Latest news with #FleetwoodMac
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
They wanna be with you everywhere: why Fleetwood Mac are still totally ubiquitous
A time traveller from 50 years ago might be surprised if they were to visit the UK now – not so much by the echoes of the politics, with an embattled Labour government and a resurgent far right, but by the prevalence of Fleetwood Mac. The Broadway hit Stereophonic, written by David Adjmi, opened in the West End this week after becoming the most nominated play in Tony award history (it ended up winning five out of 13, including best play). It invites theatregoers to journey back to 1976 and 'plug into the electric atmosphere as one up-and-coming rock band record the album that could propel them to superstardom. Amid a powder keg of drugs, booze and jealousy, songs come together and relationships fall apart.' If that sounds remarkably similar to the story of how Fleetwood Mac recorded Rumours, then that's exactly what the album's producer Ken Caillat thought: he sued the producers for the play's similarity to his memoir, settling out of court earlier this year, though Adjmi has always denied his play is purely about Fleetwood Mac, regardless of the many parallels. But Stereophonic is just the tip of the Mac iceberg that has come into view in recent years. Novel readers and TV viewers have enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six, which also used the Fleetwood Mac template as the basis for its story. Their smooth, adult-oriented rock sound also permeated music throughout the last decade, present in records by artists such as Sharon Van Etten, Julien Baker, the Weather Station and more. If you want a dancier version of the band, you can go to the club night Fleetmac Wood, playing beefed-up remixes. And Mac themselves are as popular as ever: in last week's album chart, the compilation 50 Years – Don't Stop sat at No 6 (after 340 weeks on the chart), while Rumours is at No 22 (after 1098 weeks on the chart). Nearly half a century on from Rumours' release, Fleetwood Mac are still very big business. Partly that's down to the continued resonance of the story of the album: two couples tearing themselves apart and committing their feelings to tape. (It is perhaps not a coincidence that Abba, another 70s band whose troubled relationships were set to lush pop, are also undimmingly popular.) But it's also down to the music: Rumours still sounds like a treat when you play it. 'I think Dreams in particular feels very modern sonically,' says Tamara Lindeman, the Canadian musician who records as the Weather Station. 'The naked kick/snare/bass line; the way that there almost no instruments inhabiting the mid-range, just a voice; the really tight short reverb; the super short and compressed drums.' 'That's really modern, and sonically resembles a lot of R&B and hip-hop in a way – it's similar in how that modern music inhabits those frequency ranges. Also I would say Stevie Nicks' internal sense of rhythm feels so modern – the way she hangs around the beat, often a little behind and kinda swung. It's not like how other singers of the time sang.' Dreams had a flush of viral fame after being mimed to by cranberry-juice swigging skateboarder Dogg Face on TikTok in 2020, and those who attended Fleetwood Mac shows during this century have noticed a change in the band's audience. Twenty years ago, their live crowd had been predominantly ageing couples, but by the time they played what turned out to be their final London shows at Wembley Stadium in 2019, the presence of a great many young women was startling. For Lindeman, that development came as no surprise. 'Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie both wrote incredible hits. In a lot of ways it was a band led by women – two really powerful voices and writers. For me in particular the songs by Nicks and McVie are the ones that resonate and last – those are the ones you think of when you think of Fleetwood Mac, more than Lindsey Buckingham's hits. Of course young women are showing up.' Nicks, whose failing relationship with singer/guitarist Buckingham was one of the themes of Rumours, has become a particular hero in recent years. 'She does that thing of writing personally and vulnerably about her experiences, but with this strength that comes through anyway – it's totally vulnerable but she stays tough, like a superhero of the heart,' Lindeman says. There are more prosaic reasons for Fleetwood Mac's continued presence in the culture though, not least the appetite for work they displayed during the first 20 years of this century. While most veteran superstar bands begin to ration their appearances as time passes, Fleetwood Mac stayed on the road for months on end, keeping their name alive. Not for them the handful of stadium shows in major markets: their touring schedules show their willingness to work. Nor did they complicate their message by releasing new music: the focus was always firmly on the past. It has paid off. Now, two and a half years on from the death of Christine McVie and the final passing of the group (for now: drummer and founder Mick Fleetwood would be open to a new iteration), Fleetwood Mac are the hippest old people in music.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Fleetwood Mac Reaches A New Career Peak With A Decades-Old Classic
Rumours made music history when Fleetwood Mac released the collection back in 1977. The pop-rock effort was heralded as a critical triumph at the time, as well as a commercial juggernaut, and it is now regarded as one of the greatest albums ever. In the decades since it dropped, the project has remained a behemoth — one that has enjoyed a second life once the music industry shifted from pure purchases to streaming platforms. Rumours and its many hit singles began performing well across all consumption metrics, as Americans keep buying the set in addition to listening to it on streaming sites. As the beloved title approaches its half-century birthday, it is still climbing to new highs on the Billboard rankings in the U.S. This week, Rumours appears on half a dozen Billboard charts dedicated to full-lengths and EPs. Its performance is mixed, and it only manages to climb on one of them – but on that roster, the set soars to a new all-time peak. On that one list, Rumours jumps from No. 35 to No. 30 on the Top Streaming Albums ranking, which focuses exclusively on the projects that rack up the most plays on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and others. Fleetwood Mac has only sent one set to the Top Streaming Albums chart, so every time Rumours hits a new peak, the band does as well. The full-length pushes to its never-before-seen high point 34 frames into its time on the tally. Rumours is largely holding steady in the U.S., even as it climbs on the Top Streaming Albums ranking. This frame, it continues to appear on the Billboard 200, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, and Top Rock Albums lists, not budging an inch on any of them. At the same time, it declines — but only slightly — on both the Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums charts. While Rumours has only spent a few months on the Top Streaming Albums chart, it has racked up years on every other list on which it appears. Fleetwood Mac's collection has spent the most time on the Billboard 200, where it's up to 634 stays. It has already passed more than 400 frames on all of the other rosters.
Time Out
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The 10 best new London theatre openings in June 2025
If you want to look for unifying trend in June 2025 London theatre, then it's very much about classic shows being brought back: last year's Fiddler on the Roof, 2019's A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2011's London Road and most remarkably still, a sort of (it's complicated) reprise for the original 2000 production of Sarah Kane's posthumous masterpiece 4.48 Psychosis. On the other hand, there's more to the month than old stuff and for many the real treat will be a first chance to see a couple of big shiny American shows: David Adjmi's wildly acclaimed Fleetwood Mac (sort of) drama Stereophonic, and the latest massive Disney musical Hercules, which makes its English language premiere at Theatre Royal Drury Lane this month. The best London theatre openings in June 2025 1. Stereophonic US playwright David Adjmi's drama – with songs by erstwhile Arcade Fire man Will Butler – comes to the West End as the most Tony-nominated play of all time. It's still pretty bold of producer Sonia Friedman to plonk a three-hour play with no famous people in it directly into the West End, although the subject matter should serve as enticement: Stereophonic is a fictionalised account of the legendarily fraught recording sessions for Fleetwood Mac's landmark album Rumours. Duke of York's Theatre, now until Sep 20. Buy tickets here. 2. 4.48 Psychosis To state this straight away, 4.48 Psychosis is totally sold out already: the only day you're getting in is on a Monday when all 90 tickets to the Royal Court's tiny Upstairs space go on sale on the day itself. Sarah Kane's final play, 4.48 Psychosis is a sort of generically unclassifiable freeform poem – which some have referred to as a 'suicide note' – that was originally staged at the Royal Court a couple of years after her death. This unusual production reunites the entire original team behind James Macdonald's production, including a cast that includes current RSC boss Daniel Evans. It's not as simple as restaging the original show: the idea seems to be to come up with a new production that saves the original from the darkness. Royal Court Theatre, Jun 12-Jul 5. 3. London Road Although it actually dates back to the Nicholas Hytner era, Alecky Blythe and Adam Cork's London Road was clearly the best thing just departed NT boss Rufus Norris directed for the theatre. So it was great that he brought the visionary verbatim musical about an Ipswich community's reaction to the Suffolk Strangler killings back for his final season. But there won't be much coverage this time, due to the media blackout around Steven Wright's latest trial causing the NT to decide to pull press night. Which seems a bit excessive (Wright isn't even a character in it) but hey ho – it's one of the most remarkable shows of our time and you really should see it. National Theatre, Olivier, Jun 6-21. Buy tickets here. 4. A Midsummer Night's Dream In a very big month for returning shows, here comes a welcome second crack at Nicholas Hytner's sublime 2019 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. There is some fun genderfluid stuff at work here, with many of the lines for fairy king and queen Oberon and Titania swapped over. But really it's about bagging the standing tickets and getting swept up in a joyous production that ends up as full-on dance party. JJ Feild and Susannah Fielding lead the cast. Bridge Theatre, May 31-Aug 23. Buy tickets here. 5. Hercules If the recent live action screen version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves taught us anything, it's that even the biggest of Disney's old hits aren't necessarily suited to a 2025 makeover. Conversely, a big glossy musical version of 1997's Hercules makes perfect sense: the film wasn't a big hit for Disney but was well-regarded, is relatively contemporary, and a musical is a fine opportunity to bring it to a wider audience. In addition the Greek mythology setting is a great opportunity to go nuts with the special effects and means everyone kind of knows the story already. Theatre Royal Drury Lane, booking Jun 6-Jan 10 2026. Buy tickets here. 6. Fiddler on the Roof Jordan Fein's production of Bock & Stein's immortal musical set in the last days of the shtetl was a massive hit at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre last summer and subsequently won three awards at this year's Oliviers. Now it's back for an indoor stint at the Barbican and what a treat it'll be to have this excellent production back again. It perfectly mixes joy in the classic songs with a deft awareness of the unsettling undercurrents to the story. Barbican Centre, now until Jul 19. Buy tickets here. 7. A Moon for the Misbegotten The Almeida's in-house hard-hitter Rebecca Frecknall turns her sights on Eugene O'Neill for the first time, directing Michael Shannon and Ruth Wilson in O'Neill's sort of sequel to the monumental Long Day's Journey Into Night. US star Shannon is a particularly intriguing piece of casting because he played the role of the alcoholic James Tyrone Jr in a 2016 Broadway production of Long Day's Journey, making him possibly the first actor in history to have played James in both shows. Almeida Theatre, Jun 18-Aug 16. 8. Intimate Apparel Lynette Linton has directed phenomenal productions of Lynn Nottage plays for each of the previous two Donmar artistic directors, and now she makes her Timothy Sheader-era debut with a third. Where Sweat and Clyde's were UK premieres, this will be the first revival of the excellent Intimate Apparel, which will this time feature US star Samira Wiley as Easther, a Black seamstress in early twentieth century New York. She dreams of finding a man and saving up enough money to open her own Black beauty parlour – but that might be easier said than done. Donmar Warehouse, Jun 20-Aug 9. 9. Showmanism Hampstead Theatre has been on a mercurial course since its last artistic director Roxana Silbert quit in 2022 (after the theatre lost its Arts Council funding). Undoubtedly the highlight of the new era to date was lip sync performance artist Dickie Beau's deeply moving Re-Member Me, a light hearted tribute to Shakespeare's Hamlet that became ever more powerful as it unexpectedly changed shape. So what a treat to have him back with Showmanism, his attempt to trace a complete history of the stage, from Greek tragedy to nightclub queens. As with its predecessor, expect it to start funny and get intense. Hampstead Theatre, Jun 18-Jul 12. Buy tickets here. 10. North By Northwest North Londoners can enjoy a quick London stop for the latest from British theatre's whimsical genius Emma Rice, as her adaptation of Hitchcock's North By Northwest calls in at Ally Pally for a couple of weeks. Yes, it seems fairly nuts to adapt his kinetic spy thriller about a man who finds himself thrust into a vast, country-spanning conspiracy after a mix up at a restaurant. But you could say that about almost everything Rice has ever adapted. Alexandra Palace Theatre, Jun 11-22.
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
A Welcome Dose of Nostalgia
Joseph Epstein seldom misses the mark, but his counsel to 'Ask Your Doctor About the Mute Button' (op-ed, May 20) to avoid health-related TV ads seems misguided. Prescription drug commercials are a musical trip down memory lane. The Jackson Five's 'ABC' repurposed to sell Trelegy, Fleetwood Mac's 'Go Your Own Way' touting greater independence for COPD patients using Anoro, Pilot's song 'Magic' urging us to believe in 'Oh Oh Oh Ozempic,' War's 'Low Rider' describing how macular degeneration is slowed by Izervay. Pop music purists may object, but it makes a little money for the aging artists—or whoever they've sold their song catalog to—and you can always download the original later. My two cents: Don't mute the ads; sing along.
UPI
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Famous birthdays for May 26: Lauryn Hill, Helena Bonham Carter
May 26 (UPI) -- Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include: -- Pope Clement VII in 1478 -- Dancer Isadora Duncan in 1877 -- Photographer Dorothea Lange in 1895 -- Actor John Wayne in 1907 -- Actor Jay Silverheels in 1912 -- Actor Peter Cushing in 1913 -- Musician Peggy Lee in 1920 -- Actor James Arness in 1923 -- Musician Miles Davis in 1926 File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI -- Right-to-die advocate Jack Kevorkian in 1928 -- Sportscaster Brent Musburger in 1939 (age 86) -- Musician Garry Peterson (Guess Who) in 1945 (age 80) -- Musician Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) in 1948 (age 77) -- Musician Hank Williams Jr. in 1949 (age 76) -- Actor Pam Grier in 1949 (age 76) File Photo by Gabriele Holtermann/UPI -- Actor Philip Michael Thomas in 1949 (age 76) -- Astronaut Sally Ride in 1951 -- Actor Doug Hutchison in 1960 (age 65) -- Actor Genie Francis in 1962 (age 63) -- Actor Bobcat Goldthwait in 1962 (age 63) -- Musician Lenny Kravitz in 1964 (age 61) -- Actor Helena Bonham Carter in 1966 (age 59) File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI -- Musician Jonny "2 Bags" Wickersham (Social Distortion) in 1967 (age 58) -- Musician Kristen Pfaff (Hole) in 1967 (age 58) -- Danish King Frederik X in 1968 (age 57) -- Musician Phillip Rhodes (Gin Blossoms) in 1968 (age 57) -- Filmmaker Hwang Dong-hyuk in 1971 (age 54) -- Filmmaker/actor Matt Stone in 1971 (age 54) -- Musician Lauryn Hill (Fugees) in 1975 (age 50) -- Actor Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey in 1986 (age 39) -- Musician Yeji (Itzy) in 2000 (age 25) -- Musician Kyujin (Nmixx) in 2006 (age 19)
