Happy Birthday Stevie

It's official... Stevie Nicks Turns 65 Years Young Today... 
Wishing you nothing but the best Stevie!

Fleetwood Mac Album Chart Update: U.S.A. and Canada + Boxscore Totals

U.S.A. BILLBOARD Charts / Soundscan Sales
Sales week ending May 19th - Chart Date June 1, 2013
(Previous week in parenthesis)

No albums in the U.S. are on the main Top 200 Albums Chart, but there are still a few places you can find Fleetwood Mac making an impact sales wise in the U.S.

Top 200 Physical Album Sales:
Coming in at #170 The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac sold 1,673 units in the U.S. for the week ending May 19th down 21% over the previous week where it sold 2,113 units and was at #158.  Total U.S. sales since it's release in November, 2002 = 1,564,356.

# 170 (158) Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of

Top 200 Indie Albums:
At #143 (down from #63) The new EP "Extended Play" extended it's stay on the top 200 indie chart selling a further 672 units for the sales week down 53% vs the previous week where it sold 1,435 units.  Total U.S. sales since it's release April 30th is an abysmal 10,709.

# 143 (63) Fleetwood Mac - Extended Play

Top 200 Catalogue Albums:
4 albums make the list.  First up is "Rumours" at #51 with 2,066 units sold for the week ending May 19th, down 14% from the previous week where it sold 2,404 units - but it hangs on to it's #51 spot.  Total U.S. sales since November, 1991 = 3,186,976.

"The Very Best of" Fleetwood Mac lands at #73 with 1,841 total units sold (digital and physical) for the week down 21% vs the previous week where it sold 2,333 units. Total overall units sold in the U.S. since November, 2002 = 1,570,324.

"Fleetwood Mac" this week is at #107 down from #88 the previous week.  Total sales for the week were 1,622 vs 1,966 the previous week. Total U.S. sales since November, 1991 = 924,297.

"Greatest Hits" is sitting at #150 with 1,360 units sold vs 1,695 the previous week, a drop of 20%.  Total U.S. sales since November, 1991 = 4,659,588.

#   51 (51)   Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
#   73 (54)   Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of
# 107 (88)   Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
# 150 (131) Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits

Experts say Fleetwood Mac has eclipsed the Rolling Stones 50th anniversary shows.

AMERICAN supergroup Fleetwood Mac will tour Australia in November.
Herald Sun

Their summer run Down Under follows their 40-date sell-out US tour which industry experts say has eclipsed the Rolling Stones 50th anniversary shows.

Fleetwood Mac will perform in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks told The Sunday Times: "I'm very excited for the Australian tour and can't wait to get there."

The band has strong ties to Australia.

Nicks and drummer Mick Fleetwood almost moved here.

Nicks thought the Outback might help beat her cocaine habit.

"It was either check into the Betty Ford clinic, or go to Australia and hang out in the desert with my close friend and martial expert Bob Jones and sweat it out," she said. "I rang Bob one night and he said, 'No worries, come over'.

But I ended up getting a spot at Betty Ford."

Fleetwood bought a mansion in Mittagong, NSW.

"I fell in love with Australia on one of the tours, found a place to live, and those days were incredibly crazy," he said.

"It fell apart over a five or six years period, so I didn't end up truly living there. I gave up my green card and fully intended to do this whole thing. In truth, it was too much too soon."

Fleetwood said the home, called Wensleydale, was "an old stately home, a beautiful place".

In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Times (HERE), Fleetwood revealed his bizarre list of tour superstitions and drug myths surrounding the band.

But he dismissed US industry reports Fleetwood Mac is thumping the Stones in ticket sales and positive reviews.

"I've heard those reports, too. But I know the lads have decided to go with very expensive seats," he said. "All I know is Fleetwood Mac has been incredibly blessed with a hugely successful tour. We always do good business, but this tour is pretty much sold out before we even got out on the road.

"That is very gratifying. But we should be so lucky to even open for the Rolling Stones."

Tickets go on sale to the general public June 13th, but American Express Cardmembers have the opportunity to purchase tickets first during an exclusive pre-sale beginning 12noon Tuesday June 4.

My Live Nation members can be among the first to access tickets during the exclusive presale beginning at 9.00am Friday June 7. Sign up at www.livenation.co.nz

Fleetwood reveals the rituals and superstitions he follows when the band tours

Band Apart
The Sunday Mail - Brisbane (U on Sunday)
by Nu Te Koha

Even the members of Fleetwood mac are in awe of the fact they made it this far despite the break-ups and the drug benders, writes Nu Te Koha

Fleetwood Mac epitomizes the survival spirit.  "We know how lucky we are," drummer Mick Fleetwood says. "But we're very serious about what we do.  That's why we're still here."

Of course, the back-stories of break-ups, make-ups, and their insatiable drink and drug habits are as famous as the band itself. Even Fleetwood admits it's a blessing they're singing and touring, stronger then ever.

But as Fleetwood reveals the rituals and superstitions he follows when the band tours, it's a miracle anybody made it to the stage.

Rock Legends Fleetwood Mac Return to Adelaide - 1st Time in 10 Years.

LEGENDS COUNT THEIR BLESSINGS
Sunday Magazine (Australia)
by: Nui Te Koha

Seventies super group Fleetwood Mac are headed our way, but don’t expect any rumours from these stars

ROCK legends Fleetwood Mac are returning to Adelaide for the first time in almost 10 years. Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, pictured, will perform at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on November 19.

The group – which has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide – last were here in 2004 for a monster show at Adelaide Oval.

"We know how lucky we are," drummer Mick Fleetwood said.

"But we’re very serious about what we do. That’s why we’re still here."

The two-hour-plus concert will feature all of the band’s most loved songs from legendary discs including Rumours, as well as new material from Extended Play, their first new studio material in a decade, released last month.

Of course, the backstory of break-ups, makeups and insatiable drink and drug habits are as famous as the band itself. Mick admits it’s a blessing they’re still singing and touring, stronger than ever, even with a long list of rituals and superstitions he follows when the band tours.

"We are all creatures of habit," he said. "I still do this thing where, if I’m in the toilet, I’ll open the door a certain way, and flush it three times, and, if I haven’t done it, I’ll go back and do it."

Fleetwood says the rituals also included drug use backstage – sometimes while they performed.

"We all know what we did – it’s all public knowledge. A lot of cocaine and booze," said Mick.

"But you have to put it in perspective. War stories become very romantic and they are fun to tell, but I certainly try to preface it by saying it’s not recommended."

Fleetwood Mac will be on tour in Australia November and December, 2013.

American Express Cardmembers have the opportunity to purchase tickets first during an exclusive pre-sale beginning 12noon Tuesday June 4.

My Live Nation members can be among the first to access tickets during the exclusive presale beginning at 9.00am Friday June 7. Sign up at www.livenation.co.nz

Fleetwood Mac talk survival, superstitions and sell-out shows ahead of Aussie tour

Fleetwood Mac talk survival, superstitions and sell-out shows

ahead of Aussie tour
Sunday Herald Sun

FLEETWOOD Mac epitomises the survival spirit. "We know how lucky we are," drummer Mick Fleetwood says. "But we're very serious about what we do. That's why were still here.

Of course, the back story, of break ups, make ups, and their insatiable drink and drug habits are as famous as the band itself.

Even Fleetwood admits it's a blessing they're still writing, recording, performing and touring stronger than ever.

But as Fleetwood reveals a list of rituals and superstitions he follows when the band tours, it's a miracle anybody made it to the stage.  "We are all creatures of habit," Fleetwood says. "I still do this thing where, if I'm in the toilet, I'll open the door a certain way, and flush it three times, and, if I haven't done it, I'll go back and do it.  "It used to be really bad, though," he says, laughing. "I would have, on my way to the stage, little things I'd left there.  "There was a penny which I'd pick up in the spot where I'd left it, and put in my pocket as I walked to the stage.  "But if any of that was upset or the coin disappeared, I would think: 'I'm cursed!' We were very superstitious."

Fleetwood says the drill also included drug use backstage - sometimes while they performed.

"In the old days, there was a definite routine of how we juggled our substances. We didn't like to walk on stage completely ... you know," he says, sheepishly.  "Did we? Yes. But not often. During the show, and after the show, is when the trouble started."  

But Fleetwood's most powerful superstition while on the road is deeply personal.

"I won't get on a plane unless I have this," he says reaching into a supple leather bag, "my father's flying scarf."  His father was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot. Fleetwood keeps the scarf wrapped in a pouch.  "This puppy has been all over the world," Fleetwood says, handling the cargo delicately.  "I never get on a flight without it. The band wouldn't like to get on the plane if I didn't have dad's flying scarf. It keeps us safe."

An hour later, as superstars Fleetwood Mac perform to another full house on a 40-date sell-out US tour, it's clear they have another good luck charm: each other.

Fleetwood Mac is still at the height of its powers.

Stevie Nicks' voice is in career-best shape on hits including Dreams and Landslide, while Lindsey Buckingham, a freakish guitarist, sings raw and intense on the standout, Big Love.

The engine room of Fleetwood and bassist John McVie keeps the Mac hits steady, powering up on Tusk and The Chain.

The latter song vows: "Chain keep us together."

Backstage, before the show, Buckingham says those links are sometimes tenuous because of the strong personalities in the band.  "I'm not saying we don't belong in a band together," he says.  "I am saying we are an unlikely group of people to have come together. You see it on paper and ask: `Well, how's this gonna work?'  "Our tastes are quite disparate and yet it is that cast of characters, that very push-pull dynamic that creates parts larger than the sum of it."

Last month, Buckingham told Rolling Stone Magazine he wishes Fleetwood Mac would follow The Eagles model of doing business.  Asked to explain his comments, Buckingham told news.com: "(The Eagles) reputation is such that they don't get along.  "But somehow they're able to cut through that, do the business they're able to do, get done what they need to as a group, and see their way clear to the common objective. "That seems difficult for Fleetwood Mac.  "This band is something you might liken to a political minefield," he says quietly. "It needs to be navigated."

For now, the Mac are steering their way through good times. Buckingham wrote songs on their new EP, Extended Play, and they aim to make an album.

There are also plans to release a 40th anniversary version of Buckingham Nicks, the 1973 album Stevie and Lindsey made before joining Fleetwood Mac.

Indeed, the ghosts of their past love affair play out warmly in the new show, during a soft embrace in Sara, and touching fingertips in Landslide.

The audience is still enchanted by Stevie and Lindsey's long faded romance.  "By the time we got to Rumours," Buckingham says, "Stevie had both feet out the door. She left me.  "It was difficult to be the guy who had to go back to the studio, produce her songs, and make the choice to do the right thing for her professionally, even though it was painful to be around her personally.  "But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  "It's sweet that Stevie and I are somehow acknowledging that from a distance. I think people are quite intrigued by that, as we are too."

Today, Buckingham is happily married with three children. Nicks is still single.

"The thing about my dynamic with Stevie become more the professional side of it," Buckingham says.  "Not to say we don't feel a great deal for each other, because it does play out in a very authentic way. But we are playing roles."

Today, 20-or-so years since they kicked their bad habits, those character parts don't include rock star cliches.  "We all know what we did - it's all public knowledge. A lot of cocaine and booze," Fleetwood says.  "But you have to put it in perspective. War stories become very romantic and they are fun to tell, but I certainly try to preface it by saying it's not recommended.  "You also don't want to aggrandise it too much and, yet, in truth, you have to tell the truth.  "We had a lot of great times, no doubt," he says.  "It certainly didn't seem to stunt the creative process. But it ended up becoming a drain on all of us. Then it became counter-productive.

"We are, quite frankly, fortunate to have prevailed," Fleetwood says. "We're lucky, we're grateful and we're here."

TOUR DATES

Sydney Entertainment Centre, Nov 10th

Hope Estate Winery, Hunter Valley, Nov 16th

Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Nov 19th

Perth Arena, Nov 22nd

Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Nov 26nd

Hill Winery, Geelong, Nov 30th

Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Dec 2nd

Vector Arena, Auckland, Dec 6th


American Express Cardmembers have the opportunity to purchase tickets first during an exclusive pre-sale beginning 12noon Tuesday June 4.

My Live Nation members can be among the first to access tickets during the exclusive presale beginning at 9.00am Friday June 7. Sign up at www.livenation.co.nz