25th Anniversary of The Dance
 

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the recording of The Dance. Coming home from work late one night in the summer of 97 and flipping on MTV and happening upon an airing of this concert was the beginning of my FM obsession. I think a lot of people my age (I was a teenager at the time) became fans in the same way. I've seen them many times live since then and considered myself a huge fan until everything fell apart.

I will say it's almost unfathomable that in those 25 years we only got one more full album from them and even Christine was mostly missing from that. 14 year old me wouldn't have ever believed that at the time. What a waste of talent... but alas I think I'll pull out my old DVD and give it a listen tonight. Hopefully I can enjoy it without getting too upset or angry about what could have or should have been.

I always felt a little badly about the fans who came in much later than some of us old timers about the paucity of their recorded output . I became a fan in the mid 1970s at the height of their fame and creativity and was a huge Nicks fan as well . Imagine getting Bella Donna ,Mirage and The Wild Heart in less than a 23 month span. Along with other FM member solo albums. It almost doesn't seem real now looking back.

25 years? Yeesh.
 

Seems like yesterday sometimes.

Anyway, watch til the end to see an alternative version of The Chain!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZIH2tkx-gY

We got two full albums ;)

None of how it played out was a huge surprise for me, which is why I wished at the time that Mick and John had just stuck with Bekka & Billy. I get it. The "Rumours" band is where the money is and is what people generally associate with the name Fleetwood Mac. (In retrospect, it's not like Bekka did anything with her career beyond being a backing singer and songwriter after Bekka & Billy, which is disappointing.)

Christine leaving? She'd already retired from the road at the end of 1990 and her "Time" songs made it obvious she was leaving the band. I was more surprised that she did The Dance than I was her retiring, but she went out on top, which she deserved (although I suspect it was the final nail in the coffin for her marriage).

The output we got from the band was only slightly less than what I thought we'd get, which was three albums. Two albums and an EP wasn't too far off the mark. Lindsey's extremely low productivity didn't inspire confidence. Now, that it's Stevie who's been holding things up is the actual thing that's surprised me.

I remember one day flicking past the channels and saw on Entertainment Tonight the band got back together again WITH Lindsey OMG. Stevie was interviewed how she no longer wanted to stay angry at these people. I recorded the concert from MTV and played it a million times. At the time I was not aware how unhappy Chris was but you could see it in her face. She was not thrilled but always put the band ahead of herself. I bought the cassette (remember those). I waited in line for tickets and they had a lottery for the first 50 people and I had a winning ticket. Even then my seats were not great. Every show sold out and the Dance was #1. I was a bit disappointed in the concert though. I think because I played the concert so many times from the TV. It was the same set with exactly the same banter. I also was not thrilled with Stand Back, Go Insane and Not That Funny. They could have played 4 more classic Mac songs. I just found the music so rehearsed and had none of that spontaneous and loud arena rock. I love Lindsey and he is superior to Rick and Billy but I thought the Farewell concert in 1990 was more entertaining. I always felt guilty feeling that way. The highlight was hearing Tango songs like Big Love and Everywhere with Lindsey. However that was all we got. No Little Lies. No Isn't It Midnight, Seven Wonders, etc. But the impact of the Dance should not be overlooked. Stevie's solo career had tanked and she pretty much gave up. The year after the Dance she released Enchanted and was playing to full houses again.

Interesting! I loved the tour setlist but only that I think Sara and Over My Head should've been in it.

It's amazing that they managed to get new songs done, but Eagles did four new songs for Hell Freezes Over in 1994. I wonder if there was talk about doing a full album of new FM songs before they started the tour in September 1997.

Hold Me, Sisters of the Moon, Love In Store, Little Lies, Sara, Think About Me, Eyes of the World, I Know I'm Not Wrong, Isn't It Midnight
Let me count the ways........

The crazy thing about that is one of the songs was written by Jim Capaldi. In 1994, he was part of his own reunion tour with Traffic, which wasn’t a success. Noticeably absent from the Traffic reunion was Dave Mason, who was in Fleetwood Mac.

I take it you would've like them to not have done the 4 new songs?
Eyes of the World was done the first night of the tour but was swapped for Second Hand News

I feel pretty confident that FM didn’t even consider doing a full album before the tour. I think we forget, in 1996, Fleetwood Mac was in limbo. The MTV Special was just that- a recorded concert over 2 nights edited into one concert special. FM had been nominated but shut out of the RRHOF twice, and the Time cd and lineup went out with a whimper. Then the concerts occurred, and generated a lot of buzz. So much so that a cd was planned to be released to coincide with the concert. When that concert finally aired on MTV to huge ratings, that was when the tour was set up, and the rest is history. FM owes their resurgence to MTV airing that concert, as well as VH1 for also airing it for several months after. But I don’t think anyone, including FM, thought the Dance would be as successful as it was, and they struck while the iron was hot.

Not at all. I loved the new 3 songs. I just wish they dug a little deeper instead of the 2 solo songs and the long NTF. I was not picky. I loved every minute of it. Just looking back and looking for a wow factor. Lindsey back was HUGE and hearing Second Hand News again was probably the highlight. It was the sign Fleetwood Mac was back.

Please remind me why it's not four new songs... was one of Lindsey's heard before The Dance?

Was reuniting the Rumours lineup Carl Stubner's idea?
Stevie left in 1990 to do solo work only and Rick left the band after BTM to join Stevie, right?

Hell Freezes Over was the template for The Dance. All things Fleetwood Mac were in the crapper by the mid 1990s .Time ,just 2 studio albums after a worldwide 15 million selling blockbuster completely tanked. It was almost like the wilderness years in reverse except any of those albums did better than Time. They copied the Eagle's successful formula and it worked.

Absolutely. They completely copied the Eagles reunion success. FM was totally in the crapper then, and they saw that the Eagles were killing it again.

"Let's pretend that Time never happened".

It's not like OOTC and Street Angel did anything, either. The only difference is they promoted those albums.

The last tour date from the Burnette/Bramlett/Mason lineup was Sept. 1, 1995. "Time" was released on Oct. 10, 1995. The only other show they performed was a corporate gig on Nov. 15, 1995. No videos, no tour, only scant radio play with "I Do." Not that it would have done much better, but it was DOA.

Lindsey and Fleetwood Mac didn't have viable options without each other. That's why Lindsey asked Mick to work on his "solo" album.

Stevie had enough success as a solo artist that all she had to do was lose weight, stop smoking, and get a massive makeover and have an all-star "comeback" special. However, it wouldn't have been nearly as robust as the bump she got from the Fleetwood Mac reunion.

3 songwriters, 3 new songs, I guess? Lindsey re-worked "Go Insane" from his solo album so I guess that doesn't count amongst My Little Demon, Temporary One, and Sweet Girl. I had never heard Silver Springs prior to the Dance, so I still think of it as 4 new songs. :)

Seems more like Rob Cavallo pushed for it in '96 while helping Lindsey record his solo album.

You forgot "Bleed To Love Her."

There were numerous people pushing for it.

He even announced "Bleed to Love Her" as a new song. (If I recall correctly)

One other Dance memory that was sort of scary. The Dance was sold out in every city. Christine only agreed to 40 shows so the band did not schedule other shows at the same cities that would sell out in an hour. This only led to a more demand for tickets. I saw one of the last shows at the West Palm Beach amphitheater. The band rented 3 entire floors at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach. I had a friend who worked at the Breakers and he told me the silly names the band used when checking in. I think Mick was something like "Corona Light."
With the extreme crowds, I arrived at the amphitheater early and stood in line with thousands of others. I think the gates were to open at 7 and the concert began at 8. Stevie arrived late for sound check. I was in line when the gates were supposed to open but the band was performing Dreams for their sound check. Suddenly the 1979 Cincinatti Who concert came to my mind. I started to panic a bit because my fear was what happened in 1979. The amphitheater had grass seating similar to the first come seating the Who concert had. Was the crowd thinking the band performing Dreams after 7pm the concert had started? My fear was pushing would start and we would be trampled to death. Not cool. It was a foolish move by the band and the venue. If you arrive late for a sound check either do the sound check without Stevie or don't do it at all. You don't do a sound check after the gates are supposed to open and thousands are in line at an outside venue where the fans can hear you. The Palm Beach post reported on this the next day and pinpointed Stevie's late arrival for such a late sound check.
Lindsey cut his hand during the ending of Go Your Own Way this night and had to be rushed to the hospital for multiple stitches. However he did finish the concert. Because the stampede fear was still in my mind, I left during the end of Go Your Own Way. I did not get to see Farmer's Daughter but I heard it in the car.

Ok. I had seen a video in 97 where Lindsey asked Mick and John to work on an album with him. Then Lindsey asked Chris to come join their sessions.
Stevie asked Lindsey to do Twisted with her.
And Carl Stubner from seeing this, proposed a live concert to the group.
But I'm not sure if I'm remembering it correctly.

Warner, Clear Channel, and Viacom started pushing it after the massive success of “Hell Freezes Over.”

As it is, OOTC was such a commercial disaster that Lindsey and the label realized that he wasn’t commercially viable outside of Fleetwood Mac. Of course, Fleetwood Mac had been touring as an opening act or as part of the oldies package tour circuit with a new lineup.

That’s when things began to thaw and Lindsey started working with Mick. The band then finished up its commitments and the label let Time arrive DOA. Why spend money on promoting a new lineup of Fleetwood Mac when a project with Lindsey and Mick had more commercial potential? Billy Burnette knew it was coming simply based on which industry people started coming around and warned Bekka and Dave.

Thank you.
As for Lindsey and Stevie thawing then, did Stevie call Lindsey to come record Twister with her before Lindsey called Mick to work on Gift of Screws?

I wonder why Rick didn't join Bekka and Billy too.

that's the story Rob himself tells in the dvd.

Holy cow! *facepalm* Talk about dementia setting in during my old age!

I was jaw dropped. (well, at first I thought you were going to mention it later).

Then I was jaw dropped you forgot it. :lol:

Besides Silver Springs...
 

... it's my favourite of the new songs, so... even more jaw-dropping! :distress::laugh:

If The Dance was a reunion of Stevie, Billy, Rick, Chris, Mick, and John playing the same set (heavy on Rumours songs), would it have had the same success as an album and tour?

No. The return of Lindsey was a key factor. Plus, I'm sure it wouldn't have had the same support of the record company. But it would have been moderately successful.

It would have been a mildly successful tour but not a sold out freak show the Dance was. When the Dance happened, it was almost like Rick and Billy never existed. Remember hearing how the band reunited and touring for the first time in 15 years. That was said all the time. People forgot that the band carried on with Chris and Stevie for several year and again without them.
It was huge. Chris's return was huge too but it was blunted by the fact the band had just toured the world without her the year before. If they had disbanded after Say You Will, I think her return would have been even bigger.

Just like Christine's return, they had that extra marketing of playing her songs, and the FAB 5 Rumours reunited... So, I suppose not quite as impactful as Lindsey's return.

Agree that Warner Brothers would not have cared as much as they do/did for Rumours line up.

Stevie took Rick out on the Street Angel Tour so I would think out of loyalty she would've pushed for him to be in the 97 reunion.

Mick took Bekka out on two tours. Mick and John both recorded Billy’s songs on their solo project and put him back in the band for a tour.

Bekka and Billy went on Zoo Tours, right?

It would have been nothing. The spectacle around The Dance was pretty earth shattering at the time and the story was all around how it was the first time in 15 years that this specific incarnation of the band was playing together (live). It's hard to think now given how much media has changed, but they were EVERYWHERE in 1997. It was massive. They crossed generations - it wasn't just the boomers that got reinterested. Their kids (I was 16 when it was filmed) jumped on board. That concert was EVERYWHERE on TV that fall. In the days before social media and the internet being very usable, it was incredible how much that reunion was in your face. That tour could have gone on a lot more and likely continued to sell out across the world throughout 1998 if Christine didn't leave. And the template was surely Hell Freezes Over. The difference was with FM, you need the "couple drama" on stage to really sell it. You needed the five with their history of breakups and heartache and Stevie sleeping with Mick and Lindsey....all of that had to be there. Rick and Billy would have been blahsville as far as the soap opera aspect, not to mention their own songs with Fleetwood Mac were limited and relatively unknown. Stevie singing Silver Springs to Billy would have been beyond lame. For example, her harmonizing on GYOW while staring down Neil Finn was just...what?

The Lindsey/Stevie crap that we now lament was a huge piece of the sales pitch. Landslide with just the two of them. Silver Springs being unearthed in a legendary way and that clip of her singing to him at the end...a reunion with the 1987-90 band would have gone nowhere. Maybe if Behind the Mask was popular, but it wasn't. There's no way that reunion would have been 1/10th as successful as The Dance.

Stevie and Rick did have the flirting acting onstage, with their heads touching, and I think she did dance over by Billy's microphone. So there was chemistry.

Not at all. There was no demand for that reunion and only a normal market for a usual tour with the Mac name. Nicks would have put them into arenas (instead of spas, county fairs, and supermarket parking lots). Otherwise, no MTV or TV shows, no magazine covers, no Billboard #1, no adulation from other pop stars — and certainly no Grammy or Hall of Fame nominations.

Yep. As I recall, when VH1 did their Behind the Music show on FM, they completely skipped the years 1988-1995 and made it sound like Behind the Mask and Time never existed, or that Rick, Billy, Bekka, and Dave had never been in FM.

How many people walked away after a Mac or Nicks show gushing, “I just loved the way Stevie and Rick flirted!”?

That’s a nonstarter.

Rick was also on her record label, and I think he was only the second person ever, besides Stevie, to be on that label, so Stevie and Rick were definitely close. But I really doubt Rick would have rejoined anyway, even if Stevie had asked. I think he felt burned by FM, and I think he was, too.

Rick chose to leave Fleetwood Mac though. Billy stayed.