Category Archives: Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood, Release Info, UK Articles

Mick Fleetwood: ‘You’re talking to the dude who never gives up. We’re still a band’ | The Times (UK)

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Will Hodgkinson
The Times

The drummer talks about the soap opera that has been Fleetwood Mac since 1967 — and the all-star tribute to bandmate Peter Green

Mick Fleetwood at last year’s London Palladium concert
ROSS HALFIN

For the past 54 years Mick Fleetwood, 73, has kept Fleetwood Mac going in the face of insurmountable odds. When the guitarist Lindsey Buckingham was fired from the band in 2018, in part linked to his former girlfriend Stevie Nicks announcing that she could not bear to share a stage with him again, it was just the latest hurdle for the soft-rock stadium fillers who have faced everything from divorces to affairs to drug-induced breakdowns.

The problems began when Peter Green, the band’s founder and one of the greatest guitarists, took LSD at a commune in Munich in March 1970 and never recovered. He left Fleetwood Mac a few months later.

“He was a lot of fun, right up until the day he walked out of the band,” says Fleetwood down the line from his home in Hawaii. “He had a real sense of ambition about what he wanted to do. You can listen to Man of the World now and hear the signs [in 1977 Green was diagnosed with schizophrenia], but I thought Peter had just written a sad song about a feeling.”

Perhaps that hindsight helped to spur Fleetwood on to put together a remarkable concert, which took place at the London Palladium on February 25, 2020 — just before the pandemic hit the UK — in honour of Green. Everyone from Fleetwood Mac’s keyboardist and singer Christine McVie to Pete Townshend to David Gilmour joined in, alongside some rather surprising Peter Green fans. Continue reading Mick Fleetwood: ‘You’re talking to the dude who never gives up. We’re still a band’ | The Times (UK) →

Fleetwood Mac, UK Articles

Drug abuse, violence, and the making of Fleetwood Mac’s Tango In The Night | Classic Rock

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Forget Rumours: Fleetwood Mac’s craziest album was Tango In The Night

(Image credit: Barry King/Getty Images)

In December 2012, three members of Fleetwood Mac cried together, in public, at the memory of something that had happened all of 25 years previously.

Singer Stevie Nicks, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and drummer Mick Fleetwood were doing a round of media interviews to announce the band’s 2013 tour when they were asked about the events of 1987, when Buckingham quit the band following the release of the album Tango In The Night.

Buckingham did not respond directly to the interviewer. Instead he turned to Nicks and Fleetwood and reiterated his reasons for leaving the group at a critical stage of their career: foremost among them, his sense that Nicks and Fleetwood had lost their minds and souls to drugs.

“What Lindsey said in that interview was very moving,” Fleetwood says. “He told us: ‘I just couldn’t stand to see you doing what you were doing to yourselves. Did you ever realise that? You were so out of control that it made me incredibly sad, and I couldn’t take it any more.’ It was really powerful stuff. This was someone saying: ‘I love you.’ It hit Stevie and me like a ton of bricks. And we all cried, right there in the interview.”

It was a moment that Mick Fleetwood describes as “profound”. But even after all these years, his memories of that time in 1987 are still raw. For when Lindsey Buckingham walked out on Fleetwood Mac, he did not go quietly. When Buckingham told the band he was leaving, it led to a blazing argument that rapidly escalated into a physical altercation between him and former lover Nicks, in which she claimed she feared for her life. Continue reading Drug abuse, violence, and the making of Fleetwood Mac’s Tango In The Night | Classic Rock →

Fleetwood Mac

April 1987: Fleetwood Mac’s Classic Lineup Bows Out Big with TANGO IN THE NIGHT | Rhino

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April 13, 2021
Rhino Insider

Fleetwood Mac was in pretty rough shape when the band got together to record what would become the group’s 14th studio effort, Tango in the Night. The record was originally conceived as a Lindsey Buckingham solo project; it was Mick Fleetwood who  coerced the guitarist into morphing it into a full Fleetwood Mac release.

Remastered CD

“That was in my estimation when everybody in the band was personally at their worst,” Buckingham recalled years later. “If you take the whole subculture that existed in the 1970s, and what it led to — and how it degraded — by the time we did Tango in the Night, everybody was leading their lives in a way that they would not be too proud of today. It was difficult for everybody.”

That included singer Stevie Nicks, who spent most of the laborious 18-month process making Tango in the Night out on the road promoting her third solo album, Rock a Little. Ultimately spending only two weeks at Buckingham’s home studio over the course of recording, Nicks customarily got drunk on brandy before singing her vocal takes. Most of them were left on the cutting room floor.

Once the dust settled, Fleetwood Mac released Tango in the Night on April 13, 1987. Much like Rumours, the behind-the-scenes drama was the genesis for hit records. Lead single “Big Love” cruised up the charts, peaking at #5 on the Hot 100 for the week of May 21, 1987. The song was also a hit on the dance floor, with an extended remix of the track twirling all the way to #11 on the Billboard Dance Sales chart in June 1987.

The second single from Tango in the Night was another radio winner: “Seven Wonders.” The Stevie Nicks showcase made a formidable chart run, breaking into the top 20 to peak at #19 on the Hot 100 for the week of August 15, 1987.

It was Christine McVie who shined on third Tango in the Night single, “Little Lies.” Peaking at #4 on the Hot 100 in November 1987, the song soared all the way to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the week of October 10, 1987.

Christine McVie again took the spotlight with the album’s fourth single, “Everywhere.” The song followed “Little Lies” up the Adult Contemporary chart, hitting #1 on January 15. 1988. Over on the Hot 100, “Everywhere” broke into the top 20 to peak at #14 in February 1988. Continue reading April 1987: Fleetwood Mac’s Classic Lineup Bows Out Big with TANGO IN THE NIGHT | Rhino →

Fleetwood Mac, Release Info, Reviews

Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Live’ is better then ever on expanded remaster | Pop Matters

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By Jordan Blum
6 April 2021

Fleetwood Mac’s Live sounds better than ever, giving both longtime fans and newcomers a stronger glimpse into how immaculate they were at the turn of the decade.

Almost no other rock band was bigger than Fleetwood Mac in the mid-to-late 1970s. Sure, they’d been going strong for roughly a decade by then; however, it was the inclusion of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham (following the departure of Bob Welch) on 1975’s self-titled tenth LP that took their mainstream appeal to the next level. Of course, 1977’s Rumours was even bigger, while 1979’s experimental double album, Tusk, continued their creative prosperity (despite being considered a commercial failure at the time).

Naturally, the greatness of that trilogy meant that the band’s debut concert recording, 1980’s Live, was as highly anticipated as it was enormously satisfying. Comprised mostly of material from the 1979 – 1980 Tusk tour (as well as a few pieces from the preceding Rumors and Fleetwood Mac tours, of course), it contained virtually every song you could possibly want to hear from their most recent records. Continue reading Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Live’ is better then ever on expanded remaster | Pop Matters →

Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood, UK Articles

Mick Fleetwood wants a Fleetwood Mac reunion with “everyone who’s ever played” in the band | NME

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By Will Richards
26th March 2021

“I’m not done. And if I can get John McVie off his boat, he’s not done either!”

Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac arrive at the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards on January 26, 2018 in New York City. CREDIT: Steve Granitz/Getty Images

Mick Fleetwood has shared his desire for a full Fleetwood Mac reunion, and “everyone who’s ever played in Fleetwood Mac would be welcome”.

The news comes after Fleetwood revealed this month that he has reconciled with former bandmate Lindsey Buckingham – and would like to think a reunion could happen.

Guitarist Buckingham, who first left the band in 1987 before returning in 1997, was fired by the band in 2018, with Fleetwood adamant until now that his former bandmate would never be allowed to rejoin the band. Last year, he maintained his stance ruling out a reunion.

Elsewhere in Fleetwood Mac’s revolving door of band members, Stevie Nicks left in 1991 before returning alongside Buckingham in 1997, while Christine McVie rejoined the band in 2014 after retiring. The band’s latest tour in 2018 saw Buckingham replaced by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell and Crowded House’s Neil Finn on guitars.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 07: Mick Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham perform at Madison Square Garden on October 7, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

Asked who he thinks will be a part of Fleetwood Mac when the band next tours in a new interview by the Los Angeles Times, Fleetwood said: “I hope the whole fucking lot of them! I’m not done. And if I can get John McVie off his boat, he’s not done either!

Continue reading Mick Fleetwood wants a Fleetwood Mac reunion with “everyone who’s ever played” in the band | NME →

Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood

Mick Fleetwood Open to Reunion With Lindsey Buckingham, Imagines Fleetwood Mac Farewell Tour | Rolling Stone

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By Andy Greene
Rolling Stone
March 1, 2021

“Fleetwood Mac is such a strange story,” says the drummer. “I would love the elements that are not healed to be healed”

Musician Mick Fleetwood attends the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center on Friday, March 29, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

With the concert industry shut down for the foreseeable future and his bandmates spread to various spots around the planet, Mick Fleetwood truly doesn’t know what the future holds for Fleetwood Mac. But that hasn’t stopped the drummer from looking ahead and sketching out a possible farewell tour in his mind.

“I’m very aware that we’ve never played that card,” he tells Rolling Stone on the phone from his Hawaii home. “I think the vision for me, and I think it would be hugely appropriate, is that we actually say ‘this is goodbye’ and go out and actually do that. That has always been my vision and I’m a flatly confident that we can do that. We owe it to the fans.”

The comments appear to contradict Christine McVie’s recent statements to the BBC where she said that bassist John McVie was “a little bit frail” and no longer had “the heart for it.” She also said, “If we do it, it’ll be without John and without Stevie [Nicks], I think…I’m getting a bit old for it now. I don’t know if I can get myself back into it.”

McVie later walked back the comments, and Fleetwood says they shouldn’t be taken literally. “I think she got out of bed on the wrong side that day,” he says with a laugh. “She meant to say, ‘We’ve done so much. I don’t know whether or not we can keep going.’ Anything other than that, she can speak for herself. But I can assure you we are alive and well. And she has no regrets. She just got caught up in whatever she was saying and she also felt she had been misunderstood.” Continue reading Mick Fleetwood Open to Reunion With Lindsey Buckingham, Imagines Fleetwood Mac Farewell Tour | Rolling Stone →

Fleetwood Mac, Release Info

Fleetwood Mac Prep Deluxe Edition of 1980 Live Album, Drop ‘The Chain’ Performance | Rolling Stone

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By Angie Martoccio
Rolling Stone
Feb 10, 2021

Majority of the album was recorded during the Tusk tour

UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 25: WEMBLEY ARENA Photo of FLEETWOOD MAC, L-R: John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks performing live onstage (Photo by Pete Still/Redferns)

Fleetwood Mac are revisiting their 1980 live album for a super-deluxe edition out April 9th via Rhino.

Fleetwood Mac Live was mostly recorded mostly during their tour for Tusk, but the super deluxe-edition will contain unreleased live music recorded between 1977 and 1982. The collection comprises a three-CD/two-LP set, as well as a bonus 7-inch single of previously unreleased demos for “Fireflies” and “One More Night.” To accompany the release, the band dropped a raucous version of “The Chain” from the Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland, Ohio, which took place on May 20th, 1980.

The deluxe edition of Live is packaged in a slipcase containing a booklet, an itinerary for the Tusk tour, and a history of the album by writer David Wild. “Then and now, Fleetwood Mac Live artfully marks a fascinating time period for a group that, in one form or another, has been on the global stage for more than half a century,” he wrote. “It’s a wildly entertaining rock & roll circus in full swing under a big tent of the band’s own creation as they leave audiences dazzled in locales from Paris, France, to Passaic, New Jersey.”

Rhino is also selling a “Tour Edition” limited to 1,000 copies, which contains replicas of ephemera, from a backstage pass to an iron-on patch. Both editions are available on Rhino’s website. 

Continue reading Fleetwood Mac Prep Deluxe Edition of 1980 Live Album, Drop ‘The Chain’ Performance | Rolling Stone →

Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac 2018/19, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, UK Articles

Christine McVie doesn’t think Fleetwood Mac will tour with Stevie Nicks again | NME

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Feb 9, 2021
By Sam Moore
NME Online

She also expressed doubt about going back out on the road again

Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac perform onstage during the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 21, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Christine McVie has said that she doesn’t expect Fleetwood Mac will tour with Stevie Nicks again in the future.

The keyboardist and vocalist was asked about the band’s future plans in a new interview with BBC Radio 2’s Johnnie Walker.

Speaking on Sounds Of The 70s (listen to the full interview here at the 1:13:20 mark), McVie said that the question of touring with Fleetwood Mac was currently “an impossible question to even answer”.

“If we do, it will be without John [McVie] and without Stevie, I think,” McVie said. “I think I’m getting a bit too old for it now, especially having had a year off. I don’t know if I can get myself back into it again.

“I know Mick [Fleetwood] would do it in a lightning strike,” she added. “But I couldn’t possibly say. We’re certainly not touring this year either.” Continue reading Christine McVie doesn’t think Fleetwood Mac will tour with Stevie Nicks again | NME →

Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood, UK Articles

Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood says cocaine use left him with two-year memory gap | NME

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Feb 5, 2021
Nick Reilly
NME Online

“I remember not working for two years. I can’t even remember what I did”

Mick Fleetwood (Picture: Getty)

Fleetwood Mac‘s Mick Fleetwood has revealed that he can’t remember two years of his life, after previously battling a heavy cocaine habit.

The drummer explained that there was a period “way after” making the iconic 1977 album ‘Rumours’ when he didn’t work for two years and has no recollection of his life during the period.

He told Classic Rock magazine: “There’s no doubt we were well equipped with the marching powder. That’s a well-worn fairytale that gets more like a war story, that gets more and more aggrandised.

I’m not minimalising the fact that we were definitely partaking in that lifestyle.

“But these weren’t a bunch of people crawling across the floor with green froth coming out of their mouths, we were working, you know?

“That went on for a long, long time, Stevie Nicks has addressed it, so I’m not divulging anything that she hasn’t spoken about. Continue reading Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood says cocaine use left him with two-year memory gap | NME →

Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood

BMG buys Mick Fleetwood’s Royalties for an array of Fleetwood Mac hits – Including TikTok sensation Dreams

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Music Business Worldwide

Once upon a time – from around 2008 to around 2015 – BMG was arguably the most acquisitive company in the music rights space.

That’s all changed in recent years, with BMG largely retreating from an M&A marketplace that has seen heavily-funded entrants such Hipgnosis Songs Fund, Round Hill, and Primary Wave keep on raising big money… and keep on spending it.

Indeed, MBW understands that it’s been nearly three years since BMG made a large-scale full acquisition in music rights. Instead, the company has switched its focus to organic growth, with positive results: after years of consecutive double-digit increases, BMG half-year revenues rose again to $308m in the first six months of the pandemic-hit 2020.

Today, though, BMG has announced its return to the acquisition table – and shown the music industry that it still has the resources to make serious music buyouts now and again.

Bertelsmann-owned BMG has confirmed that it has outright acquired Mick Fleetwood’s royalty interest in over 300 recordings, including all of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits.

An important distinction: this doesn’t mean BMG has acquired the underlying master rights to classic catalog albums like Rumours and Tango In The Night, which are owned by Warner Music Group.

However, it does mean that, from now on, whenever certain records by Fleetwood Mac make money, then BMG makes money. (The BMG acquisition includes Mick Fleetwood’s interest in all of Fleetwood Mac’s recorded works, apart from their first two albums.)

As a result, BMG will participate in the aftermath of the global viral success of Dreamson TikTok, which generated over 3.2 billion views/streams globally during an eight-week period in the second half of 2020.

Other Fleetwood Mac hits covered by the deal include recordings such as The Chain, Go Your Own Way, and Landslide from albums including Fleetwood Mac (1975), Rumours (1977) and Tango In The Night (1987).

Today’s news continues something of a sell-off trend within Fleetwood Mac’s ranks: In December, Stevie Nicks sold an 80% stake in her publishing rights to Primary Wave for around $80m, while earlier this month, Lindsey Buckingham sold 100% of his song rights to Hipgnosis Songs Fund for an undisclosed fee. Continue reading BMG buys Mick Fleetwood’s Royalties for an array of Fleetwood Mac hits – Including TikTok sensation Dreams →