FEATURE:
Dreams and Rumours
IN THIS PHOTO: The ‘new look’ Fleetwood Mac (including Mike Campbell (far left) and Neil Finn (third from the left)/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
Will Fleetwood Mac Ever Play Glastonbury?
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THIS year had lots of speculated acts…
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
primed to play Glastonbury. To be fair, The Cure were odds-on favourites to get a headline slot and they have one. It is an understandable booking as they have a big fanbase and there are many who want to see them perform. I am a bit surprised the likes of Fleetwood Mac missed out because, again, they were favourites with the bookies. Next year is the fiftieth anniversary of Glastonbury and there will be some huge acts planned, that is for sure. In terms of headliners, one feels the organisers will omit newer acts and go for legends. One feels having the very biggest and best on the bill is the only fitting tribute to such a great festival. Fleetwood Mac have always been circulating and hovering near the top of the pile regarding the ‘must-book’ acts. I am not sure why they have not been invited but, in the past couple of days, there are indications Fleetwood Mac might yet rock Glastonbury. Fleetwood Mac are touring at the moment and, with Lindsey Buckingham out and Mike Campbell and Neil Finn in, the band are still having loads of fun. This review from The Independent shows the band have no intention of slowing down:
“It’s unbelievable that we’re all still doing this,” announces Mick Fleetwood from behind his vast drum set onstage at Wembley Stadium. The “all” isn’t quite accurate – for one thing, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham was unceremoniously ousted from the band last year, reportedly after smirking at Stevie Nicks – but he has a point nonetheless. Fleetwood Mac have come to the brink of self-destruction more times than there are people in this enormous stadium.
Fifty-one years after the band first formed (though Mick Fleetwood and John McVie are the only founding members remaining), this is “the 61st show of a long trip we’ve been on since September”, announces Stevie Nicks. She says so with just a hint of weariness – the energy, at first, is a little fatigued, the first few songs sung seemingly by rote. But things take a turn by the time “Second Hand News” comes around, taken from their seminal 1977 album Rumours, which was recorded when the band were tied up in romantic knots and barely speaking to each other. Nicks, an occult leader all in black, suddenly clicks into gear, air drumming along to Fleetwood’s hugely impressive percussion”.
I am a huge fan of Fleetwood Mac and it is great that they are still together. Even though Buckingham is not in the fold anymore, the rest of the ‘original’ band – Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks; John and Christine McVie – are bonded and they seem as strong as ever. It is testament to the strength and connection they have (that) the music keeps flowing and they can still pack venues. So, then…does this mean that Glastonbury is on their to-do list? There have been mutterings and rumours for years and, whilst they have not yet played the iconic festival, there is every chance 2020 might be their year. NME, in this article, explains how the band are dropping some pretty big hints:
“The rock icons dropped hints during their huge show at London’s Wembley Stadium last night, with drummer Mick Fleetwood offering some not-so-subtle clues.
According to fans in attendance at the show, Fleetwood told the crowd that the band still “had a big field to play”. Other Twitter accounts added that Fleetwood made reference to “a rained out festival in England next year”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Stevie Nicks/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
While any performance from the band is yet to be confirmed, it would see them taking top billing at the festival’s 50th anniversary – with previous reports claiming that Paul McCartney could headline the iconic festival too.
Fleetwood Mac, meanwhile, recently admitted that they would “burn in hell” if they didn’t get the chance to headline Glastonbury.
“Of course, we’ve been asked to play and it’s never worked out,” Mick Fleetwood told The Independent.
I think the legend of Glastonbury and Fleetwood Mac will come true. “I think I’ll burn in hell if we don’t do it one day”.
There are some huge names that I would love to see at Glastonbury that would make for biblical headliners. There were also rumours Paul McCartney was headlining this year so, in 2020, will we see both Fleetwood Mac AND Paul McCartney?! That would be an unbeatable combo but, with a band like Fleetwood Mac, you never quite know what you’re going to get! There are scores of articles online that suggest that, yes, Fleetwood Mac are set to play Glastonbury 2020. This is speculation right now but I see no reason why it couldn’t happen. To start with, the band are touring extensively and there is a solid connection in the ranks. If you had to list the artists that would create a perfect Glastonbury headline set, surely Fleetwood Mac would be near the very top?! Of course, this is all a year away so things can change.
IN THIS PHOTO: Lindsey Buckingham/PHOTO CREDIT: Winslow Townson/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock
There is this question around Glastonbury with Lindsey Buckingham and one without. There are many who feel a Buckingham-less Fleetwood Mac is strange and wrong – considering many of their best-know hits were written by him and from his perspective (can one realistically swallow Go Your Own Way sung by anyone else…or not at all?!). It does seem like bridges have been burned and there is no way back. This article, from early in the year, explains in more depth:
“In an exclusive interview with MOJO magazine, Christine McVie has now said there was “no way” Fleetwood Mac could continue with Buckingham still in the band.
Speaking before Buckingham underwent emergency open heart surgery in February, McVie said of his departure: “It was the only route we could take, because there was just too much animosity between certain members of the band at that point, and there was just no way it could’ve gone on as a five piece, a group with Lindsey in the band. So, it was either just completely break up the band, or try and make the best of it.”
McVie, who released the ‘Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie’ collaborative album in 2017, added: “It was a really bad time. I had really no bones to pick with Lindsey, I loved working with him, but I did see the point, and I did see what the problem was.
“And you know, we’re a democracy, and we had to kind of make the best of a bad job, really. As it turns out, what we have now is better than what we ever had before, I believe.”
Mick Fleetwood commented to MOJO: “We were not happy and I can use the ‘we’ word. It is no secret that Lindsey and Stevie are in a continuum Liz Taylor/Richard Burton type of life, and it went in and out of valleys and mountaintops and God knows what through the years – and that support really could not be given to ask the situation to continue. It was too challenging.”
Refusing to call Buckingham’s exit a ‘firing’, Fleetwood added: “The truth is, call it what you want, a ‘parting of company’ took place, and it had to take place, and it was supported by the remaining band members around something that for sure was a major problem to two people – which was Lindsey and Stevie”.
I, myself, think that Fleetwood Mac should include Buckingham but it seems like that possibility is slim. Although this might be Fleetwood Mac hyping things up and creating a bit of buzz, I do feel like Michael and Emily Eavis have to consider them for next year! Next year will be a perfect time because the band have their new line-up and you wouldn’t bet again them having an album out by that time, too. Maybe it is a dream that will never be realised or rumours (I shall dispense with the song-based puns!) but, with excitement building the press salivating, 2020 has to be the year…
FLEETWOOD Mac play Glastonbury!