UK Tour Articles

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Proving the Rumours are right: Fleetwood Mac reunite

The Herald, June 3, 2009
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news...e_for_tour.php
By ALISON CAMPSIE

Most of its members consider themselves lucky to still be alive but yesterday Fleetwood Mac, one of the biggest, most successful bands of all time, proved that old rockers never die with the announcement that they are to embark on a UK reunion tour this autumn.

Over the late 1960s and 1970s, the band came to define the chaos of the era with their terrifying commitment to hedonism and drugs and the stormy passions which existed between band members.

However, following a long collective silence, Fleetwood Mac will bring together most of their best-selling Rumours line-up of Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Lindsey Buckingham - now all in their sixties - to perform at a string of stadiums across the country. The only missing member will be Christine McVie, the English singer songwriter who helped steer the band for almost 25 years.

Ms McVie, who married John McVie shortly before joining the band, was one of the main movers behind the band's 1977 Rumours album, which has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and documented the breakdown of their marriage.

The band will kick off their UK dates with a show at the Glasgow SECC on October 22.

The announcement makes Fleetwood Mac the latest band rooted in the sounds of the Sixties and Seventies to embark on a profitable "comeback" tour.

While The Rolling Stones may have proved that "baby boomer rock" has enduring appeal - their last world tour earned more than £558m - a string of iconic bands are now choosing to relive their glory days and cash in with a host of tour dates and merchandise to match.

The band have not released a new album since 2003's Say You Will, which charted in the UK top 10, but Buckingham said recently that the tour could be a precursor to a new recording.

"I think maybe there was even a sense that we would make a better album if we went out and hung out together first on the road ... Maybe even sowing some seeds musically that would get us more prepared to go in the studio rather than just going in cold. It takes the pressure off from having to go in and make something cold."

Other high-profile bands on the road again this year after spells of relative calm include American country rockers The Eagles, who will perform at Hampden Park on July 4, and The Who, currently preparing for shows in Australia and New Zealand after a well-received gig at The Emirates Stadium in north London last summer.

While a charity Led Zeppelin reunion gig in London in December 2007 impressed audiences and critics, the band, who split up following the alcohol-related death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, has yet to decide if it will embark on a full-scale tour.

Singer Robert Plant, who is busy working with American country singer Alison Krause, is said to have ruled out the possibility but remaining members, plus Jason Bonham who replaced his late father on drums at the London gig, have been rehearsing together and are keen to perform live once more.

"I certainly don't think they should do a big tour because I can't see the point of it," the band's former promoter said last year.

The Kinks also have a reunion tour under discussion, buoyed by the fact that all original members are still alive and still willing to perform together.

Singer and songwriter Ray Davies has said that he was "really up for it" - but only if the band was ready to show off new material "The amazing thing is that The Kinks are the only band, of that period, where the only original members are still alive," he said last year.

Other musicians of yesteryear who are preparing to head to Scotland this year include Simple Minds, who will perform at the SECC on December 11, and Deep Purple who will play the same venue on November 11.