. In the UK the series took home the Audience Award at the 2013 BAFTAs, as voted for by RT readers. It was a fitting “homeland” accolade given that the show is largely shot in Northern Ireland with a large, talented — and mainly British — cast.

Still, the world is tuning in to this critical and commercial smash. In the US last year, season three became HBO’s second most viewed series ever, after the fifth season of The Sopranos — although a fair few of those viewings were down to one particularly ardent fan sitting down to repeated sessions. Step forward, Ms Stevie Nicks. It’s a show Nicks turned to at a difficult period of her life.

“I didn’t leave the house for almost five months,” she says of the period after the late-December 2011 death of her mother. “And then I got pneumonia. With my pneumonia and my mother’s death I watched the entire first season of Game of Thrones. That certainly took my mind off everything,” she smiles.

What’s the appeal of this character-rich drama of warring kingdoms and dastardly plotting?

“The guy who wrote these stories [author George RR Martin] is my age now, and I think: how in the world does somebody come up with these 15 or so characters and then everything that’s wrapped around each one of the 15 characters? It blows my mind that he’s able to create this vast, interlinked world. As a songwriter I write little movies. But I can’t imagine sitting down and writing even one small book, a novel. We each have our thing that we’re really good at.” Continue reading Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks: “I would love to write some music for Game of Thrones" →