New links, but never break the chain

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New links, but never break the chain: Fleetwood Mac will start their tour in Tulsa with new members

By Jimmie Tramel Tulsa World Sep 16, 2018 Updated 19 hrs ago


Tulsa’s next historic music moment: The world will be watching (and listening) when Fleetwood Mac unveils a new lineup and christens a new tour Oct. 3 at BOK Center.

Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, the same year BOK Center was born. The band performed at the venue in 2009 and 2013 and will wield a bigger roster for the next show — bigger because two new members were brought aboard to replace Lindsey Buckingham.

The additions are Crowded House vocalist Neil Finn and Mike Campbell, longtime guitarist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Petty died in 2017.
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Will there be any Crowded House or Petty songs on the set list — or will there be any kind of tribute to Petty?

“I can attest that there will be,” Fleetwood Mac drummer and co-founder Mick Fleetwood said during a recent phone interview.

“I’m not going to cite the songs that we’re doing, but both of those issues are absolutely addressed and it is totally this band’s pleasure to honor certainly both of these gentlemen, from whence they have come. I do know that they speak for themselves in terms of their talent, so we are definitely open to making that very real, open, holistic gesture to have them welcomed into this band.”

If you’re into guessing games about what might wind up on the set list, consider that Crowded House’s top U.S. singles are “Something So Strong” and “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”

Over?

Fleetwood wouldn’t dare dream Fleetwood Mac is “over.” That’s why the band is forging ahead with a tweaked cast.

Fleetwood Mac has survived many personnel shuffles and sold millions of records (“Rumours” is one of the top-selling albums of all time). When Fleetwood was asked what the constant has been for the band, he said, “Well, you could say the reluctance to give up.”

Fleetwood said there have been huge challenges since Fleetwood Mac was formed in 1967, including the comings and goings of members. He and John McVie (the band got its name by co-opting the names of Fleetwood and McVie) are still representing the brand, along with Christine McVie (joined in 1970) and Stevie Nicks (joined in 1974).

Elaborating on the reluctance to call it quits, Fleetwood said, “It has been one of those things where we never thought about giving up. We are players and, the love of music and going forward, it never really occurred to us to stop. That is still in place.

“But I think it’s some form of old-school love of playing music. It sounds a bit corny almost, but I don’t remember one moment in this band’s existence (where I wanted it to end). Have there been challenges? Yes. Have I ever thought that the band might cease to be? Yeah. But only for a very fleeting moment because I turn around and there have always been two or three key people still supporting, or me and John sitting there with two other people going ‘Well, do you want to give up?’ And the consensus has always been absolutely not.”

Fleetwood, at the time of the interview, said the band is “pretty close” to nailing down a set list for the tour.

“We’ve got multiple options here and there,” he said.

Excerpts from a Q-and-A session:

In April, Stevie Nicks told Rolling Stone the band was going to put about 60 songs on a board and start playing them and gradually eliminate songs from consideration for the set list. Is that how it happened?

“It wasn’t quite 60, but it was certainly over 40. And, yes, that’s the process we go through. She wasn’t kidding. There is a blackboard right in front of the stage with Velcro-ed song titles that you change around, and we are very close to the final (list). That’s how we started. So we overcook the cake. ... It just means you do more work.

“We really left ourselves with extra time to do that because it’s a really important time in Fleetwood Mac’s history with the changes that we have gone through. We like to do things right ... and time allows us to do that, so we are definitely very well prepared and excited about the end result, which is walking on the stage and presenting all over the world for the next 18 months.”

The Eagles were in Tulsa recently with the core of the Eagles, plus Vince Gill and Deacon Frey. It was interesting. Maybe that’s what happens with this version of Fleetwood Mac?

“I understand what you are saying. And, in the framework of especially Fleetwood Mac, if you are aware, and I suspect you are moderately aware of the history, this band has been, it is very fair to say, all about change. ... With Lindsey having departed from Fleetwood Mac and separating from the band and us from him, it doesn’t diminish the work that he has done in this band and everything is approached with respect and a sense of who we are, as well, as a band now, which is going forward with two incredibly talented gentlemen who have more than a track record that speaks very loudly, as you mentioned.

“Like Vince Gill, for instance, is a hugely talented gentleman with massive amounts of talent but came into a band for other reasons. It doesn’t stop (for a band) once you decide you want to continue, so we are very excited about what we are doing, and we are able to do that with what has turned out to be a very natural progression that has been unbelievably easy to go into these rehearsals with both Neil and Michael.

“They are not just passing through. They are members of Fleetwood Mac. This is a real deal statement of us going forward and being creatively involved, which is all about the history of Fleetwood Mac. The four of us, when the change happened, we, of course, took a breath and said, ‘No. 1, are we all wanting to go forward with excitement and the challenge of doing such a thing?’ Once that was decided on, this became very real and a lot of thought was put into it.

“When we pull out of L.A. and go on the road not too long from now, it won’t be with any flippant, un-thought-about structure. We thought very seriously about how this should all go forward and we found two gentlemen that are hugely talented and who have very naturally become part of this crazy old band known as Fleetwood Mac, so we are really happy about it.”

Why is Neil Finn the right man for the job and why is Mike Campbell the right man for the job?

“Mike, as you know, has been a stalwart band member of the Heartbreakers and Tom Petty’s right-hand man. He is a hugely accomplished and longstanding guitar player that had an umbilical connection through Stevie. Stevie has written with Mike. They are very close friends. I know Mike but by no means did I know him as well as Stevie. They have been longtime friends. Stevie’s connection, as you well know, with Tom Petty is very longstanding. In fact, it wasn’t that long ago she was playing in London, at Hyde Park, with her band and Tom Petty, so that was a very natural progression and seemed so more than right.

“And then a lot of thought went into (how) Mike sings a little bit but is not a vocal part of this equation as such, so we were looking for that magic voice. Both of these people are hugely talented songwriters. That has always been an important thing in Fleetwood Mac in my mind. But Neil Finn is someone who came (to mind). I have been a huge fan of his for many years prior to when I even knew him.

“Over the last three years, or a couple of years ago, I worked on an album in New Zealand with him just as a friend, banging out drums and so forth. And with a lot of thought, the choice became just more and more evident for me, and it wasn’t immediate, and I went ‘You know what? I think this could be more than the right decision.’ Which it has been.

“Neil is incredibly talented and is a friend of mine so all of that makes this, very holistically, a good ‘read’ where all the getting to know (each other) on a personal level (was already accomplished). Obviously, John and Christine weren’t in the friendship loop as much as, say, Stevie and I were — Stevie with Mike and me with Neil. But (the relationships have) all been a huge help understandably.”

That’s not to say the additions wouldn’t have happened without the friendships, according to Fleetwood. But the bonds paved the way for a transitional period that he called “unbelievably exciting and incredibly easy.”

Maybe the message is this: There are new links. Never break the chain.