Grand Piano Fleetwood Mac Used to Write ‘Sara,’ ‘Songbird’ Headed to Auction

The Grand Piano Fleetwood Mac Used to Write ‘Sara,’ ‘Songbird’ Headed to Auction

The instrument traveled all across the globe with Fleetwood Mac and was also used by Elton John and Freddie Mercury

By Andy Greene

Rollingstone

A Grand Hamilton Piano once owned by Stevie Nicks, which was used to compose the Fleetwood Mac classics “Sara” and “Songbird” and was later played by Elton John and Freddie Mercury, is headed to the auction block via Gotta Have Rock and Roll. The minimum bid is $50,000, and the auction house estimates it will go for between $100,000 and $200,000. The auction ends on December 6.

The piano first caught the eye of English singer/songwriter Robbie Patton when he visited Nicks at her house in 1975. “[She had] his black Grand Hamilton Piano where she wrote most of her songs on,” Patton says in a statement provided by the auction house. “She wrote everything on the piano, she really cherished it as her own.”

Patton opened up for Fleetwood Mac when they went on the road in 1979 to promote Tusk. “Christine used it on tour,” Patton said. “She played it all over, she even composed ‘Songbird’ from the album Rumours on this piano.”

McVie used the piano on the road again in 1982 when Fleetwood Mac toured behind Mirage. Patton co-wrote the hit “Hold Me” on that album and requested the piano as payment. “I used to work for all the big musicians, Elton John, for four and a half years,” Patton said. “John Reid managed Elton John and then Queen. Freddie Mercury even came by for a recording session and used the piano. Elton John used the piano. The people who have touched this piano are crazy!”

The piano comes with a letter of authenticity that was signed by Nicks, McVie, and Patton in 2015. “It has been refurbished and re-lacquered, at the request of Mr. Patton,” Nicks wrote. “And in time, he intends to pass on this interment, which this letter, so that its history can be fully appreciated.”

Gotta Have Rock and Roll is also auctioning off a Custom Stratocaster signed and played by Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend, Slash, Brian May, Tony Iommi, Slash, Mike Rutherford, Joe Walsh, and many others. The estimate is between $80,000 and $100,000.

Fleetwood Mac is set to receive its first fully authorized documentary

Fleetwood Mac is set to receive its first fully authorized documentary, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Frank Marshall for Apple Original Films.

The untitled feature will include new interviews with surviving core members Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie, along with never-before-seen footage and both new and archival interviews with the late Christine McVie, who passed away in 2022. A release date has yet to be announced.

Directed by Frank Marshall, a five-time Oscar nominee and recipient of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the project marks the first fully authorized documentary with participation from all surviving band members. Fleetwood Mac—comprising Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey Buckingham—is celebrated for iconic albums like Rumours and Tusk, as well as hits like “Rhiannon” and “Landslide.” Their turbulent relationships, often reflected in their music, added to their legendary status.

“I am fascinated by how this incredible story of enormous musical achievement came about. Fleetwood Mac somehow managed to merge their often chaotic and almost operatic personal lives into their own tale in real time, which then became legend. This will be a film about the music and the people who created it,” said director Marshall in an official statement.

Added producer Nicholas Ferrall, “Fleetwood Mac are a musical phenomenon, their alchemy almost beyond comprehension. White Horse is grateful and humbled by the extraordinary opportunity to produce a documentary that dives deep into both the talents of each band member individually and the magic that is Fleetwood Mac as a whole.”

Per today’s announcement, the film will follow “their fortuitous meeting in 1974” and see Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks “reflect on their uncompromising fifty-plus-year history, from their record-breaking recordings and tours — including never-before-seen footage, exclusive new interviews, and archival interviews of the late Christine McVie — through to today. The film will explore how the band’s trials and tribulations, personal resilience, and musical dexterity combined to create songs that have not only stood the test of time but are indeed timeless masterpieces.”

Marshall’s film promises to “take fans through the highs and lows of their brilliant career, illuminating the exceptional ingredients each member brought to the band’s uncommon alchemy — a musical union that sold more than 220 million records around the world. The documentary will explore what allowed this combination of artists to create singular musical work again and again, and what drew them back together and held them there when every possible pressure, both outside and inside the band, threatened to blow them apart.”

Director Frank Marshall produces through The Kennedy/Marshall Company with White Horse Pictures’ Nicholas Ferrall (“The Beatles: Eight Days A Week,” “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.”) and Jeanne Elfant Festa (“The Apollo,” “Lucy and Desi”), and Kennedy/Marshall’s Aly Parker (“The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” “The Space Race”). White Horse’s Cassidy Hartmann executive produces with Kennedy/Marshall’s Tony Rosenthal. Diamond Doc’s Mark Monroe serves as writer and executive producer.

Fleetwood Mac Documentary Announced by Apple Original Films

BY JESSICA LYNCH

Billboard

Apple Original Films has unveiled plans for a new definitive documentary chronicling the legendary Fleetwood Mac. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Frank Marshall, a five-time Academy Award nominee and winner of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the project marks the first fully authorized documentary about the band.

For the first time, Fleetwood Mac members will narrate their own extraordinary story, supported by exclusive interviews, archival footage, and unseen material, including tributes to the late Christine McVie.

The film promises to delve into Fleetwood Mac’s meteoric rise and the personal and professional dynamics that shaped their legacy. From the band’s formation in 1967 to their groundbreaking albums and record-breaking tours, the documentary will explore the unique alchemy between Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie that produced some of the most enduring music of the modern era.

Fleetwood Mac’s impact on the Billboard charts underscores their legendary status. The band has charted 25 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, with nine Top 10 hits, including their sole No. 1 single, “Dreams,” which spent 19 weeks on the chart during its original release in 1977. On the Billboard 200, the band has placed 30 albums, with four reaching the summit: Fleetwood Mac (1975), Rumours (1977), Mirage (1982) and The Dance (1997).

Their 1977 masterpiece Rumours achieved an extraordinary 31 weeks at No. 1 and remains one of the best-selling albums of all time, with over 40 million copies sold globally, with over 20 million copies being in the US alone.

In a statement, director Frank Marshall reflected on the band’s cultural significance, saying, “I am fascinated by how this incredible story of enormous musical achievement came about. Fleetwood Mac somehow managed to merge their often chaotic and almost operatic personal lives into their own tale in real-time, which then became legend. This will be a film about the music and the people who created it.”

Producer Nicholas Ferrall added, “We are thrilled to continue our creative partnership with Frank and the talented team at Kennedy/Marshall. Fleetwood Mac are a musical phenomenon, their alchemy almost beyond comprehension. White Horse is grateful and humbled by the extraordinary opportunity to produce a documentary that dives deep into both the talents of each band member individually and the magic that is Fleetwood Mac as a whole. And to do this with the support and reach of Apple is quite wonderful.”

The documentary, which is yet to be titled, joins Apple Original Films’ prestigious catalog of projects, including the Academy Award-winning CODA and the Emmy-winning STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie.

Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks Rocktober 2024 Releases

Rocktober 2024 Exclusive Brick and Mortar Releases

Available from your favorite record store

Release Date: October 4, 2024

Fleetwood Mac - Heroes Are Hard To Find

Limited 140g clear with black & bone white splatter LP

50th Anniversary Edition of Fleetwood Mac's Classic 1974 Studio Album. Heroes Are Hard To Find was the band's last album recorded with singer/guitarist Bob Welch, and it reached #34 on the US Billboard 200. Featuring the Tracks "Prove Your Love," "Heroes Are Hard To Find," & "Angel. Pressed on Limited-Edition Clear with Black & Bone Splatter Vinyl.

Track List:

Side A 

01 Heroes Are Hard to Find

02 Coming Home

03 Angel

04 Bermuda Triangle

05 Come a Little Bit Closer

Side B

01 She's Changing Me

02 Bad Loser

03 Silver Heels

04 Prove Your Love

05 Born Enchanter

06 Safe Harbour

Stevie Nicks - In Your Dreams

Limited 140g Translucent Forest Green 2LP

Stevie Nicks' seventh studio album featuring the classic singles "Secret Love," "For What It's Worth" & "Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)." Originally released in 2011, the album peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200. Limited-edition 2LP pressed on Forest Green vinyl.

Track List: 

Side A 

01    Secret Love

02    For What It's Worth

03    In Your Dreams

04    Wide Sargasso Sea

Side B

01    New Orleans

02    Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)

03    Annabel Lee

 

Side A 

01    Soldier's Angel

02    Everybody Loves You

03    Ghosts Are Gone

Side B

01    You May Be the One

02    Italian Summer

03    Cheaper Than Free (feat. Dave Stewart)

Fleetwood Mac Mirage Tour '82 (Live) - September release

Live recordings from Fleetwood Mac’s two sold-out shows at The Forum in 1982 during the Mirage Tour will be featured in a new collection from Rhino.

Mirage Tour ‘82 will be available from Rhino.com on September 20 in 3-LP, 2-CD, and digital configurations. Pre-order HERE. 

On the same day, a special crystal-clear vinyl edition will be available exclusively at Amazon.

Clear vinyl is available in the UK at DIG

This 22-track live collection features six previously unreleased recordings from the October 21, 1982 show, including favorites like “Landslide,” “Don’t Stop,” and “Never Going Back Again.” The other songs were recorded at the October 22 show and have appeared on various releases through the years, including Live Super Deluxe Edition (2021), Mirage Super Deluxe Edition (2016) and the 1983 concert video Mirage Live.

In September 1982, Fleetwood Mac embarked on a 31-city U.S. tour in support of Mirage, the band’s fourth consecutive multi-platinum album and third No. 1 in America. Both shows at The Forum were recorded, and Mirage Tour ‘82 combines songs from both into a single concert experience.

Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks were at the height of their collective power at these shows, delivering a hyper-charged setlist filled with hits new and old. Standouts include “Songbird,” “Oh Well,” “Love In Store,” “Go Your Own Way,” and a version of “Landside” for the ages.

In the set’s liner notes, music journalist and songwriter Bill DeMain calls the collection “a riveting listen” and a reminder of a time when rock shows “were platforms to expand and reinvent songs for the stage, to let them breathe, to unleash different, wilder sides of a band.”

Listen to the previously unreleased live version of "Don't Stop" from Mirage Tour ‘82 below. 

Fleetwood Mac

Mirage Tour '82 (Live)

Available September 20, 2024

CD Tracklist

Disc One

1. “Second Hand News”
2. “The Chain”
3. “Don’t Stop” *
4. “Dreams” *
5. “Oh Well” *
6. “Rhiannon”
7. “Brown Eyes”
8. “Eyes Of The World”
9. “Gypsy”
10. “Love In Store”
11. “Not That Funny”

Disc Two

1. “Never Going Back Again” *
2. “Landslide” *
3. “Tusk”
4. “Sara” *
5. “Hold Me”
6. “You Make Loving Fun”
7. “I’m So Afraid”
8. “Go Your Own Way”
9. “Blue Letter”
10. “Sisters Of The Moon”
11. “Songbird”

* Previously Unreleased

LP Tracklist

LP One: Side One

1. “Second Hand News”
2. “The Chain”
3. “Don’t Stop” *
4. “Dreams” *

Side Two

1. “Oh Well” *
2. “Rhiannon”
3. “Brown Eyes”
4. “Eyes Of The World”

LP Two: Side One

1. “Gypsy”
2. “Love In Store”
3. “Not That Funny”

Side Two

1. “Never Going Back Again” *
2. “Landslide” *
3. “Tusk”

LP Three: Side One

1. “Sara” *
2. “Hold Me”
3. “You Make Loving Fun”
4. “I’m So Afraid”

Side Two

1. “Go Your Own Way”
2. “Blue Letter”
3. “Sisters Of The Moon”
4. “Songbird”

* Previously Unreleased

Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" Achieves 1 Billion Streams

 

Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" has achieved 1 BILLION STREAMS on Spotify.  This is the 3rd track to reach that level following "Dreams" and "The Chain".

Fleetwood Mac Albums Chart Update Worldwide

 Fleetwood Mac this week on the Album Charts world wide... 

UK Top 100 Albums Chart

11 (10) 50 Years: Don’t Stop

24 (32) Rumours

UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart

8 (14) Rumours

SCOTLAND Official Albums Chart

16 (26) Rumours

67 (Re-entry) Fleetwood Mac

IRELAND Official Albums Chart

10 (9) 50 Years: Don’t Stop

25 (26) Rumours

USA BILLBOARD TOP 200 Albums

39 (36) Rumours

174 (181) Greatest Hits

USA Top Album Sales

18 (19) Rumours

USA Best Selling Vinyl Albums

14 (10) Rumours

CANADA Top 100 Albums Chart

37 (33) Rumours

AUSTRALIA Top 50 Albums Chart

30 (31) Rumours

AUSTRIA Top 75 Albums Chart

60 (75) Rumours

BELGIUM Top 200 Albums Chart

173 (133) Greatest Hits

138 (141) Rumours

DUTCH ALBUMS Top 100 Albums Chart

21 (18) Rumours

DUTCH Top 33 Vinyl Albums Chart

16 (16) Rumours

GREECE Top 75 Albums Chart

29 (33) Rumours

67 (Re-Entry) Greatest Hits

SWEDEN Top 60 Albums Chart

46 (50) Rumours

The Ultimate Music Guide to Fleetwood Mac Available June 21 2024

 

Uncut Ultimate Music Guide: Definitive Edition - Fleetwood Mac 

The 172-page Definitive Edition Ultimate Music Guide to Fleetwood Mac.

Available 21st June 2024.

ORDER HERE

There is also a limited edition hardback version of the 172-page Definitive Edition 

Ultimate Music Guide to Fleetwood Mac. Only 250 copies available!

ORDER HERE

Decades before Beyoncé, Fleetwood Mac were taking relationship lemons, and serving them up to the world as lemonade. Whether it was maintaining continuity against unlikely odds after the departure of their original guiding light Peter Green or turning their personal intrigues into melodic gold with Rumours, the band’s coping strategy became a key marketing point – as the band crested each vicissitude with an outpouring of new songs. 

Still, even a band that doesn’t shy away from motivational affirmations (see: “Don’t Stop!” “On With The Show”) might have to acknowledge that the passing of Christine McVie in 2022 likely spells an end to any subsequent reformations of Fleetwood Mac, a band that created spellbinding music for its reliably enormous audiences for over 50 years. Even Mr Resilient himself, Mick Fleetwood, admits these days it would be “a tall order” to do anything as Fleetwood Mac. “…But stranger things have happened.” 

It’s the band’s incredible legacy that we celebrate in this 172-page definitive edition of our Ultimate Music Guide to Fleetwood Mac. From our curated selection of classic interviews, you can enjoy a vivid inside track on the band’s saga, its key players, and the drama that unfolded around them. As we dive deep into the music, our team of expert writers reveals the evolving Mac sound: from the melancholy blues tones of their earliest triumphs through to the sophisticated pop rock that brought them their greatest successes. In our foldout timeline, we take a – literally – sideways journey through the band’s career.

Fleetwood Mac always fought hard to field a winning team, but there was life for its members outside it and we have taken the opportunity in this edition to dig deeper into the solo careers of its members in reviews and interviews. In 2020, Christine McVie looks back humbly on her achievements and decides she’ll soon be shutting up shop, songs-wise. We review the erratic solo work of Peter Green while Rob Hughes tracks down the close associates who would meet him once a month to jam in his front room. We have tea on Lindsey Buckingham’s patio. 

Excitingly, we also discover a long-lost conversation with Stevie Nicks. She and her dog Shulamith are being driven to a Fleetwood Mac rehearsal, while we sit rather in awe of her candour and insight. It’s a bittersweet conversation to look back on from the viewpoint of 2024. On the one hand, Stevie is out there now playing a well-received solo tour, where she hits her Mac songbook hard. On the other, her tender recollections of Christine McVie’s return to Fleetwood Mac in 2013 only remind us more acutely of her absence now. 

“The second people saw she was coming back, the tickets just sold,” Stevie tells us. “I tell her, Chris, it’s all about you – everyone wants to see you. And we’re thrilled. It’s kinda fun to see it through her eyes…”

Fleetwood Mac Alternate Live set for July 19, 2024 Re-Release

Fleetwood Mac Alternate Live 

set for re-release July 19, 2024

This special 2LP is back in circulation after a limited release in 2021 for Record Store Day. The fourteen-song album is compiled from the Fleetwood Mac Super Deluxe release, featuring seven tracks from the Tusk tour, four from the 1977 Rumours tour, and three from the 1982 Mirage tour.

Only seeing it on UK Record store websites, not sure of a North American release, so check with your local record store retailer if you're interested. 

Track listing:

1. Second Hand News*
2. The Chain **
3. Think About Me **
4. What Makes You Think You’re The One **
5. Gold Dust Woman ***
6. Brown Eyes *
7. The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown) ***
8. Angel **
9. Hold Me *
10. Tusk **
11. You Make Loving Fun ***
12. Sisters Of The Moon **
13. Songbird **
14. Blue Letter ***

* Mirage Tour,  ** Tusk Tour,   *** Rumours Tour

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours A Force on The Album Charts

FLEETWOOD MAC ON THE WORLD ALBUM CHARTS

The power Fleetwood Mac's Rumours STILL has around the world to continue to 

place on album charts still blows my mind. 

This week around the world below...

 

UK Top 100 Albums Chart

• 9 (9) 50 Years: Don’t Stop (9-9, 5,795 sales) 
• 19 (27) Rumours

UK Official Albums Streaming Chart

• 6 (5) 50 Years: Don’t Stop
• 25 (25) Rumours

UK Official Album Downloads Chart

• 61 (63) Rumours
• 87 (85) Greatest Hits

UK Official Albums Sales Chart

• 18 (33) Rumours
• 91 (RE) Fleetwood Mac

UK Official Physical Albums Chart

• 16 (32) Rumours
• 86 (RE) Fleetwood Mac

UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart

• 8 (26) Rumours
• 30 (RE) Fleetwood Mac

UK Official Record Store Chart

• 13 (RE) Rumours
• 26 (RE) Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac Albums Chart Update May 22, 2024

Fleetwood Mac Has Not One, But Two Albums Rising On The Charts

by Hugh McIntyre

May 20, 2024

Forbes

Decades after they stopped producing new music, Fleetwood Mac still has no problem scoring chart wins. They rarely, if ever, disappear from the Billboard rankings, as Americans have never stopped listening to and buying their art.

This week, Fleetwood Mac is succeeding with two albums. Both titles are climbing–impressively, on every chart they appear on. That shows sustained interest in the projects, and in at least one case, increased consumption.

Unsurprisingly, Rumours is the top performer from Fleetwood Mac. That’s the case this week...and pretty much every week. While it may appear highest on the Billboard charts, the blockbuster release is down a little more than 1% in terms of consumption. According to Luminate, the album moved 18,202 equivalent units last week.

Rumours is up one rung on the Billboard 200, settling at No. 39. On the Top Album Sales chart, it improves from No. 28 to No. 19, even though pure purchases of the project fall by more than 8%. The set also grows on the Vinyl Albums (No. 17), Top Rock & Alternative Albums (No. 7), and Top Rock Albums rankings (No. 6).

As Rumours continues to overperform (for a decades-old title), Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits is also on the rise. That set, which shares some songs with the more traditional album, grows in stature on three tallies this time around. Unlike Rumours, however, total consumption of Greatest Hits is up several percentage points to 8,235 equivalent units.

The band’s Greatest Hits compilation steps up on the Billboard 200 more than 10 spaces. This week, it jumps from No. 191 to No. 180. On the Top Rock & Alternative Albums list, it surges seven rungs to No. 42, nearly entering the top 40 again. On the more-specific Top Rock Albums tally, the title pushes forward from No. 22 to No. 18, returning to the top 20 tier.

Fleetwood Mac Separates Themselves From Other Legacy Acts With Streaming Success

by Hugh McIntyre

May 22, 2024

Forbes

There are many beloved bands from decades past that regularly earn spots on the Billboard charts. They typically do so thanks to continuing sales, with streaming typically being less popular among legacy acts than newer ones. Older audiences tend to continue to listen to the CDs and vinyl LPs they’ve purchased in the past—and to keep buying them—but some groups that have been adored for many years have found a way to remain relevant via platforms like Spotify.

Fleetwood Mac is one such name, as the pop-rockers are not only incredibly popular, but they’ve managed to continue to succeed on streaming sites. The group’s biggest and most successful title, Rumours, proves that millions are listening to them on streaming outlets this week as it returns to one specific Billboard chart.

Rumours is back on the Top Streaming Albums ranking this week. The set reappears at No. 49 on Billboard’s list of the albums and EPs that manage to rack up the most plays on the top streaming platforms in the country, which was established last year.

No. 49 isn’t very high on the Top Streaming Albums chart, as the tally only features 50 spaces. That said, it’s also not very far from the title’s high point, as it once climbed to No. 46 and stalled there.

The Top Streaming Albums ranking is typically filled with newer bands, singers, and rappers. More modern names are the ones that usually dominate all things related to streaming, but Fleetwood Mac’s music remains popular enough that they are able to find a space on this list for only the seventh frame.

As it returns to the Top Streaming Albums chart, Rumours is climbing on several other lists. The title lifts just one space on the Billboard 200, making a home at No. 38. It’s also up two rungs on the Vinyl Albums chart, where it appears at No. 15.

Not everything is looking up for Rumours this week on the Billboard charts, though. The set, which has been out for decades now, isn’t on the rise everywhere. It’s a non-mover at No. 19 on the Top Album Sales ranking this frame. It’s also, surprisingly, down on both the Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums rosters as well.

Consumption of Rumours is growing, no matter where it lands on the charts. In the past tracking period, Luminate reports that the album moved 18,796 equivalent units. That’s up 3.3% from last time around. Looking only at pure sales, the title sold 3,654 copies–up 3.7%.

Album Charts Around The World This Week:

USA

Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart

(previous week in brackets)

38 (39) Rumours 

179 (180) Greatest Hits

Top Album Sales (full album purchase chart)

19 (19) Rumours

Top Streaming Albums Chart

49 Re-Entry Rumours 

Vinyl Albums Chart

15 (17) Rumours

Indie Store Album Sales

17 Re-Entry Rumours

Top Rock & Alternative Albums

9 (7) Rumours

45 (42) Greatest Hits 

Top Rock Albums

7 (6) Rumours

CANADA

Top 100 Albums Chart

36 (40) Rumours

UK 

Top 100 Albums Chart

8 (7) 50 Years - Don’t Stop (6,278 sales)

26 (23) Rumours

IRELAND

Top 100 Albums Chart

7 (8) 50 Years - Don’t Stop

22 (18) Rumours

SCOTLAND

Top 100 Albums Chart

24 (16) Rumours

68 Re-Entry Greatest Hits

NETHERLANDS

Top 100 Albums Chart

18 (14) Rumours

NETHERLANDS

Top 33 Vinyl

14 (5) Rumours

AUSTRIA

Top 75 Albums Chart

65 Re-Entry Rumours

SWEDEN

Top 60 Albums Chart

40 (40) Rumours

AUSTRALIA

Top 50 Albums Chart

32 (27) Rumours

NEW BEST OF FLEETWOOD MAC (1969-1974) available on July 26 from Rhino

Fleetwood Mac Detail BEST OF FLEETWOOD MAC (1969-1974) Compilation

In the late 1960s, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, John McVie, and Jeremy Spencer laid the foundation for what would become one of the most storied and successful bands in rock history, Fleetwood Mac. Now, Rhino is celebrating the band’s transformative early days with a compilation that features 19 essential tracks.

BEST OF FLEETWOOD MAC (1969-1974) will be available on July 26 from Rhino on CD, 2-LP 180-gram black vinyl, & 2-LP brick & mortar exclusive on sea-blue vinyl. Pre-Order HERE.

The new collection spans a prolific five-year period that began in 1969 after the band signed with Reprise Records. It includes songs selected from seven studio albums: Then Play On (1969), Kiln House (1970), Future Games (1971), Bare Trees (1972), Penguin (1973), Mystery To Me (1973), and Heroes Are Hard To Find (1974).

Those albums fueled Fleetwood Mac’s early popularity in the U.K. and catapulted them into the Top Ten with singles like “Oh Well – Pt. 1” and “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown).” Both tracks are included in the collection along with fan favorites like “Rattlesnake Shake,” “Station Man,” “Sentimental Lady,” “Spare Me A Little Of Your Love,” and “Remember Me.”

Between 1969 and 1974, Fleetwood Mac experienced near-constant changes in membership. The new compilation provides a showcase for each lineup, with songs featuring nearly every member from this era, including founders Fleetwood, Green, McVie, and Spencer, plus Christine McVie, Danny Kirwan, Bob Welch, and Bob Weston.

James McNair’s new liner notes accompany the compilation and expertly navigate the band’s twisting timeline during this period. He writes: “By the time of Fleetwood Mac’s winter 1971 U.S. tour, Christine McVie was a fully-fledged member. Her keyboard-playing and co-lead vocals alongside those of Kirwan and Spencer were integral in the wake of Green’s departure…Alas, any calm seas were short-lived; Fleetwood Mac was still a volatile ship. Spencer, too, was about to go missing in action.”

• Pre-order Black Vinyl and CD from Rhino.com
• Sea-blue vinyl will be available at your local record store or Barnes & Noble
• Pre-order the Vinyl version via Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada
• Pre-order the CD version via Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada

THE BEST OF FLEETWOOD MAC (1969-1974)

2-LP Track Listing

LP One: Side One

“Oh Well – Pt. 1”

“Rattlesnake Shake”

“The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)”

“Station Man”

“Jewel Eyed Judy”

Side Two

“Tell Me All The Things You Do”

“Future Games”

“Sands Of Time” – Single Version

“Sunny Side Of Heaven”

LP Two: Side One

“Bare Trees”

“Sentimental Lady”

“Spare Me A Little Of Your Love”

“Remember Me”

“Did You Ever Love Me”

Side Two

“Emerald Eyes”

“Hypnotized”

“Heroes Are Hard To Find”

“Angel”

“Prove Your Love”

THE BEST OF FLEETWOOD MAC (1969-1974)

CD Track Listing

1. Oh Well (Pt. 1) - Then Play On 1969 
2. Rattlesnake Shake - Then Play On 1969
3. The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown) - Then Play On 1969 
4. Jewel Eyed Judy - Kiln House 1970 
5. Station Man - Kiln House 1970 
6. Tell Me All The Things You Do - Kiln House 1970 
7. Sands of Time (single version) - Future Games 1971 
8. Future Games - Future Games 1971 
9. Sentimental Lady - Bare Trees 1972 
10. Sunny Side Of Heaven - Bare Trees 1972 
11. Bare Trees - Bare Trees 1972 
12.  Spare Me A Little Of Your Love - Bare Trees 1972 
13. Remember Me - Penguin 1973
14. Did You Ever Love Me - Penguin 1973 
15. Hypnotized - Mystery To Me 1973 
16. Emerald Eyes - Mystery To Me 1973 
17. Heroes Are Hard To Find - Heroes Are Hard To Find 1974 
18. Angel - Heroes Are Hard To Find 1974 
19. Prove Your Love - Heroes Are Hard To Find 1974

Rumours jumps more than 20 spaces on Billboard Top 200

Fleetwood Mac’s Special Release Propels Them Up Five Charts

By: Hugh McIntyre

Forbes

BILLBOARD MAY 4, 2024

Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours has been a bestseller ever since it was released in 1977. Throughout the decades, the title has been able to sell consistently, rarely–if ever–falling off the charts. Interest in the set never seems to dwindle, and sometimes, the blockbuster is even able to rise once again.

The band recently released a new, collector’s version of Rumours for Record Store Day 2024. Fans could rush out to brick-and-mortar record stores to pick up a copy of a special edition picture disc of the album, which was limited to 7,500 copies. That was clearly of interest to longtime lovers of the band, as that offering helps the full-length ascend in the U.S.

Rumours climbs on five Billboard charts this week. It was present on all of them last time around, but in this frame, it’s up on all five–and significantly so on several.

On the Billboard 200, Rumours jumps more than 20 spaces (56 to 35). Fleetwood Mac’s top seller returns to the top 40 on the ranking of the most-consumed full-lengths and EPs in the nation, which is a huge accomplishment for a project that’s nearly half a century old. Greatest Hits re-enters the chart at No.191.

According to Luminate, Rumours moved another 19,693 equivalent units in the last week. That figure includes sales and streaming equivalents. It’s also up more than 15% from the period before.

Rumours was a bestseller yet again in America last week. All versions of the title sold a collective 5,274 copies throughout the country. That’s a massive 91% growth in pure purchases from the frame before the Record Store Day picture disc dropped.

This week, Rumours appears at No. 21 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart. That’s an improvement of just five spaces, but a huge gain when it comes to the total number of copies sold.

Rumours is also surging on three other tallies that it’s lived on for quite some time. Thanks largely to the Record Store Day release, it advances from No. 23 to No. 11 on the Vinyl Albums chart. Fleetwood Mac’s pop-rock project also jumps into the top 10 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums ranking, where it jumps from No. 14 to No. 9. On the Top Rock Albums list, it’s up to No. 7. And on the Indie Store Album Sales chart it's up to No.8 from No.13 last week.

In Canada, Rumours moved up to No.36 from No.42 last week. 

UPDATE: MAY 11, 2024 BILLBOARD

This week, Rumours drops to No.40 in the US from No.35 last week on the Billboard Top 200. Greatest Hits remains at No.191 after re-entering the chart last week. On the Top Album Sales chart, which is pure album sales, not including streaming, the album slid to No.28 from 21 last week.  On the Top Vinyl sales chart, Rumours slides to No.24 from No.11. On the Top Rock and Alternative Albums Chart Rumours moves down one spot to No.10 from No.9 last week. On the Top Rock Albums chart Rumours also moves down one spot to No.8 from No.7 last week. 

On the Canadian Top 100, Rumours moved down to No.40 from No.36 last week. 

In the UK, Fleetwood Mac's 50 Years: Don’t Stop remains in the top 10 after re-entering the top 10 at No.8 last week. This week the album is No.10 with 5,701 units sold. Rumours exits the top 10 sliding to No.27 from No.9 last week with sales of 3,779 units. 

Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years - Don’t Stop keeps the group inside the top 10 for another week

Fleetwood Mac Scores Two Of The Biggest Singles In One Country

Hugh McIntyre

Forbes

Fleetwood Mac can almost always be found on albums charts in a number of major music markets. Between their greatest hits compilations and their full-length Rumours, it seems the world will always want to listen to and buy their projects.

It’s not surprising to see Fleetwood Mac on any albums chart these days, even though they haven’t released anything new in years. What might raise some eyebrows this week is that the band manages to claim not one, but two spaces on the ranking of the most-consumed songs in one nation.

This week in the U.K., Fleetwood Mac charts two tracks on the ranking of the most popular songs. Neither of them are new to the list, which may make their performance that much more impressive.

Fleetwood Mac’s highest-charting hit at the moment in the U.K. is “Everywhere,” which has found a space on the list of the top-performing cuts for some time now. That track is steady at No. 87 this frame. Many years ago, it peaked at No. 4, becoming one of the pop-rock group’s biggest hits.

Very close to the bottom of the tally comes another track from Fleetwood Mac. Their single “Dreams” returns to the songs chart in the U.K. at No. 97. It has, in the past, risen as high as No. 24, and it’s now spent 77 frames on the tally.

As Fleetwood Mac occupies a pair of spots on the songs chart, the Grammy winners manage the same feat over on the albums list. On that ranking, the band is performing much better than when it comes to songs.

Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years - Don’t Stop keeps the group inside the top 10 for another week. The compilation dips slightly from No. 8 to No. 10, managing to find a place in the region once more.

Rumours sat inside the top 10 in the U.K. last week, but now it’s fallen–and quite far for one frame. The blockbuster project slides backward from No. 9 to No. 27, which is a noticeable tumble, especially for an older collection. That former No. 1 is one of very few efforts that have lived on the roster for more than 1,000 weeks.

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is the best-selling UK vinyl in the 21st Century

The Official Top 40 best-selling vinyl albums of the 21st century from the 1970s, 80s and 90s revealed

The biggest vinyl albums of this century, which were released between 1970-1999 revealed.

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours has been announced as the best-selling vinyl album of the 21st century, from records that were released between 1970-1999.

As heard live across the country on Greatest Hits Radio and compiled by data from the Official Charts Company, some of the most popular and influential LPs ever recorded have made the list.

Despite never sending one of its timeless tracks to Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart (Fleetwood Mac's only UK Number 1 single remains 1968's Albatross) Rumours is one of the most successful and enduring LPs ever released in the UK - it's spent a total of 1,042 weeks inside the Official Albums Chart since its release in 1977.

This week, you'll also see Rumours is back inside the Top 10 of the Official Albums Chart, solidifying its status as one of the most popular records with the British public of all time.

According to Official Charts Company data, Rumours has logged 280,000 vinyl sales since the beginning of the new millennium. 

Number 12 on the top 40 best-selling vinyl albums is Fleetwood Mac's "Greatest Hits".

Full article at Officialcharts.

Fleetwood Mac's "EVERYWHERE" single achieves UK 5x Platinum status

Fleetwood Mac's "EVERYWHERE" single achieved 5x Platinum status in the UK today April 26, 2024 becoming Fleetwood Mac's highest certified single in the UK. 5 x Platinum represents 3 million units sold. 

Since 2014 audio streams have been factored into the certification process.

Fleetwood Mac has two Album in the UK Top 10

April 26, 2024 - Fleetwood Mac has two albums in the UK Top 10 this week.  "Rumours" jumped up to No.9 this week from No.36 on sales of 5,459 units following the release of the album on picture disc. Rumours was last in the top 10 69 week ago. 

"50 Years - Don't Stop" moves back into the top 10 at No.8 from No.15 last week on sales of 5,607 units. 

 

Neil Finn discusses joining Fleetwood Mac in 2018 following the departure of Lindsey Buckingham

Crowded House leader Neil Finn speaks to MOJO about his surprise move to replace Lindsey Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac in 2018.

MOJO MAGAZINE APRIL 2024 OUT NOW

Drafted in as a teenager to join older brother Tim’s band, beloved New Zealand New Wavers Split Enz, before breaking America and Europe as leader of Crowded House, Neil Finn’s deep but accessible songwriting has carved out a unique place within the musical landscape over the past four decades, earning him famous admirers ranging from members of Radiohead and Pearl Jam to Elvis Costello and Mick Fleetwood. 

In this extract from our exclusive interview with Finn in the latest issue of MOJO, he discusses joining Fleetwood Mac in 2018 following the departure of Lindsey Buckingham…

Did joining Fleetwood Mac surprise you?

I was gobsmacked. I was 60 and I’d had a wonderfully diverse musical life when Mick called and said, “We’ve got rid of Lindsey, would you play with us?” I’d just done [2018 album] Lightsleeper with [Finn’s son]Liam so he had a vested interest in my not doing it, but he said, “Give it a shot,” so I auditioned.

What? Neil Finn auditioned?

It’s the only audition I’ve ever done. I went to Hawaii and Mick spent an hour telling me it wasn’t an audition, but it was. I was auditioning them too: I wasn’t sure it was the right thing, I was quite conflicted, but I liked the people and the welcome was universal.

What did you bring?

The naysayers said, “No Lindsey Buckingham, no Fleetwood Mac,” but I brought personality and the ability to sing with Stevie and Christine. I could never be capable of sounding like Lindsey but I put a similar intensity into his songs.

Have you had contact with Lindsey?

No, but I’d really like to have a dinner with him. There’s a lot of ill-will, but I don’t think he bears any towards me and I do think he had prior appreciation of the music I’d made. Hopefully, once he got over the massive disappointment, he’d have thought, “At least someone with something going for them is singing my songs.”

Who’s running Fleetwood Mac these days?

It doesn’t currently exist, but when I was there Mick carried the flag. He always has and he’s the heart and soul. Yet Stevie’s the leader in many ways, because Stevie wants it the way Stevie wants it and that’s the way it’ll be. She couldn’t bear to be in a band with Lindsey any more, but she still wanted to do it exactly the way he would have. It was more difficult for [Heartbreakers guitarist] Mike Campbell: she was really happy with the way it sounded between me and her, but she put a lot of pressure on Mike to be more like Lindsey. Sometimes Mike’s solos would go on and Stevie would get exhausted playing tambourine. She’d be, “Fucking hell, Lindsey only did 12 bars!”

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours rises on five Billboard charts

Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ Enjoys A Resurgence

By: Hugh McIntyre

Forbes

Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is already one of the bestselling and most successful albums of all time. The set was a massive commercial juggernaut when it was first released nearly 50 years ago, and it’s still performing well to this day.

This week, Rumours rises on five Billboard charts. It also finds its way back to another, different tally, meaning the project is up on half a dozen separate rankings. That’s an impressive showing for any title, let alone one that’s almost a half-century old.

Rumours reappears on this week’s Top Streaming Albums chart. The tally ranks the most-streamed full-lengths and EPs in the United States each frame.

Fleetwood Mac’s masterpiece was nowhere to be found on the Top Streaming Albums last week, but now it’s back. The favorite enters the tally at No. 46, which just so happens to be its best showing.

On the Billboard 200, Rumours returns to the top 40 in an impressive surge of consumption. The set moved another 18,144 equivalent units in the U.S. last tracking period, according to Luminate. That sum is up 5% from the frame before.

Looking specifically at pure purchases–in addition to its streaming success–Rumours is still doing very well. The title lifts from No. 30 to No. 25 on the Top Album Sales chart. This past frame, the set sold another 3,618 copies. It also advances on the Vinyl Albums ranking, where it improves from No. 23 to No. 16.

Rumours appears inside the top 10 on two Billboard charts this week, and it sits higher this frame than it did last turn. Fleetwood Mac’s bestseller is up to No. 7 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums tally and No. 6 on the Top Rock Albums list.

Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs”, a break-up song written by Stevie Nicks "He's never gotten away"

Why we can never get away from the sound of Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs”

Their electric 1997 performance has become an enduring hit among younger generations on TikTok and YouTube. What do they keep coming back for?

By Daisy Jones

5 April 2024

GQ UK

Our story begins in the late 1970s in Maryland, USA. Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham are hurtling down the freeway, as they often did in those early days; a band used to constant touring. Nicks’ eyes drift up. She sees a sign – literally. It reads “Silver Spring”, the name of a nearby “edge city” in Montgomery County, near Washington. Now, the phrase won’t stop swimming around her mind: Silver Spring, Silver Spring, Silver Spring. “Silver Springs [sic] sounded like a pretty fabulous place to me,” she’d say in 1998, two decades after that drive. “‘You could be my silver springs…’ that's just a whole symbolic thing of what you could have been to me.”

The words became Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs”, a break-up song written by Nicks about the end of a passionate, often tumultuous, on-off relationship with guitarist and singer Buckingham that had began back in high school. It was intended to appear on Rumours, their seminal 1977 album. But the band vetoed it for being too long. “I was so genuinely devastated… because I loved the song and it was one of the Rumours songs,” Nicks told MTV in 1997. “So I never thought that ‘Silver Springs’ would ever be heard of again. My beautiful song just disappeared.”

But it didn’t disappear. Not in the way she thought it might. In 1997, the band performed the song at Warner Bros studio during The Dance tour and it very quickly became a sensation, winning a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance in the process. And that image, at the song's climactic end point – of Nicks singing the words at Buckingham, her eyes burning into his soul, as if casting a spell, 20 years after writing the lyrics and still meaning them – has become the stuff of legend: “I'll follow you down til' the sound of my voice will haunt you / You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you.”

“Silver Springs” was big in the ‘90s. But in more recent years, the song has gained a surprising amount of renewed traction – particularly among Gen Z, who's parents might not have even been alive when it was written. On YouTube, the performance has a vast 25 million views. And on TikTok, where the collective obsession has reached fever pitch, the search “Silver Springs” has over 100 million views. We're seeing young people lip-syncing the words, mascara running down their cheeks or, as in one clip I saw, kids in class playing the song at their “year 7 exes.” Nicks burning a hole into Buckingham with her words really strikes a chord. As one TikTok user captioned over the clip: “Don't just write a song about your ex, make him play lead guitar and sing it right to his face on stage.”

It's easy to see why it still resonates – it's a captivating, enchanting song that's bolstered by the real-life drama that simmers beneath it. But why now? And why hasn't the hysteria surrounding “Silver Springs” died down? Even I'm guilty of it. It'll pop up on my TikTok and I'll watch it over and over again, on a dopamine loop. It has an addictive quality; the layering of their voices, the pummelling drums, the electric stare-off, how Nicks weaves between vengefulness and vulnerability within the space of a line (“Give me just a chance”). The live version has a particular potency – the recorded “Silver Springs” slaps, but it's not quite the same.

For a lot of people, the “Silver Springs” obsession actually began last year with Daisy Jones & the Six, Amazon's hit show based on the Taylor Jenkins Reid book of the same name which itself was loosely based on Fleetwood Mac. “I remember reading in interviews that Sam Claflin and Riley Keough [who play Daisy and Billie in the show] had been watching ‘Silver Springs’ in preparation, so that got me onto it,” says 19-year-old Eva, who listens to the song when she gets ready for college “at least three times a week.” As she says, “The real thing is even better than the show because it's real, you know?”

This seems to be a running theme. 22-year-old Kai tells me that they wanted to hear the song that “Regret Me” (a song that appears in the show) was based on, which led them to becoming “completely obsessed” with the real thing. Katie, 24, tells me that she didn’t even watch Daisy Jones & The Six, but the song “was all over social media at that time” because of it, which led her down a rabbit hole. “I listened to it so many times that it ended up on my 2023 Spotify Wrapped,” she says. “This was also around the time that my boyfriend and I broke up, so the lyrics held special significance for me.”

Of course the song hits today as much as it always has. But there's something especially 2020s about the romanticisation of drama and pain, the “main character energy” of elevating an on-off relationship to almost mythical status. “Culturally, we’re seeing an obsession with stories about unconventional, years-long relationships (Normal People, Past Lives and One Day),” says Katie. “‘Silver Springs’ has that same theme; Stevie and Lindsay take ‘it’s complicated’ to a whole new level. I think people – especially young people – resonate with this idea of having a relationship like this; a lifelong love. It’s messy, it’s romantic, it’s relatable. I also think there’s something so satisfying about looking your ex in the eye after 20 years and singing your breakup song to them.”

This is also an era in which big, mainstream artists just aren't as open-hearted and unhinged as they used to be. We don't know anything about their private lives beyond what they pretend to let us in on. Even Taylor Swift, a popstar who's forged a billion-dollar empire off writing about her exes, tends to keep her raw emotion behind a shiny, carefully thought-out, manufactured narrative. Harry Styles is one of the biggest artists in the world, yet we know very little about his actual life: his relationships, his hopes, his heartbreaks. There's a truth and authenticity that sits at the heart of “Silver Springs” that might not exist today, at a time when artists don't often allow themselves to step outside of the slick, choreographed version of what a break-up actually feels and looks like (deranged, irrational, messy).

When Nicks wrote “Silver Springs”, who knows whether she really thought that Buckingham would never get away from the sound of the woman that loves him. But it's nearly 50 years later, and the song is still playing, on a loop. Last year, 74-year-old Buckingham posted the “Silver Springs” guitar solo on TikTok alongside the caption: “I hear we're talking about that ‘97 ‘Silver Springs’ again…” “You know damn well that's not the part we mean,” reads the top comment. He's never gotten away. Neither have we.