Stretch (aka The Fake Fleetwood Mac)
 

I was listening to Stretch's "Why Did You Do It" today (supposedly about Mick Fleetwood's failure to join the fake Fleetwood Mac tour).

It got me wondering, do any bootlegs exist of the fake FM performing as Fleetwood Mac? I've never heard of any, but was wondering if anyone else had?

Just listening to the Stretch album Elastique, I have no idea how they could ever have been passed off as Fleetwood Mac...

Keep in mind that they were playing under the notion that Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie would be rejoining the band. The bassist looked a bit like John McVie and Elmer Gantry looked a bit like Bob Welch. The visual, especially if Mick and Christine had returned, would've been there.

However, it wouldn't have been too hard to believe, considering in like six years they went from Shake Your Moneymaker to Hypnotized.

Check out the video

A search on the net doesn't dig up many photos of the band, but I found these two

http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/p...sn/Stretch.jpg

http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/p...n/Stretch2.jpg

I can see your point Steve about Elmer Gantry (Dave Terry) looking like Bob Welch...I guess it wouldn't have been hard to pass them off for appearances, but as soon as they opened their mouths it might not have worked - Bob Welch is pretty distinctive vocally.

The drummer was, I believe, Jeff Rich who had a long career with Status Quo in the 80's/90's.

That song is a great tune, by the way.

Yes but Craig Collinge was the drummer for the band when they were posing as "the new Fleetwood Mac".

John

Didn't know that.

Who was that keyboard player who was interviewed as part of the Mac's BBC 'Rock Family Tree's' show??

Dave Wilkinson, he was also in Chicken Shack for a short while too.

John

Did the fake Mac perform Fleetwood Mac songs during their brief tour? Or their oown material? I guess they played mac songs since they supposedly were under the impression that some of the other mac members werre about to join them down the road.

Anyone here that eyewitnessed this tour?

I had tickets for a Fleetwood Mac/Deep Purple show in Long Beach, but a local DJ somehow had gotten wind of the deception and kept announcing over the air that anyone who had tickets to demand a refund...so, I did. That was going to have been my first Fleetwood Mac concert...but, now I wish I would've gone anyway, just for the historical value.

Peter Green's pal, Nigel Watson played with Stretch for a while, too; but well after the Fake Mac debacle.

The bass player went on to play in the band ROSS that was signed to RSO records and opened for Eric Clapton on most of his 1974 "comeback" tour. They were pretty good.

I had never seen these photos. Thank you!

From Music News
http://www.music-news.com/showreview...nReviewID=7840


Those of a certain age will remember Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera who produced a stunning rock/psych album in the late '60's. Elmer Gantry then went off and surfaced on what was supposed to be the new incarnation of Fleetwood Mac before Mick Fleetwood disowned the project and put together his own new Fleetwood Mac without Gantry. Gantry then got together with Kirby Gregory, late of Curved Air, and formed Stretch who are themselves famous for their 1975 hit 'Why Did You Do It?' - a direct attack on Fleetwood but also one of the funkiest songs ever to have been released by a white band and featuring Gantry's growl at its best.

Here he is with Chicken Shack. I had it on VHS but fortunately managed to convert to digital to upload to youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCdc1S82LMs

Check out I'd Rather Go Blind as well, it's pretty good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl0k4oyBN4o

Cheers,
Wouter

I recently found out through Facebook that the fake FM had a show up in these parts. I don't remember if it was cancelled or actually happened...

Matt

MATT it actually HAPPENED! You're right, Stretch is back and they played at the Borderline London, UK on Jan 28 2012. It's our second gig in the last 35 years, Elmer Gantry was joking - and yes Stretch cannot be compared with FM, different music maybe but it was interesting - as an encore they played a Peter Green song - Stop Messin Round:



They also played Showbiz Blues by P.G. - awesome Saturday night!