Herald Sun October 22, 2016 6:00am
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertai...5ff662f36475ca
Empire Of The Sun make magic with Fleetwood Mac, Prince and David Bowie star musicians
Kathy McCabe, National Music Writer, News Corp Australia Network
[excerpts]
And most famously, they asked Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham if he would join them on the Two Vines album.
Littlemore self-deprecatingly suggests these musical legends agreed to lend their talents to the Australian duo’s third record because they are “thoroughly nice people”.
So Melvoin, Buckingham and pianist Henry Hey and bassist Tim Lefebvre, who were members of David Bowie’s Blackstar band, surely would have heard of these eccentric, creative Australians.
“I think they did it out of the kindness and generosity of their hearts. I do. I think (Wendy and
Lindsey) are both still so fascinated by music. They still love it,” Littlemore says.
“Lindsey would hear a lot of compliments (in our music) I would imagine because Fleetwood Mac was the first show I ever went to, at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, and we’ve never tried to hide the fact we were massively influenced by them.
“I believe the first press release about Empire said we were Daft Punk meets
Fleetwood Mac.”
Two Vines is a reconciliation for these two vastly different men. Littlemore laughs when asked if
Buckingham’s presence in the studio put them on their best behaviour.
The friction between the pair has more to do with fighting for their respective creative corners than it does with ego or the business of show business.
But he agrees they could have done with a referee when it came to choosing the songs which made the cut from the list of 70 tracks they wrote for Two Vines.
“We don’t really have one, which is probably annoying, it would be good to have someone impartial,” Littlemore says.
“It could be Lindsey but he’s already given us so much and I wouldn’t want to burden him with 70 songs and say ‘which one?’
“And we can’t compare our tiny, minuscule squabbles with the making of Rumours. What right do we have to ever have an argument? If they can do it