Mick Talks About FM Tour
 

Croydon Guardian

http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/lei..._Mac_are_back/

The Mac are back
2:58pm Monday 27th October 2008

By Graham Moody »

They may have been in the music industry for more than four decades - but legendary rock group Fleetwood Mac are not quite ready to hang up their instruments just yet.

Next year the four-piece are hitting the road again on another world tour, the first time they will have worked together in four years - and they are even managing to keep the same line-up.

Sixteen different musicians have at some point played parts in the band’s history, but only Mick Fleetwood survives from the original members who first appeared at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival in 1967.

“It is sort of like the Rolling Stones or U2,” said Fleetwood, who will be joined on tour by John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

“They take breaks but keep on coming back and keep going. If people stop watching and enjoying us then we will know they have had enough.”

The tour will be a new experience for the band as they have no plans to release a new album at the same time but will instead concentrate on playing their classics.

“For the first time we are not going to have a new album to go along with the tour so we are just going out to have a lot of fun, it will be totally unique,” said Fleetwood.

“When we do an album we tend to want to play the new stuff and people have to put up with songs they don’t know, this time we are going into our back catalogue and giving people what they want.”.

Despite being in his sixties Fleetwood is still full of love for the music industry and is currently touring with his blues band that includes former Mac Rick Vito.

“It is the same thing as if you were talking to BB King or Tony Bennett now,” he said.

“There is a bunch of people that tend to come from my generation of musicians where we started this not to be rich and famous, we started it because we wanted to be playing the music we love.

“We enjoy playing so much that we have been doing four of five gigs a week. Rick is playing his arse off on guitar.

“we have been playing together for a while and we take on some great old Fleetwood Mac stuff I haven’t played for 40 years and then we do some classics or not classics that we just like.”

The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, November 2, 8pm, £22.50 / £25. Call 020 8688 9291 or visit fairfield.co.uk.

Side Note: Did you know? - Everyone in the Blues Band lives on the same Hawaiian island, including the small entourage. - Fleetwood had a short acting career, including roles in The Running Man and as an alien in Star Trek, on which he said, “I had to shave my beard off to put all that rubber on my face, I told them if I was doing that they better beam me up or beam me down somewhere and they were true to their word.” - Fleetwood blames his disastrous hosting of the 1989 Brit Awards with Sam Fox on 200 screaming boy band fans who made so much noise no one in the crew could hear each other.

World tour - Europe - Holland => those are the words I want to hear.

Having these guys try to put a nice spin on the fact that they will be touring without new material only depresses me.

In 2009 it will have been 5 years. I have missed them and I want to see them again, no matter what. So, the greatest part of me is thrilled that they are touring under any circumstances. However, every time I am reminded that they don't have a new album out and they're just touring basically to make money off the same performance they could have done (better) in 1979 I become sad.

Michele

The only way they can satisfy me with this sellout, is if they will take this tour to celebrate the 30th aniversary of Tusk, and play half of it, or more.

I'd be happy/interested if they ditched Neal and Carlos and brought back Rick and Bob (or Billy). Anybody who could open up the set a bit more.

:mad:Durn. No new album. D: I hope Stevie releases a new solo album then. I LOOOVE TISL, and I think she's only getting better. Oh, Stevie, Stevie, Stevie...
~Rhiya

It's very hip right now to do complete album shows.
This would be perfect for FM!
I'd love to see it. Although we have unanswered Chris issues.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: They're FINALLY gonna focus on the classics in their concert sets. Its about danmed time. I can't tell you how sick I am of going to Fleetwood Mac shows and not hearing enough of their hit songs.

Aw c'moooon! We were spoilt rotten on the last tour. OK so they stuck to Buckingham/Nicks compositions but what do you expect? It wouldn't sound the same doing more than one by any ex-member. We had everything you could expect from Lindsey and Stevie, even if they were milking Rumours dry and had considerably cut down on SYW songs when I saw them (first night at Earls Court).

Agree. The only way they could redeem themselves is if they do some rarities. But being that this is a tour for money I doubt they will take any chances.

I bet they have problems filling seats on this tour due to no new nmaterial and the fact that the economy is in such a bad state. I doubt it will be much better in summer 09.

What makes me angrier though is the fact that they are not releasing anything? Reissues of Mirage are way overdue due to the crappy quality that everyone agrees about that CD.

We still enjoy you, keep touring!

I will second this motion!

So true.

What gives you that idea?

:D


They'll throw one or two in there to try to appease us, but I'll bet it'll basically be the SYW without the SYW tunes. :shrug:

And I agree with you on the economy - NOT a good time to decide to tour. As far as releasing CD/DVD, Mick said no NEW material - if they were smart, they'd at least do the reissues for Mirage, TITN & BTM to tour in support of. But I'm well aware that most likely won't happen.


I must say, seeing those 5 shows on the SYW tour was fun, but I won't be doing it again. 1 show near my town & that will be it for me.

It'll be totally unique.

Oh RIGHT. Because Stevie has NEVER toured without supporting new material. And Fleetwood Mac has never done that either, really. Especially not 12 years ago. This is a whooole new thing that has never been done. I'm so "excited".

Gragh. *bitter*

Guys, appreciate what we have while we have it.

We should treasure the fact that these people are 1. still with us and 2. can stand each other enough to tour for us.
If they're gonna play "greatest hits," I seriously don't mind bopping along.

I still hope someone gets the idea of a cover-to-cover set like Tusk, but either way... I'm ecstatic! I haven't seen FM in person since bloody '87 and obviously LB wasn't in the lineup at that time.

Really Mick?

No doubt there are a lot of people who will go along for a Greatest Hits set but there are a few of us who would like some new material.

Gail