that kind of sound any more. Punk rock,
which was about to break in the UK,
provided a perfect example of this, when
virtually overnight, courtesy of the Sex
Pistols, a whole genre of ballad-writing,
folky, bluesy artists found themselves to
be classed miserably as last week’s news.
The key aspect to Fleetwood
Mac’s appeal was that their songs had
intelligence, a maturity of content and
a style that reflected the values and
lifestyle of their audience. This is why,
when all the hype had died down and
the record executives had lost interest,
the album continued to get airplay on
a diverse range of stations in America,
and therefore managed to stay in the US
Top 10 for well over a year. Meanwhile,
back in the UK, it was the same seesaw
sales conundrum, with the band
struggling to make headway in either
the singles or album charts. It must
have been a depressing situation for the
Brits in the band, but Mick Fleetwood
was characteristically forthright in his
summation of it all recognising, ‘We
were primarily interested in getting out
of England altogether. The band wasn’t
working in England. At that point we
were playing more and more over here,
the States. Also, I thought England was
very grey and full of depressed people.
We just got out.’
The huge sales figures generated by the
Fleetwood Mac album went way beyond
the band’s expectations. They had always
sold comfortable amounts, but had not
yet ascended to platinum status. ‘We’ve
always kept a low profile,’ John McVie
explained, ‘away from hype. That’s theway we are. We never wanted to be
viewed or reported as the biggest thing
since sliced bread. Me, Chris and Mick
have been working together for a long
time. We’ve eaten every day and always
had money for smokes. I’m proud we
pushed ahead. The success now makes
some justification for the efforts of the
pa st.’
Following on from the band’s album
success, Warner Brothers decided to go
ahead and release one of the songs as a
single. Christine’s Over My Head was
put out and made an immediate impact,
which further broadened the band’s fan
base in America.
This was their first chart-topper in
the singles market since Peter Green’s
offerings in the late sixties. This says
a lot about how the way record labels
used to look after their artists. Today,
if an act doesn’t have a steady stream of
chart topping singles, or at least a huge
blockbuster album, it’s likely they will
find their contract expires and won’t
be renewed. Back in the sixties and
seventies, the music industry took a
longer-term view and nurtured talent,
and naturally, having produced such a
fine album, the time came to take it out
on the road.
Until this point, a pattern had been
emerging now of how Fleetwood Mac
operated: get a new line-up of musicians
together, record an album, release a
single, go on tour, go crazy, lose a band
member or two, get a new line-up,
record an album, and repeat. So it was
surprising that Fleetwood Mac survived
the tour of 1975 with no casualties.
Buckingham and Nicks were keen to
prove their worth, so they didn’t mind
roughing it from time to time with all
the rigours of being on the road. Nicks
has since recalled the tour reminiscing,
‘There were no limousines and Christine
slept on top of the amps in the back of
the truck. We just played everywhere
and we sold that record. We kicked that
album in the ass.’
Meanwhile, the old hands were intent
on showing the newcomers just what a
professional outfit they were. The result
was a stupendous tour with a fresh sound
and image for the band. This irresistible
combination went down a storm with
the existing fans and won the band even
more new followers. The tired and worn-
out blues numbers were abandoned to
the Fleetwood Mac back catalogue while
the bright, tight, West Coast production
and delivery of rock and pop ballads had
fans filling the aisles. Any doubts the
long-term blues devotees had regardingStevie Nicks in 1979.