Question about Christine's solo tour

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Billy never toured with Christine. He worked on her album and did the Country Club show in December 1983. He did not do the tour. Todd Sharpe and Steven Breitman (spelling) were the guitarists on the tour.

The venues may have held thousands but unfortunately the tour did not fill those venues. The article that is linked to this thread has a press article about her opening night in Fresno that only attracted 800 people. Fleetwood Mac has their peak audiences in LA and San Francisco and she only had 800 in Fresno. I was in shock when there were only about 200 in Pittsburgh. The bootleg of Milwaukee the audience is silent which makes Chris say....."its so quiet here."
This topic always strikes a nerve with me even as a teenager in 1984. I don't understand where Mac fans went because they sure were not loyal to Chris. She sang some of the biggest hits of the 70s and 80s and had a hit solo album with a top 10 single and another one in the top 40. 2 videos on MTV with heavy rotation, appearing on Solid Gold and American Bandstand. But Mac fans never supported Chris on her tour. Can you imagine the HUGE hit Hold me from 1982 followed by the top 10 hit Got A Hold on Me in concert? What a concert!
Sadly Lindsey and Mick never attracted huge crowds solo either. But Chris sung most of the hits so she should have been a much bigger draw.

*****sorry, just had to vent......off the soap box now *****

Christine did not leave that tour unscathed. After her solo venture, she returned to the Mac and increasingly referred to herself in interviews as a side player. In 1997, she told an interviewer she "lacked the charisma" to tour by herself. Given her comments in a recent interview about overcoming her insecurities as a performer, I'd say her doubts about her ability to connect with a large fan base on her own may have had something to do with her unwillingness to promote In the Meantime. Her fear of flying may, too, have been tied in with some of those insecurities.

It is true that her solo shows were rather tame in comparison to Mac concerts. She didn't take enough risks to do something that would distinguish her. As David said, she might have sparked more interest by pairing down the shows and featuring herself as a blues pianist/singer. I think that would have gotten her critical attention at least. And I'd have loved to hear such a show!