How feasible is it?
 

I didn't know exactly where to post this. We all know that Chris doesn't want to tour anymore. I would like to know how feasible you guys think it would be that she (or other former members) would do a limited number of dates if the rumoured '07 tour ends up being a reunion, anniversary and/or farewell tour.

I'm not that familiar with all of the other members' relationships with the current band - are things all good, are they strained, have they completely lost touch? Is Peter well these days, able and/or willing to play on stage? Do LB& Welch get along or even know eachother well? Would Stevie let Bekka sing Rhiannon? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: JK.

If they did a short U.S. tour, 40 or 50 dates, then maybe a few in the UK & Europe, I wonder if some of the former members would do a limited number of those dates?

I mean, do the full tour with John, Mick, Stevie & LB - I would prefer Chris to do the entire tour, but assuming she can't be dragged out of retirement.... They could do a few dates with Chris, a few with Welch, a few with Peter, etc. & highlight that particular member's best songs.

I'm sure a limited number of dates, coupled with the fact that there'd be different people at most shows, would probably sell very well. It wouldn't be overkill (like playing the same markets repeatedly, ala SYW) and I for one would definitely travel to see more than one show if I knew I could see Chris at one, Peter at another...

I'm just throwing it out there to see what people think. ;shrug: I have no idea if any of this is remotely possible, or probable, or even desirable. Thoughts, please.

My gut tells me an appearance by Christine, even at just one or two shows in London, is unlikely. As far as other folks:

Peter is certainly well enough to play these days, but I don't know that he (or I, for that matter) would have any interest in being part of the Stevie-Lindsey circus. Ditto Jeremy (whose relationship with Mick is probably a bit less friendly than Peter's, but I think they're at least on good terms). Personally, I'd like to see a few dates with just Peter-Jeremy-John-Mick. I think there's a lot of potential for something like that to be really great, and I believe we have at least a few hints that Peter might be interested. Maybe somebody could gauge Jeremy's interest over on the Pre-Rumours forum, if he's still reading.

Danny's not a possibility at all, I think he's still far too ill.

Bob Welch of course has had some rather strained relationships with Mick, John and Chris as a result of the whole royalty debacle, but I bet he'd be willing to bury the hatchet if Mick and John were. (As far as Bob and Lindsey are concerned, they at least got along well enough back in the 70s; Lindsey did some producing for him.)

Bob Weston... probably not, I doubt he's been in touch with anyone in the Mac for quite a few years now.

Dave Walker... uhhh...

Rick and Billy - I can't imagine either of them wouldn't be amenable to the idea of playing some dates with the band. Same with Dave Mason and Bekka, though I wonder if they'd even be considered by the current band.

Personally, with the exception of seeing Bob Welch join in the fun, or seeing Christine come back into the fold for at least a few dates, I don't really have much interest in a The-Many-Faces-of-Fleetwood-Mac Variety Show. My big hope, as I mentioned above, is a Peter-Jeremy-John-Mick reunion, or at least a Peter-John-Mick reunion. Some live shows would be a great treat, but my real dream is for them to cut an album together, with somebody like Rick Rubin at the reins making sure everything gets done good and proper, and helping them choose a cool mix of blues standards and newer songs (stuff by the likes of the White Stripes or Black Keys) and maybe some new originals to record.

Gotta get my hands on this new Jeremy album that everybody seems to like, too...

It's certainly desirable but I don't think Christine would do it.

She hasn't played live since The Dance tour which if they tour in 2007 will be around 10 years without playing live. I just don't think she's got it in her anymore (more's the pity)

Bob Welch or Peter Green might be persuaded though.

I'd travel a long way to see FM with Christine again but I don't think I need to start saving up!

Gail

First off, I think Bob Welch should just rejoin full-time. With Christine on the shelf, having Welch there would rid the spectre of Fleetwood Mac being "Buckingham Nicks with an awesome rhythm section". And, give Fleetwood Mac the style of lineup that has served them well through the years...three songwriters/singers.

I like your idea in general, but there are some details that I don't necessarily agree with.

If Christine wouldn't get on stage with them for ONE night in her own backyard during the SYW tour, I'd say chances are not just "slim", but "none" that she'd even step on stage with them ever again (maybe for a curtain call, but not to perform). But, she's surprised us before (i.e The Dance)

As far as Peter (& Jeremy, who you didn't mention), I'd like to see those two, with Mick & John do a series of small blues club shows in between dates of the large arena/amphitheatre shows of the "big" Fleetwood Mac. (i.e. Fleetwood Mac hits SoCal...they play Staples Center with the full crew on a Monday, House Of Blues Sunset on Tuesday with just the original four, Arrowhead Pond on Wednesday (full crew), House Of Blues Disney on Thursday (orig 4), San Diego Sports Arena on Friday (full crew), The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano (orig 4)....that way, it wouldn't be too overwhelming for Peter and his sensitive psyche; if he (&/or Jeremy) felt inspired to appear on stage at the big venues, they could.

As far as others:

Bob Weston...he's only really kept in touch with Bob Welch, as far as I know (from what I infer from his Q&A here a while back)

Rick Vito...I get the feeling there's not a whole lot of love lost between Rick & Lindsey...so I doubt he'd be all that interested...UNLESS...

...Billy Burnette got involved. Rick & Billy are good friends...Billy & Bob Welch are good friends. So, if Welch was on board, I think you'd probably see BOTH Rick & Billy, too. But, probably not while Lindsey was on stage, though. It seems like a case of "this stage ain't big enough"

If Billy was involved, then I think Bekka might be interested. The Daves? Walker...a definite no. Mason...highly unlikely; he's doing his own thing and I doubt his memories of his time (no pun intended) in Fleetwood Mac are all that pleasant. But, we could get his band to be the opening act.

it's SO weird you posted this. I was thinking last night about what if Stevie didn't do the tour (just pondering really) and it was just the 3 guys...what about them apples...

Brilliant idea! Talk about having your cake and eating it too...

Although depending on the Stevie-Lindsey setlist (and price), I'd probably just hit the (hopefully much cheaper) club shows.

And I can't imagine Mick and John wouldn't get a real kick out of that kind of manic schedule.

I'd very much be in favor of this, too. Quite frankly, given the direction Stevie seems to be headed in her career, she just doesn't need Fleetwood Mac anymore. Nor does she seem to really enjoy the experience anymore.

Of course, Lindsey doesn't really need Fleetwood Mac anymore either, but he's always loved playing with Mick and John, so there's really no reason to jettison them.

Think of it as a divorce settlement. Lindsey gets Mick and John, and maybe Neale, since he'd probably like to have a second guitar in there. Stevie gets Taku and Tuggle and her singers and the rest of the flying circus. That's a win-win right there, for the most part.

I get that feeling too. Of course, LB did do that one (or was it two) show (s) in L.A. in 1990 & the world didn't end. Granted, it was brief & seemed staged & uncomfortable, but everyone's older & a lot of time has passed so I would hope they could set aside whatever differences...ah, wth am I saying - never gonna happen, so forget it.

I agree. Next year, she'll be 64 years old. If she didn't want to do it a few years ago at 60, there's no way in the world she'd get up there at 64. I'm fine with that. I saw Chris/Fleetwood Mac in their prime & honestly I don't need to see them at this late stage.

If you read Jeremy's comments in the Pre-Rumours forum, I doubt he'd be interested in anything like this either. He did mention that he hates the "hype". He sounds very happy & content with things just the way they are now.

I agree :)

I'm not sure that either Christine or Jeremy would consider doing any dates at all, for reasons stated already. Peter - maybe, if he could be persuaded that it wasn't going to escalate into a big thing which he'd have little control over.

Forget about any participation from Danny, and Dave Walker - I'm sure he'd have no interest whatsoever even if anyone else did. Bob Weston and Dave Mason - I can't see it. The others, well anything's possible with them.

One thing Christine and / or Jeremy might be interested in is some kind of Mac album with guest spots for previous members. Jeremy played on Mick's "Something Big" album on his own terms, so maybe he'd like to do something along those lines, and we know how much he enjoyed doing his own album.

Likewise, Christine might contribute something. I reckon most of the other members (barring Danny and Dave W) might consider that, totally separate from any touring that might follow.

I definitely agree with that.:) I think both Chris & Jeremy made their solo albums purely for fun. I think Chris, especially still loves the recording process in the studio & it sounds like Jeremy does too.

One in Oakland, the next night in LA. Well, it kind of did (for a while, for some people)...we didn't hear from Fleetwood Mac (live, that is) for four years..and by then, no Rick, no Lindsey, no Stevie, no Christine.

Surely you're not implying LB's appearance caused everything to stop, though. Are you? :laugh:

I agree with everyone else that Christine wouldn't be interested at all in playing live anywhere. I'm just basing that on what she has said in recent years. Plus, people think that it would be easy & quick for an ex-member to just hop up onstage & rock & roll, but Chris isn't like that. Doing even one song at one show would require rehearsing, & when you start in with going to rehearsal & then doing the show, the "little" appearance blows up into a big commitment, & before you know it, you're back in the dog & pony show. I truly think she has absolutely no interest in any of this nonsense any more.

I even wonder whether she'd bother attending such a concert! (She might watch the DVD, however.)

WOW! That 10 year mark you mention just hit me.. TEN YEARS! That's huge!! and few by so fast!

For me it would be great to see the 5 back on stage together...but it doesn't look like that would happen if a tour was involved.... But there would be hope if shows in certain cities in certain countries the band travelled to, like say where Christine is, where she could just pop up on stage and jam on a few tunes... But that would only happen if this band was much more fluid and didn't need rehearsal and choreographed words and moves. And of course if she was willing. It's a nice thought and would be a great surprised announced or not.

"inferring", not "implying".

Wow, seriously? What makes you think that, out of curiosity.

Well, Christine had already announced she wouldn't tour again...Stevie had announced she was leaving the band. BUT, I think by the end of the tour, Stevie was having second thoughts about her decision. Having Lindsey show up for those last two shows iced her decision that she no longer wanted to be in Fleetwood Mac if Lindsey wasn't there.

Being that Mick decided not to carry on as just an all-guy four piece hastened Rick's decision to leave...then Billy started working on his own country career. Leaving Fleetwood Mac a rhythm section without a band. (A quartet fronted by Rick & Billy would've been AWESOME as far as I'm concerned...just by hearing their own subsequent albums, which are great, but what a kick it would've been to hear that material with Mick & John as the motor)

It would be two years before the misguided box set was released. An impromptu video of "Love Shines" with only Mick, John, Christine & Billy was filmed. I think whatever plans to record another studio album was shelved, since Christine refused to tour, there'd be no tour to promote it.

Another two year break and then the reformed Fleetwood Mac with Billy back in the fold with Bekka & eventually Dave Mason hit the road.

^ OK, I'll buy your theory about Stevie. Sounds about right.

I wasn't aware that Chris had announced that she didn't want to tour at that point. What brought her back in '97? Money? Nostalgia? Or did she just change her mind & think "hey, maybe this touring stuff won't be so bad" only to change it back again?

And you reminded me of something I've been wondering. What WAS the deal with the box set? Yeah, 25 years & all, but it still seemed like an odd time to release it. Did Mick really think it was basically over so they might as well release it, even though it had only been 4 years since GH? And although it includes most incarnations of Mac, it seems thrown together, not very cohesive, kind of messy. :shrug:

Bob has said, even recently, that he would do a reunion tour.
I too, have serious doubts that Christine could be persuaded(although I think if it were just one or two shows in London......maybe:) ). Danny's certainly not able, and even if Peter agreed, who knows if he might change his mind on any given night.

Originally I think Christine just signed on to do the couple of shows that were filmed for the Dance VHS/DVD. Once the idea of turning the reunion into a full-blown tour came up, she came around to the idea of doing the quick American trek, probably mostly out of nostalgia, but I'm sure the paycheck didn't hurt.

The box set is indeed thrown together, totally uncohesive and very messy. It's a huge missed opportunity that hopefully will be rectified one of these days, though I'm not holding my breath. Mick probably just needed some money.

That is an interesting concept.

Jim, I really think that's what theyre going to do next year is a 40th band anniversary Box set. Just my opinion. ANd I hope that's what they amphasize, not the 30th anniversary of Rumours because the 40th includes Rnmours as well as all the other great stuff.:)

I could envision Lindsey rounding up his "guitar army" folks again...he's already got Neale, get Steve Ross, Liza Carbe & Janet Robin; the requisite keyboard player (Dan Garfield?) ...along with Mick & John.

Or, I could see Lindsey balking at doing a Fleetwood Mac project, then Mick & John getting Bob Welch & Billy Burnette back in...then it would be Mick, John, Stevie, Billy & Bob (with a truncated mini-Mac of Brett Tuggle, Taku, & Sharon & Lori.)

But, #1 on my wish list would be that Peter & Jeremy hook up with Mick & John just for a week in a recording studio and see what happens. Even if all we get is a 3 disc box set of old blues tunes, rambling blues jams & between take chatter, I'd be in hog-heaven. And, if they decided to just pack up a couple of mini-vans full of equipment and do a "Worldwide Pub Crawl Tour"...all the more fun.

I'd be right there with you That would be awseome!:cool:

I considered this as a possibility too, but it does seem like saturating the market a bit with "The Very Best" just a couple of years old and already comprising two discs. If they were to do it, they would really need to make it a niche product for the hardcore fans and include lots of unreleased or rare tracks. But then they've already thrown a lot of those onto the FM/Rumours/Tusk reissues. And there's lots of good stuff on the Blue Horizon reissues too. So at the moment a box set really seems kind of superfluous. Better to just keep up with remastering the rest of the catalogue and reissuing the discs with bonus material. Start with mirage and Tango, then Then Play On, then all the post-Green, pre-BN releases.

I agree in principle. Probably it was originally presented to her that they'd just film a concert with a controlled audience for TV broadcast...which she probably didn't have TOO much resistance against. Then by the time they'd gotten through the initial rehearsals and through the first dress rehearsal and the first of the two filmed shows, it was probably negotiated that there'd be a home video version (VHS, LaserDisc and later a DVD when that became the industry video standard) AND a "live" CD, too. Which meant that they'd have to tour to promote 'em. She mostly likely felt trapped in a whirlpool that she couldn't get out of...then and ONLY then, no doubt after MUCH convincing, did she agree to tour ONLY the initial 40 dates of the tour. I'm sure that Mick tried to extend the tour since the cash was flowing in and he was seeing the potential $$$. Even Lindsey has been quoted as saying he was game for extending the tour. But, Christine absolutely said "no" and the tour abruptly ended after only the 40 dates.

I'm sure that there are some contractual & legal reasons why a more comprehensive box set would be a logistical nightmare. The whole fiasco of the litigation vs Clifford Davis is one big hassle to negotiate, since, if I recall correctly, he has a big chunk o' the pie of the pre-Heroes Are Hard To Find catalogue....and then there's the pre-Reprise stuff (Blue Horizon, Immediate). The 1992 set, had its "ups", but overall it was a VERY unsatisfying set...from all angles...the song choices, the track order, the booklet, etc.

That could work too. I just think with the whole 40/30 thing, you know how marketing people like numbers. And of course, like lemmings to the sea, most of us would buy it.

Fleetwood Mac saturate the market? Surely you jest. :laugh:

The chances of Christine touring again with them are really small because didn't she just get married again? Also as everyone pointed out, she didn't want to tour for Say You Will and left early on the Dance. It would be something to see all the band members reunite for the anniversary tour and I hope they do. Do you think their egos can fit on one stage tho? Maybe some bad blood too. Interesting to think about.

She just got divorced from Eddy Quintela, hadn't heard about her getting remarried already, though.

I think she may have been open to extending the Dance tour into 1998, at least to Europe. I have interviews in which she said that she and her husband were going to move to England in late 1998. Then, her marriage ended during the tour & she sent Eddy packing. That ended the Dance tour. She just wanted to get back home to England and move on with her life.

She said 2 years ago that she'd never marry again. I think two bad marriages were enough.

This time, she should marry Homer!! :blob2: :blob1: :blob2:

I just went to Bekka's website, because while reading through this thread, I had question marks floating over my head. Like, who the hell is Bekka? Did I sleep through that incarnation? How did I even not know she existed? Anyway, she has a great voice, but I can't imagine why FM would have had her singing Gold Dust Woman. Weird! I mean, her version is different and it's not horrible, but that whole concept is so weird to me. Sorry to threadjack. My only thoughts regarding the original question here is that I think some people may not like it if say, Chris did play, but not at the city near them. It would be really hard for me to go to another city and I would be so bummed if she played with the band and I had to miss it! But then on the flip side, many people would probably go to several shows just to see the different incarnations of the band.

Oh, and P.S.- I simply cannot believe Christine is 64. Crazy!

Yes, Mr. Steven, I feel exactly that way about "The Chain." There's only about a half CD's worth of material that was actually worth a release at that point. The booklet was a dud -- plus a big black box ... is that really the smartest way to incorporate shelf appeal for a band of fogies? Who worked on that one, Chris Nicks? :rolleyes:

and the damn thing didn't sell anyway (despite being shown on the Super Bowl)!!!!!!!!!! I mean, hell, if you aren't going to sell any copies, you should have put out a nice live album with Mask & Tango tour material. Of course, the band would have botched even that idea. (stevie probably would have done studio shots again, thus ruining a THIRD live video)

It's useless wishing for something different here or there in the present or the past because the band would have botched it up.

Well, I didn't sleep through Bekka ........... & lemme tell ya, after suffering through boring, lackluster "Gold Dust Womans" from the composer herself in 1989 & 1990 (& even the latter part of the 1987 tour), I was ready for it to disappear entirely. So I was really pleased with the spooky, slinky GDW that the 1994 band played, with Mick on conga drum, Billy & Dave on acoustic guitar & Bekka doing a sort of slow burn on it.

It was refreshing from the point of view of listless GDWs before that. Rock is all about relativity.

We looked it up on Google and nope, she didn't remarry. Guess it was just the divorce. But for the original question, we found this. Sure everyone's seen it already or knows about (we're behind!) but it gives hope that she might consider something for the anniversary:

On September 26, 2003 there was a Christine sighting at The first-ever Capital Gold Legends Awards at London's Hilton London Metropole. Many stars, including our very own Songbird, came out in force for the gala dinner auction and awards ceremony. Fleetwood Mac won Legendary album and Christine McVie was there to pick up the award!

If anyone wants the link, it's http://www.fmlegacy.com/Bios/biochristine.html
Really good photos on it!
Edit. It really seems by this biography that CMV just wants to be a regular person. It says she hangs out at the local bars. Would Stevie or Lindsey ever do that? John probably would but he's just like Christine. Mick might too. But of the three singer/songwriters, she seems to want a normal, regular life. So if she did the tour, it might be out of boredom or just for some fun (of the drama kind).

She's not 64 now. She's currently only 62. She'll be 64 in 2007.

homer wouldn't let her post in the nicks forum