Then you crochet them all together and you make a great sequence and you have something that nobody has seen before except all the things they want to see are there. “That leaves another 13 songs if you want to do a three-hour show. The expanded set, however, doesn’t mean they’ll be neglecting the big radio hits like “Gold Dust Woman” and “The Chain.” “There are 10 hits we have to do,” says Nicks. It’s another exciting chapter in the book, in the saga.” How does this all feel to bassist John McVie, the guy that put the “Mac” in Fleetwood Mac but speaks so infrequently that most fans don’t even know what his voice sounds like? “I felt very comfortable when we rehearsed,” he says. I’d also like to do ‘Station Man,’ which has always been one of may favorites.
“Now we’re able to open the set with a lot a raucous version of ‘Rattlesnake Shake’ or something. “We were never able to do that since 1975 because certain people in the band weren’t interested in doing that,” says Nicks. The group has yet to begin formal rehearsals – which they say will last two months working five days a week – but they’ve already decided that this tour will feature songs from the entire history of Fleetwood Mac, not just the original Buckingham/Nicks run from 1975 to 1987. “I was enjoying my life and my music, but I have a restless nature and now I’m relishing this beautiful gift that’s been given to me.” “I was stunned when I got the call from Mick,” he says. Getting back in the arena rock game was the last thing on his mind. The singer had enormous success in the 1970s and 1980s with his bands Split Enz and Crowded House, but he was now earning a comfortable living as a solo artist with a devoted cult following. Not long after getting a commitment from Campbell, Fleetwood called up Finn at his New Zealand home. I’ve known Stevie for years and we’ve always been very creative together.” “ I said, ‘Give me a day to think it over.’ The more I thought about it, the more I though it could be great. “I was sitting in my yard by my pool contemplating my future without my partner, which was going to be a dark place in a lot of ways,” he says. One of the first people that came to mind was Campbell, who was at his home on the Hawaiian island of Kauai when the call came. “Having said that, I’d be lying if I didn’t literally say to myself, ‘This one needs a lot of thought.’” “There’s no doubt that my instincts, for better or worse, have always been to gravitate towards going forward,” Fleetwood tells Rolling Stone. The group never stopped working, even when Nicks left in the early 1990s and a new lineup found themselves opening up for the likes of REO Speedwagon on the state fair circuit. When key early members like Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer left the group in the early 1970s, Fleetwood got right on the phone and recruited new ones. “Majority rules in term of what we need to do as a band and go forward” – Mick Fleetwoodīuckingham’s ousting marks the latest messy chapter in the ongoing 50-year Fleetwood Mac story – or, as drummer Mick Fleetwood tells it, business as usual. Majority rules in term of what we need to do as a band and go forward.” Buckingham did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. To that purpose, we made a decision that we could not go on with him. This was not a happy situation for us in terms of the logistics of a functioning band.
“Not to hedge around, but we arrived at the impasse of hitting a brick wall. “Words like ‘fired’ are ugly references as far as I’m concerned,” says Fleetwood. Nobody in the group is quite willing to say Buckingham was “fired,” but they don’t completely object to the term. (A complete itinerary is listed below.) The group also announced the launch of a SiriusXM channel devoted to the band beginning Tuesday, May 1st. Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, May 4th at 10 a.m. The new lineup will embark on a massive 52-date tour beginning October 3rd in Tulsa and criss-crossing the country before wrapping up in Phladelphia in April 2019.