The most DREADED topic Of ALL!!!

[face of glass]

Originally posted by tommer
i've been a fan for 16 years now, if there's anything i learned so far, it is to not speculate and not to expect anything. accept whatever comes out as a pleasant surprise. so please take no notice to what i just wrote above.

A good one Tommer. Speculation around this band has been common since the days of Rumours and will probably never end. No wonder that the band members don't want to use computers; they don’t want to read all this stuff that floats in the cyberspace about them. If Lindsey read what I’ve written on these boards he would probably rewrite “What’s The World Coming To”.

But indeed, when will it end? I surely hope the band members have the good taste and the wisdom to leave when it becomes impossible to equal the standards of the current tour. James Brown, at 75, is now a pale shadow of what he once was on stage; only doing the obligatory mannerisms and that’s that. Lindsey took everyone by surprise on this tour because not many people had seen him live properly for a long time. Will he able to continue like this even ten years later? The line must be drawn somewhere.

You start to think of how much money LB has these days. Some people say that he must be rich because he gets the production credits. I wouldn’t agree with that entirely. The production credits for Rumours and Tusk were split seven ways if we are to believe what the album covers say. Mirage, Tango In The Night and Say You Will haven’t been particularly big successes. The first two have sold 3-4 million units in the United States and I’m sure the rest of the world doesn’t add that much sales. He has about five songs that get played on the radio and his solo albums didn’t do much of a thing saleswise. So I do believe that he is out there touring mainly because of the money, especially now that he has a family to support. I do believe he gets enjoyment from playing every night, but not like in the old days. The ever-static set list of the FM concerts proves that, while on Soundstage it seemed like he pulled the set list out of nowhere. The arena environment is not an intimate setting that can inspire you to do the unexpected.

Stevie still has her songs played on the radio, so I do believe that she still tours because of the enjoyment. And will continue to do so. John will continue playing wherever he wants to, FM or no FM. And I’m sure everyone here has an opinion on Mick’s motivation.

Retiring at 65, the regular age of retirement in my country, would probably be appropriate, although that’s just an estimate; no one knows how old age will treat them. If I had to start predicting like others here, I guess this would be Fleetwood Mac’s final world tour, because the USA is always the most profitable place for a popular band. So, at least three studio albums for Stevie (and another hit-package/boxset tour), and two albums for Fleetwood Mac, if Lindsey doesn’t start working on a solo project of his yet again.

[John Run]

I do think they will make another album. There is more goodwill among the band members than I have ever witnessed. I think there is a genuine appreciation between each of the members about their respective strengths and an understanding and acceptance of their weaknesses both professional and personal.

Contrary to what has been written in this thread I think Lindsey has never enjoyed touring more. He hated touring by the end of Rumours and during Tusk. It was Lindsey who only wanted to tour for 10 weeks during 1982. He was fired/quit for his refusal to tour in 1987. The other members make no secret that this band now goes as long as Lindsey is willing to do it. For those of you who are Stevie Centric that is not a put down of Stevie's contributions. She has said many times as long as Lindsey wants to do Fleetwood Mac, then there will be Fleetwood Mac. I think any future tour would be much smaller. 30-40 nights, summertime in the US only. Similiar to the Dance. Lindsey is enjoying himself more than anyone on stage and it seems to me he is having more fun and happier than ever.

As for the money issues. I think John, Lindsey, and now Stevie, are all more than fine with money. John for no other reason than he was fairly conservative with the money he made. Lindsey probably spends now more than ever due to his family, but all it took was some strong investing of his 70's and 80's money and he is set for life. He has been known as a financial conservative and for leading a simple life. (Of course that is all relative.) It has been alluded to by other band members that Lindsey never needed to do this stuff (1997 and Say You Will) for the money. I think we can take their word that he is financially all set. Stevie lives a very elobarate and fabulous life. It takes a lot money, so obviously she spends a great deal. However, she had made even more. I think she is more than fine. Mick must still be crawling out of his past financial problems, but he seems to be living a more stable and secure life. His net worth may not be that of the others, but if he stays away from his past mistakes he should be more than set after the tour. This tour has a reported guarantee to Stevie and Lindsey of 100k per show and 50k to John and Mick. They now have about 100 dates scheduled. The money may be a little different outside the the US, but when you add up the guarantees, their pofit taking % from shows that sell well, their merchandise % , they all stand to make $7-15 million each from the tour and that is before any shed dates next summer. The Dance grossed each of them in $4-8 million range, plus continued royalties from album sales, songwriting royalties from both album sales and radio play, and the liscensing fees, they are all doing fine. Point is they don't really need the money.

I think they like music. I think they like to play music together. The idea of doing another album is very real to them. Do not think for a minute Lindsey does not find joy in crafting Stevie's songs, he does. He spent nearly 18 months doing it for Say You Will. Any album they do would probably take 2 years from beginning to release date. A time line like this is purely speculative, but it might make sense.

Finish any additonal US Dates-Summer 2004.

6 months of being away from each other.

Early 2005 begin production.

Late 2005 first rumoured release date....pushed off as Lindsey tinkers, toys, redo's and obsesses until mid to late 2006.

[face of glass]

Very good points John Run. I guess yours are more efficient than mine as well. I'm looking at all this from a distance and I don't have the same grasp of details as you do, so my post was more speculative. I do believe that Lindsey gets his biggest enjoyment from studio work too. The previous tours with him were full of tension and that added to the music. I don't think that the only way of getting great live music is enjoying playing live, the struggling with other band members can help there as well. It was too simplistic an assumption I made.

[ShangriLaTroubl]

According to some sources they made more for the first 40 dates than the end...two articles said they had a 750k per night guarantee (split it evenly between the four) for the first 40 shows...now I dont know about the ones after the original 40..

"which is guaranteeing the band (which will perform without Christine McVie) some $750k per night over 40 dates. The outing is reportedly being planned by Lyndsay Buckingham manager Tony Dimitriades, Stevie Nicks manager Howard Kaufman and Mick Fleetwood manager Carl Stubner."

"Concerts West is said to have outbid CCE (Clear Channel) for the Fleetwood Mac tour by $50-75k per date."


So yeah, Like you said they are none hurting fof money...but I think they will continue to do some kind of tours, as long as people show interest..

[Vianna]

I have been a fan for 23 years, and it's always been a guessing game if they'd make another album, do another tour. Each time when I've just about given up on them, they release a new album and they tour=:-)

I am certainly hoping Stevie and Lindsey make at least one more album together.

It will be interesting to see if Stevie pursues the individual career now that she's getting on better with Lindsey=:-)and that there's more room on the album for her songs since Chris is gone.

[BombaySapphire3]

I'm not sure what the details of Fleetwood Mac's contract with Warner/Reprise is but I do know that Stevie's is for 3 albums so she has 2 more to go.I don't see her participating much after that in the full on rock star mode she is in now.She is already one of the most durable stars in the bussiness,an even more profound accomplishment when you consider she is a woman.

[DownOnRodeo]

Oh come on - why all the specualtion. Of course there'll be a follow up Fkeetwood Mac album to SYW. Because the only scenario I don't see it happening is if Stevie doesn't want in.
Mick and John will be keen, Lindsey just built a whole new studio, and Stevie would be 'the last to leave' - why would she twiddle around with strangers on only solo albums when the three of them are waiting over there ready to record her songs.

As for the (largely) unsaid age issue - come on guys - they're only in their 50s!! It seems like they're at death's door compared to the mid-1970s, but if you think of life in stages, then they're really just satring a whol enw stage, and there's a good 15 years or more in it!!

As for no more international tours, I doubt they would pass up the chance down the road to do some sort of farewell tour, or a more intimate tour, let alone another hardcore SYW-style tour.