Fleetwood Mac has proven that the key to career longevity is staying active and doing what the band does best, which is performing onstage. In 2013, Fleetwood Mac stayed true to their game plan, selling out arenas across the United States and Canada. In between shows, individual band members such as Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham made various media appearances pitching side projects, such as Dave Grohl’s documentary Sound City: Real to Reel, in which both Nicks and Buckingham appeared.
But the biggest newsmaker was the elusive Christine McVie, who surprised fans by performing at two London show during Fleetwood Mac’s European tour.
Here’s how the year of performance and surprises shaped up:
1. Christine McVie reunites with Fleetwood Mac in London, contemplates permanent return to the band
Fans at the London shows cheered loudly and proudly when Christine McVie reunited onstage with her former bandmates after 15 years. Christine performed “Don’t Stop” at the second and third London shows.
In November, Christine made things even more interesting by telling The Guardian that she would rejoin the band for good, if the band were to ask her. The statement set off a swirl of rumors, with the final outcome still to be determined. Stevie addressed the rumors in an interview with Billboard in December, but she said with some exasperation that any decision to return to the band would lie solely on McVie. Stevie left the matter open-ended, stating “to be continued.”
2. Fleetwood Mac cancels Australian/New Zealand tour, John McVie receives cancer treatment
Like for a family member or good friend, the news of John McVie’s cancer diagnosis hit hard. Fleetwood Mac announced the news and tour cancellation on its official Facebook page. Fortunately, John’s prognosis appeared to be good as friends and bandmates reported that John’s cancer was caught early and that the co-founding member of Fleetwood Mac seemed to be responding well to treatment. The other members of Fleetwood Mac also seem optimistic and will proceed with their scheduled December 30th concert in Las Vegas.
[jwplayer mediaid=”12038″]3. Fleetwood Mac kicks off 2013 World Tour
Fleetwood Mac thrilled fans by kicking off its world tour in Columbus, Ohio, on April 4. The tour supported the digital release of Extended Play, a four-track EP of new material (released on April 30), and deluxe and expanded editions of Rumours. The tour was tremendously successful and lucrative, with the band selling out shows throughout the US and Canada. According to Pollstar, Fleetwood Mac grossed $58.1 million during the first six months of the year, playing 42 shows in 42 cities. Fleetwood Mac was the third highest grossing North American tour, after The Rolling Stones (1) and Taylor Swift (2) in Pollstar’s midyear rankings. Fleetwood Mac ranked 17 out of 25 tours in Billboard’s year-end ranking, with gross ticket sales totaling $61.9 million. Fleetwood Mac found similar success in Europe when they kicked a 15-city tour of Europe in Dublin, Ireland on September 20. The band sold out arenas in Dublin, London, and Amsterdam, among others.
Fans who purchased the exclusive Mick Fleetwood VIP package were treated to a special backstage meeting with the flamboyant Fleetwood Mac drummer.
4. Stevie performs with Lady Antebellum on CMT Crossroads
In January, Stevie teamed up with country trio Lady Antebellum at Sony Pictures Studios to tape CMT Crossroads. Entertainment Weekly called the matchup “flawless,” as the pair swapped songs and added their own unique touches. The performance debuted on the CMT network on Friday, September 13.
Set List
- Love Don’t Live Here
- Need You Now
- Golden
- Cold as Stone
- Just a Kiss
- Downtown
- Gold Dust Woman (video shown below)
- Landslide
- Edge of Seventeen
- Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
- Rhiannon
5. Stevie meets fans in person, signs copies of her documentary In Your Dreams DVD
On December 4, Stevie offered fans the meeting of a lifetime when she attended a special Barnes and Noble signing event at The Grove in Los Angeles, to promote the December 3rd DVD release of her documentary In Your Dreams. Decked out in trademark black chiffon, Stevie greeted fans and signed copies of her In Your Dreams DVD and CD. Hundreds of devoted fans attended the event, some of which live tweeted their reactions and pictures from the event. Stevie’s longtime backup singer Sharon Celani was also present at the special event and posed for pictures and graciously signed autographs for fans as well.
On December 18, Stevie’s management posted video highlights from the special event on YouTube. In the video, fans thanked Stevie for her music and being an inspiration to them.
Official Highlights Video
Stevie’s Entrance
6. Lindsey Buckingham ‘Talks Music’ on Sky Arts One
On November 11, Lindsey Buckingham appeared on the UK-based Sky One Arts music program Talks Music, hosted by Malcolm Gerrie. Lindsey talked about his early years with Stevie Nicks, music career with Fleetwood Mac, and finding personal expression in his solo work. The musical highlight of the program was an acoustic performance of “Big Love.” Lindsey said that his greatest life achievement were his children, a tender moment revealing that the notoriously temperamental man has somewhat softened over the years.
7. Stevie tapes cameo appearance for American Horror Story: Coven
Reviving old witch rumors, American Horror Story: Coven co-creator Ryan Murphy featured Stevie’s music in Season 3 of FX’s hit witch series. He then took it a step further by inviting Stevie to act and sing in an upcoming episode. Stevie was initially reluctant to take part in the show about outcast witches, but later changed her mind. Stevie arrived in New Orleans on the weekend of November 20 to tape the episode. Impressed with how Stevie performed in the taping, Murphy later tweeted that they might use her again for a second episode. Stevie’s appearance on the show airs on January 8, when Coven returns from the winter break. Click here to see an exclusive recap of all of Stevie’s music featured in American Horror Story: Coven.
8. Warner Bros. Records issues deluxe and expanded editions of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours
Call it excessive, call it gratuitous, but Warner Bros. Records reissued Rumours…again! But this time, it treated collectors to two expanded versions of the Grammy-award winning 1977 megaseller. The deluxe edition included the original album on vinyl and CD, a cleaned-up copy of Michael Collin’s Rumours documentary The Rosebud Film on DVD, and two bonus discs of Rumours outtakes. The pared-down expanded edition included the original album on CD and the two bonus discs of outtakes.
9. Stevie promotes Sound City, joins the ‘Players’ for three shows
Stevie started the year off by promoting Dave Grohl’s documentary Sound City, for which she wrote a new song called “You Can’t Fix This.” She joined the Sound City Players for promotional gigs at Park City Live in Salt Lake City (Jan 18), Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles (Jan 31), and the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York (Feb 13). Stevie performed a short 30-minute set list, which consisted of “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” “You Can’t Fix This,” “Dreams,” “Landslide,” and “Gold Dust Woman.” The whirlwind promotion culminated with Stevie performing “You Can’t Fix This” with the Sound City Players on The Late Show with Dave Letterman on February 14.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iPCK-HjaDQ
10. Oprah Winfrey’s Master Class with Stevie Nicks premieres on the OWN Network
In March, Stevie bared her soul to Oprah Winfrey, giving a candid interview about the death of her mom and best friend Robin Anderson on Oprah’s documentary series Master Class. Stevie also talked about her early life and career with Lindsey Buckingham. The best part of the hour-long documentary (which contained roughly 40 minutes of actual footage) was the abundance of rare archival footage, digitally restored for the program. Watch the entire episode below.
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