Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Fleetwood Mac kicked-off their long awaited On With The Show Tour in Minneapolis

Fleetwood Mac kicked-off their long awaited On With The Show Tour in Minneapolis, MN tonight. The classic line-up of Fleetwood Mac included Christine McVie who hasn't toured with the group since 1998. Over 16,000 people attended Tuesday night’s concert the first on what is expected to be a World Tour.




Above Photos: John Autey - View More Here






Above Photos: Dan Olson

Tonights setlist below:

Stevie's Secret...

 Billboard Magazine - October 9, 2014 (4 page layout)



STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

UK OFFER Pre-order a signed copy of Mick Fleetwood's New Book - Chance to WIN Fleetwood Mac Tix

'Play On' by Mick Fleetwood pre-order
Just 500 signed copies available for pre-order

Purchase your signed copy of PLAY ON: NOW, THEN AND FLEETWOOD MAC by Mick Fleetwood – one of just 500 signed copies available for pre-order. There's an incredible reward for the person who brings the most other people in, too - a trip to Washington DC to see Fleetwood Mac in concert and meet Mick before the show.

This is a limited-time offer which closes October 6th so click through to HODDER & STOUGHTON pre-order the book and SHARE the offer as widely as possible now! Sharing the offer and bringing other people in moves you further up the leaderboard, which could win you an incredible reward.

The person who tops the leaderboard when the offer closes will be rewarded with the trip of a lifetime – a flight to Washington DC to see Fleetwood Mac play live on 31st October this year, and a meeting with Mick Fleetwood himself before the concert. The winner will receive return flights for them and one guest, along with an overnight stay in Washington DC and a pair of tickets to the concert. 

PLAY ON: NOW, THEN AND FLEETWOOD MAC will publish in the UK on 30th October, 2014. This is your ONLY chance to pre-order a signed copy. This offer is available to UK customers only.

This offer is available from 30th September 2014 at 12:00pm BST until 6th October 2014 at 11.59pm BST. Only one purchase per person.

The competition is open to UK residents aged 18 and over at the date of their entry.

 The competition prize is:

(i)  a return economy flight for two people from a London airport to Washington DC;

(ii) two guest tickets to see Fleetwood Mac at the Verizon Center in Washington DC on 31 October 2014, with a backstage pass to meet Mick Fleetwood; and

(iii) one night’s room only at a hotel in Washington DC (minimum 3 stars).

More Details and to pre-order your copy at Hodder & Stoughton

STREAM The NEW Stevie Nicks Album NOW! at AMAZON

Stream the new album
24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault 
Now at Amazon.
Listen to the entire new Stevie Nicks album (14 Song Standard Version) through October 6th.

Pre-order the mp3 version of the Album from Amazon for only $7.00 and receive 4 songs today 
"The Dealer", "Lady", "Starshine" and "24 Karat Gold". 




Pre-Order Deluxe Photo Book Bundles from Stevienicksofficial.com Available October 7th.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" Surges on UK Top 100 Albums Chart From No.104 to No.11


Google Play and Amazon had a pretty amazing sale on last week in the UK for Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.  The entire mp3 downloadable album could temporarily be purchased for 99p. As a result, the album surged on this weeks UK Top 100 Albums Chart from No.104 to No.11 with sales of 8,718 units. In Scotland the album also leaped up the chart to No.12 from No.113 the previous week. The last time "Rumours" reached heights on this scale in the UK was back in late January, 2013 after the release of the 35th Anniversary edition of Rumours when it reached No.3.


UK - October 4, 2014
TOP 100 ALBUMS CHART
# 11 (104) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

TOP 40 UK DOWNLOAD CHART
# 3 (153) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

SCOTLAND - October 4, 2014
TOP 40 ALBUMS CHART
# 12 (113) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Mick Fleetwood is set to launch his own photography exhibition in Toronto

TORONTO - Drummer Mick Fleetwood is set to launch his own photography exhibition in Toronto.


The founding member of Fleetwood Mac will see over 30 of his works on display at the Liss Gallery from this Wednesday Oct. 1 through Oct. 31.

The show, titled "Reflections," features photos taken by the 67-year-old Grammy Award winner over the past few years.

Some works are in their original form and some are "hand-enhanced" with paint, and all are available for purchase.

In a statement, Fleetwood says each piece has "a distinct and personal story" reflecting his life, roots and passions, particularly nature.

The England native, who lives in Maui, will be at the Toronto gallery for a private reception on Oct. 17.

Location: 140 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto, Ontario,

Fleetwood Mac perform live at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto October 18th.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Stevie Nicks on the Fleetwood Mac reunion, her solo LP and why she can't stop writing about Lindsey Buckingham

Rolling Stone Magazine - October 9, 2014


STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

2 Clips - Fleetwood Mac performing in Chicago last night

Fleetwood Mac performed at Sam Zell's birthday bash in Chicago last night (Sept 27th)... a warm up show.

Mick Fleetwood plays on

CBSNews.com

(if you missed Mick, Stevie and Christine on CBS Sunday Morning today... Here's the segment in text)


"Don't Stop" is the tune that rock band Fleetwood Mac serenaded Bill and Hillary Clinton with at the Inauguration Gala back in 1993. And "Don't Stop" is the band's guiding principle today , as its leader tells our John Blackstone . . . For The Record:

At his mountainside estate in Hawaii, Mick Fleetwood could be mistaken for an eccentric country gentleman, spending quality time with his pet pig, Tilly. "Sit! Sit!"


But Fleetwood is better known as the drummer of the group that shares his name: Fleetwood Mac.

In a rehearsal hall in Los Angeles, the five members responsible for the group's biggest hits are preparing for their first tour together in 17 years.

Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood have been rejoined by Christine McVie, who left the band in 1998, swearing she would never come back.

"She called me and said, 'How would you feel if I came back to the band?'" said Nicks. "And I'm like, 'Are you serious?'"

McVie said, "God, I'm really actually on this black carpet with these fantastic musical friends of mine and all just having, really enjoying it, you know, really enjoying it."

For Mick Fleetwood, having the band complete again has come at the right time.

"I think it's about getting your house in order, without being overly heavy," he told Blackstone. "The reality is, I'm sitting here, I'm 67 years old, I'm certainly not planning on leaving anytime that I know of, but you do see the picture in a different way just because you're older."

As part of "getting his house in order," Fleetwood has just finished his autobiography, "Play On," out next month. Why a book now? "I don't write songs," he said. "So this is a version of me writing a song."

He writes about his divorces from three wives, and his failures as a father to his four daughters.

"I would imagine that someone reading this document would say that he's sort of sold his soul to his band," said Fleetwood.

"I don't think he's sold his soul," said McVie. "I think he did it out of love."

Q&A with Christine McVie on her return to performing with Fleetwood Mac

Christine McVie on rejoining Fleetwood Mac
CBSNews.com


Born in England, singer, songwriter and keyboardist Christine Perfect joined the band Fleetwood Mac in 1970, after marrying the band's bass player John McVie. She performed with the group through it's most successful years, which saw the release the such top-selling albums as the 1975 "Fleetwood Mac," "Rumours, " "Tusk," and "Mirage."

She left the group in 1998, but this year has rejoined Fleetwood Mac, recording songs for an upcoming album and heading out on tour with her bandmates -- Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and ex-husband John McVie -- for the first time in 17 years.

Correspondent John Blackstone recently talked with McVie about her return to performing with Fleetwood Mac.

John Blackstone: On that rehearsal stage, does it seem like you were never gone? Or-- or is it a struggle sometimes?

Christine McVie: I thought it was gonna be a struggle, to be honest. I was a little anxious. But actually walking onto the stage, I mean, we started off in a smaller room that didn't have a stage, that was just one big flat room all on the same level. And it was much more of a laid-back rehearsal atmosphere.

But the moment you find yourself playing with these fantastic musicians and friends, it just melted away. And now I feel completely comfortable, really, surprisingly so.

Blackstone: Surprised yourself?

McVie: I surprised myself, indeed. I thought I was gonna be much more nervous. And we did a bit of recording beforehand as well earlier this year, which I had a little trepidation about. But that ended up being a magical time for us all. And hopefully, we'll finish the album next year. And now looking forward to the tour. (laughs) It's gonna be fantastic.

Blackstone: This all started with you climbing on a plane to Hawaii, having the nerve to climb on a plane to Hawaii.

McVie: Well, yeah. I've told quite a few people this story. But still, I mean, it's worth a tell. I did have a phobia about flying. And I had the phobia when I left Fleetwood Mac. It was a multiple of different reasons that led me to leave -- my father had died in England, and I wanted to be close to my own family there. So I bought a house.

Q&A Stevie Nicks talks about her relationships with members of Fleetwood Mac

Stevie Nicks on Mick Fleetwood
CBSNews.com

Singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks began performing in bands in high school in California, and later joined Lindsey Buckingham's band, Fritz, opening for such artists as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane. After three-and-a-half-years Fritz disbanded, and in 1973 Nicks and Buckingham recorded the album, "Buckingham Nicks."

Soon after, they joined Mick Fleetwood and Christine and John McVie's band on their eponymous 1975 album, "Fleetwood Mac." Nicks would continue with the group to this day, recording eight albums, while also recording eight solo albums, including the 2014 release, "25 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault."

CBS News correspondent John Blackstone recently talked with Nicks about her relationships with members of Fleetwood Mac, who are regrouping with former member Christine McVie for a new album and tour.


John Blackstone: You're a better singer now than you were in the 1970s, Stevie.

Stevie Nicks: So much better. So much better. I'm really trained. I could teach voice now.

Blackstone: Mick said, "As much as Stevie said she'd like time off, that girl just keeps workin'." You got a new album comin' out. You're doin' this tour. You can't stop. You don't wanna stop.

Nicks: You know what? It's kind of like, what else would you do? This is my job. This is what I've been doing since I was a senior in high school, and I joined my first band with, you know, three girls and five guys [singing] Bob Dylan songs.

And I learned to play the guitar, not very well, but well enough to play for my mom and dad and convince them that I was gonna be a singer. And so it's what I do. I enjoy it. I think I would be probably better served to take a little bit of a break once in a while. The last time I actually had a real vacation was 2008. And I went to Mexico for three months. And I should do that every once in a while.

But it seems that every time I almost get to booking that trip -- we were not supposed to come back out on the road this year. And then Christine called and said, 'I'm back.' And then all of a sudden, shows went on sale and sold out in the beginning of February. So there was no time for that. So I kind of look at it as, well, I guess it's better to have a job than to not have a job!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Christine McVie: Why she quit and rejoined the band

by Jon Bream
Star Tribune
Photo: Danny Clinch

On why she left
“I’d developed a dreadful fear of flying. I was fed up with the travel and all the schlepping. I think I got burned out with that. Then my father died. I bought a house in England. I wanted to spend more time with my family in England after the big earthquake we had; I wanted to get out of L.A. I was a country lady, living in a big house with the dogs and cooking. I just wanted to calm down and breathe and lead a normal life for a bit. I told the guys when we were doing the last tour [in 1998], and they accepted it. It wasn’t ever anything personal.”

On her music career
“I did make a solo album with my nephew in my studio. But I was still afraid of flying, so I didn’t want to tour.”

On why she came back
“I think it came to a point where I said: ‘What am I going to do? I can’t sit here and watch my dogs get old. I’ve got to do something.’ I wanted to play music. But I couldn’t fly. So I went to a therapist and got myself sorted out. It so happened that Mick [Fleetwood] was coming into London to promote Fleetwood Mac’s upcoming tour in Europe. He called me. I said, ‘I’m going to try to get to Maui’ [where he lived]. He said: ‘You’ll get on a plane? You come with me. We’ll go back together.’ That’s what I did. I got on the plane, and I never thought about it again. I [later] went all over Africa on this tiny 12-seater plane and thoroughly enjoyed it. Then I said to Mick: ‘What would you do if I were to rejoin the band?’ ”

On preparing for the tour
“Mick and I are sharing this house in L.A., and we have a terrific friendship. It’s like a health farm. We work out separately with a trainer. She also cooks for us.”

On her voice
“We have the same chap [vocal coach] we had before I left the band. He’s fantastic. My voice is holding up really well. They say I’m singing like a bird.”



STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Fleetwood Mac's famously fractured family is together, including Christine McVie

Photo: Danny Clinch
by: Jon Bream
Star Tribune 

Christine McVie is back in the picture after a 16-year separation. Fleetwood Mac talks about their oft-fractured ties and the reunion tour opening in Minneapolis Tuesday.

She’s back! Finally. After a 16-year retirement, singer/keyboardist Christine McVie has returned to Fleetwood Mac.

The “Rumours” lineup is intact. The band can perform “Don’t Stop” and “You Make Lovin’ Fun” the way they were meant to be played. Fleetwood Mac will be whole once again.

Wait a minute, sister. It’s not that simple.

This is Fleetwood Mac, rock’s famously fractured family. You can’t just write McVie — one of the group’s three singer-songwriters — back into rock’s longest-running soap opera.

It’s a process. You need meetings, and maybe a little therapy, and more discussions. It wasn’t enough that McVie sat in with the Rock Hall of Fame band for one song in London last year.

“There were conversations,” McVie said before a recent rehearsal for the band’s On With the Show Tour that opens Tuesday in Minneapolis. “And we had conference calls, and everybody thought it was a great idea and asked, was I committed seriously? I couldn't go in and out. I said: ‘I don’t have a problem with that.’ So next thing you know I was sending my demos to Lindsey [Buckingham] and he was sending them back with his guitar and his voice.”

Book excerpt: "Play On" by Fleetwood Mac Drummer Mick Fleetwood

Mick Fleetwood, the drummer and co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, has written a new autobiography about his music-filled life.

The following is an excerpt from the introduction of "Play On: Now, Then and Fleetwood Mac" by Mick Fleetwood & Anthony Bozza. Copyright © 2014 by Constant Endeavor LLC.

If Music Be The Food Of Love . . .

Play on. Two words, no more, but they've said it all to me.

They've been, at different times, a simple direct order, a call to action, a mantra and a comforting concept that promised rebirth. I first read them in the most beautiful and romantic couplet in "Twelfth Night," my favourite of Shakespeare's works. I've never forgotten it; in fact I took it to heart immediately because it spoke to me. When things have moved me so profoundly in this life, be they people, places or things, no matter how they've come to me, I've made them forever a part of me. I've signed countless autographs with the phrase "Play on." I've said it to many people in many contexts. As I've made my way through life, as intricate and difficult as it has often been, as ecstatic and debauched as it has too often been, those words have always been with me. What they've come to mean to me has been a rock when the rest of my world was set adrift.

The entire couplet is the inspiration behind the title of Fleetwood Mac's fourth studio album, "Then Play On," released in 1969, which I still count as my favourite record. My second favourite is easy to choose: it's "Tusk," released ten years later by a very different incarnation of the band -- the only one that many of our fans are familiar with. To those fans reading these words, please do stick around, you'll be amazed to learn how many roads we travelled before we met you.

On the surface, "Then Play On" and "Tusk" have little in common sonically, but listen deeper and you'll hear a band with its back against the creative wall, recording music at the brink of its existence. Both of those albums were made when we would either play on or cease to be, and when the idea of overcoming the insurmountable through creating anew was the only way out for us. I can't say that I saw it as a solution, but I felt it as my faith, and I preached to my compatriots to play on -- and that's what we did.

I'm still here, lucky enough to be partnered with the greatest musical comrades I could ever hope to have. We have been through so many ups and downs, and though I denied it for years, particularly to my loved ones, I know now that since this band began, I have devoted my entire life to it. In every incarnation Fleetwood Mac has brought me so much joy that I hope whatever our fans have taken from the music is a fraction of what I've got from it. I've also realized, through trial, lots of error, growing older and hopefully wiser, how much that choice has weighed on my family. It's hard to devote yourself to a musical family of our magnitude while trying to nurture one of your own; it's an unfair tug-of-war I am still working out.

Source: CBSNews.com



STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Friday, September 26, 2014

LISTEN: "Twisted" the NEW version from Stevie Nicks "24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault"

via Warner Bros. Records here's "Twisted" from Stevie's new album "24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault".  I like it!  It'll take me a bit to get used to, I'm so used to the duet version she sang back in 1996 with Lindsey on the "Twister" soundtrack... But this is good!  It's a great song.

[UPDATE] Warner Bros. removed "Twisted" and replaced it with Watch Chain.



STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Stevie Nicks Brings 24 Karat Gold Polaroid Self-Portrait Exhibit to Hollywood

Rock Legend Stevie Nicks Strikes Gold in Polaroid Self-Portraits
By Sarah Kobos
ABC News


Take a sneak peek at never-before-seen self-portraits from Stevie Nicks' personal Polaroid collection, which will be coming to the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York City and West Hollywood.



NEW YORK CITY:
October 10th - 11th: The exhibit opens at 201 Mulburry St.. (11am - 7 pm)
October 12th - 31st: The exhibit can be viewed at Morrison Hotel Gallery Loft at 116 Prince St. Mon-Sat: 11-7pm; Sunday: 12-6pm

WEST HOLLYWOOD:
The exhibition is also open to the public beginning Oct. 10, 2014 running until October 21, 2014 at Morrison Hotel Gallery's West Hollywood location in the lobby of the Sunset Marquis Hotel located at 1200 Alta Loma Road, Los Angeles, CA Mon-Wed: 11am - 8pm; Thu-Sat: 10am - 11pm; Sun: 11am - 7pm

Visit Morrison Hotel Gallery to view more examples of what will be on display and also if you are interested in purchasing prints.

Stevie Nicks, 66, is renowned for capturing emotions through her music (including Fleetwood Mac), but she also captured it through a camera during what many call the golden age of rock. Nicks was a night owl who needed another artistic outlet and eventually began creating self-portraits. The images in Nicks' debut photography exhibition, "24 Karat Gold," were taken from 1975 to 1987.

Nicks wanted to learn how to become a photographer and because she doesn't sleep at night, she started thinking; "Who am I going to ask to stay up all night and then do a show the next night? I'm not going to get [bandmate] Christine [McVie] to be my model. She's going to say, 'Are you crazy? I'm going to the bar. Bye.' Then I thought, well, why not use a plant and I moved on from there."

Nicks used to put the Polorid camera on a tripod and attached a long shutter release cable to capture the shots. Nicks said: "I would sit with the button in my hand so that I could be completely dressed in a long white gown with red lipstick and big hair. Remember, this was the middle of the night. I was usually in the presidential suite and if the light on the plant wasn't bright enough, I'd go into the bedroom, find a huge lamp and drag it into the living room and I'd put it on the plant. Then I'd hop back in the picture and press the button. I usually had to take about 12 shots until I got it just right. Lots of times I'd run out of film and I would send people out to buy me film in the middle of the night. I was doing this forever and I didn't stop until Polaroids were almost impossible to use because they all eventually broke down and we couldn't find film anywhere."

The photography exhibition coincides with the Oct. 7, 2014, release of her new album, "24 Karat Gold - Songs From the Vault," and the upcoming tour with the fully reunited Fleetwood Mac. 

STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Official Commentary Video: Stevie Nicks - "I Don't Care"



STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Mick Fleetwood on CBS Sunday Morning Sept 28th (9AM ET)

CBS Press Release (September 26, 2014)

“CBS SUNDAY MORNING WITH CHARLES OSGOOD” CATCHES UP WITH MICK FLEETWOOD AS THE LEGENDARY BAND FLEETWOOD MAC PREPARES FOR A NEW CONCERT TOUR

FLEETWOOD TELLS JOHN BLACKSTONE: “I THINK IT’S ABOUT GETTING YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER, WITHOUT BEING OVERLY HEAVY”

As the legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac prepares for a new tour, drummer and band co-founder
Mick Fleetwood says it was time to get his house in order, he tells John Blackstone in an interview for CBS SUNDAY MORNING WITH CHARLES OSGOOD to be broadcast Sept. 28 (9:00 AM, ET) on the CBS Television Network.

In Stores October October 28th
AMAZON
The tour marks the first time in 17 years that Christine McVie has rejoined John McVie, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham on stage, and also comes as Fleetwood is preparing for the release of a new autobiography.

“I think it’s about getting your house in order, without being overly heavy,” Fleetwood tells Blackstone. “The reality is I’m sitting here, 67 years old, I’m certainly not planning on leaving anytime that I know of, but you see the picture in a different way, just because you’re older.”

In the book, Fleetwood writes about his marriages, his divorces, his failures as a father, and some of the excesses that characterized the band’s early years.  

“I don’t write songs,” Fleetwood says. “So this is a version of me writing a song.”

Fleetwood talks with Blackstone about his life, the formation of Fleetwood Mac, which led to the hits “Rhiannon” and “Say You Love Me,” and the unique personal dynamics that emerged within the group. Among them, an affair Fleetwood had with Nicks while the band was touring behind the album “Rumours.”

“I was certainly in love with Stevie, and I think it’s fair to say that she was likewise. We know that that time existed, and it was powerful and crazy,” Fleetwood recalls.

Blackstone also talks with Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie about how the band has regrouped after 17 years to make beautiful music yet again.

Nicks tells Blackstone Fleetwood ended the affair because “we both knew that Fleetwood Mac was gonna go on, probably longer than anybody’s marriage, and that it was important that we be friends, so Mick and I just put our friendship back together.”


CBS SUNDAY MORNING is broadcast Sundays (9:00-10:30 AM, ET) on the CBS Television Network. Rand Morrison is the executive producer.


















Stevie Nicks Admits Past Pregnancy With Don Henley and More About Her Wild History

By Rob Tannenbaum
Billboard.com

In the ’80s, a doctor warned Stevie Nicks that if she did one more line of cocaine, she’d have a brain hemorrhage. Three decades later, she's still here -- and she has plenty of stories to tell.

Stevie Nicks was sitting in her den in Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades recently, overlooking the ocean, when the 66-year-old peered out the window and saw black angel wings. The wings were so pretty, she thought about taking a photo. But after several minutes, she heard ambulance sirens and realized that a boat had caught fire: The angel wings were in fact black smoke.

It’s telling that she saw beauty in a disaster. Rumours, the 1977 Fleetwood Mac album, is both one of the most elegant pop albums ever made, and one of the most savage. The record chronicles the romantic crossfire between Nicks and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, a pair of Americans who'd joined the venerable British group two years earlier, and bassist John McVie and keyboardist Christine McVie, who'd broken up and weren't speaking to one another, following her affair with the band’s sound engineer. (Drummer Mick Fleetwood didn’t escape the melodrama -- his wife had an affair with Mick's best friend.) Though the Nicks-Buckingham romance ended long ago, it continues to yield great songs: On her new album, 24 Karat Gold - Songs From the Vault, due Oct. 7, Nicks has recorded lost songs she wrote between the late '60s and mid-'90s, at least one of which, she tells Billboard, is about Buckingham.

Continue to Billboard for the full Q&A

STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

NEW sound bite from Stevie Nicks - "She Loves Him Still"

Sounds gentle and lovely...

"Till his dying day / not even he himself can change this /
she loves him still"



STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Fleetwood Mac Rocks On

The legendary band talks to USA Weekend about Christine McVie's surprise return and their new tour.
 
USA Today (Sept 26-28)

 
 
Fall's hottest tour: Classic Mac is back!
Christine McVie's return sets the stage for fall's hottest tour
Edna Gundersen
USA WEEKEND
 
"I feel like a lemming going over the cliff with the parachute not quite open," Christine McVie says about her surprise return to Fleetwood Mac after a 15-year absence.
 
With the fan-favorite singer and keyboardist back on board, the storied band's classic lineup is together once more and will be able to unpack its full range of hits when the On With The Show tour kicks off Tuesday in Minneapolis. It's the first tour by this stellar cast since 1997.
 
Despite her initial trepidation, "it was the right decision," says McVie, 71. "The feedback from the public is thrilling. I'm looking forward to the camaraderie, the audience, the noise. I'm not looking forward to the packing and unpacking."
 
Although McVie and singer/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham have written and recorded new songs, Fleetwood Mac is taking to the road without a new album.
 
"The validity of the tour comes from the fact that Christine is back and we're revisiting the full body of work from the three writers (McVie, Buckingham, Stevie Nicks) in a way we haven't done for many years," says Buckingham, 64. "The only song of hers we did without her (on past tours) was Don't Stop, as an encore. For this tour, 90% of the set list is a no-brainer.
 
In August, the band — including bassist John McVie, Christine's ex-husband, who had been battling cancer — convened in Los Angeles to rehearse and cherry-pick its fat catalog for a career-spanning set list. Fans can expect a few rarities and surprises atop a bedrock of 10 or 11 landmarks, including Rhiannon, The Chain, Go Your Own Way, Big Love, Stand Back and McVie's Say You Love Me, Little Lies and Hold Me.
 
Fleetwood Mac certainly didn't suffer without McVie: The band ranked 10th in Billboard's tally of music moneymakers last year with earnings of $19.1 million. "We spent 15 years making Fleetwood Mac relevant without her," Nicks says. "But with her, we were a force of nature."
 
Nicks recalls her reaction last year when she heard from Christine McVie while vacationing at a monastery on Italy's Amalfi coast: "I get a call from Chris, saying, 'How would you feel if I decided to come back to the band?' I'm like, 'Seriously? Have you just downed a bottle of wine?'
 
"When she left in 1998, she said, 'I don't want this. I don't want to fly anymore. I'm having panic attacks. I'm too old. I'm too tired. I am done.' I knew there was no way we could change her mind. As the years went by, when people asked me about her, I said the world would fly off its orbit before Chris would rejoin the band."
 
"It's been quite profound and painless," McVie says of her return to the fold. "I left to go chill in the English countryside. I realized it was not what I wanted in the end. It was boring. This is where I belong. I'm starting to live again."