All The Rumours Are TRUE!
Wow. What a performance and what an unbelievable show!
People had told me previously about this tribute band and to be fair, tributes really aren’t my thing however, this was something else and now i’m a tribute convert…well, for this band anyway.
Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, the world’s finest tribute to Fleetwood Mac, commenced its UK tour recently celebrating the very best music of Fleetwood Mac. This amazing concert channelled the spirit of their idols from the moment Mick Fleetword appeared in a film reel endorsing the band at the start of their concert. Allan Cosgrove (aka COS) the co- promotor and drummer in the band has previously quoted that ‘Fleetwood Mac don’t need Rumours of Fleetwood Mac to raise the profile of their music.’ I would totally disagree with this. Yes, the tracks and Fleetwood Macs however, they have become lost in the music history abyss yet, are being played again and made relevant by Rumours to a whole new audience, young and old. With 64 sell out dates in the UK, Rumours are reigniting the country’s passion for songs that really no longer get radio airplay unless on a nostalgic channel. Ever since going to the concert, Fleetwood Mac songs have been played by my husband and I to our daughters via ALexa around our house and during parties over Easter without any protest. I was even surprised that my daughters knew most of the lyrics and announced their music cool and sassy! Especially my youngest daughter (19) who found it uber cool that her idol, Harry Styles regularly invites Stevie Nicks to join him on stage to sing The Chain. Harry has since gone on to record this duet which appears on his new album.
Rumours of Fleetwood Mac consists of: Allan Cosgrove – drums, James Harrison -guitar and vocals, Dave Goldberg – keys and vocals, Ettine Gerard -Bass, Scott Poley – guitar and vocal, Sophie Worsley – keys and vocals and Jess Harwood – lead vocals.They each had the mannerisms of the original band members. Sophie Worsley channelled Christine McVie whereas Jess Harwood channelled the spirit of Stevie Nicks. They were both cool, sassy and riveting to watch due to their unbridled talent. Sophie in particular, oozed and recreated the charm and sex appeal of Christine however with her own slant. She strutted, posed and danced around behind her keys making her captivating to watch and listen to.
Rumours addressed with tinged sadness the loss of Christine McVie, through Sophie Worsley and through narrations of the meaning behind some of her lyrics. This didn’t detract or put a downward spin on the night in fact, due to the backdrop of images constantly beamed on a large graphic screen behind the band, it transported you back to happy periods in both their lives and the audiences’.
If you want to recreate the magic of Fleetwood Mac and celebrate the legacy of their music then I strongly implore you to buy tickets for one of their remaining shows as it will be an unbelievably, unforgettable, wonderful night. Tickets for all shows are on-sale now here.
Set List:
Big Love, Dreams, Warm Ways, Caroline, Tango In The Night, Hold Me, The Chain, When I see You, Again, Say You Love Me, Bleed To Love Her, Gold Dust Woman, Silver Springs, Rattlesnake Shake, Green Manalishi, Albatross, Oh Well, /over My Head, Gysy, You Make Lovin Fun, Family Man, Landslide, Little Lies, Go Your Own Way, Everywhere, Don’t Stop.
Encore:
Songbird, Rhiannon, Tusk.
Allan Cosgrove kindly also took the time to answers questions for an interview with The Broken Spine.
BSA: You obviously hold Fleetwood Mac close to your hearts – of all the iconic bands, what is that you like about Fleetwood Mac the most?
AC: The great thing about Fleetwood Mac is that there are so many different genres within the one band. Also they have over 50 years of great classic hits. If you think about the line-up, you have the great Christine McVie who sadly has left us just recently – she was one of the big pop writers and the heartbeat of Fleetwood Mac – then you have Stevie Nicks who was a country and rock artist with a very distinctive voice. Lindsey Buckingham was the guy who used to stitch all this great music together in the studio. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie are seen as the greatest rhythm section in rock and roll history. Peter Green started the band playing blues. There is so much versatility within the band.
BSA: You are all clearly very talented musicians, why did you decide to form a tribute band rather than launch yourselves as a band in your right onto the music scene?
AC: Rumours of Fleetwood Mac are made up of original musicians first and foremost. I am the founder member and started the show 25 years ago. I did so because I had a career as a session musician behind lots of different artists. It was only really when Fleetwood Mac disappeared off the landscape I went back and listened to the great albums. The musicians on stage are highly talented, they all understand the magic and the relevance of Fleetwood Mac. We are all a bunch of Fleetwood Mac fans – we perform around 120 shows per year with Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, but the band also all have their own careers and own music outside of that.
BSA:Who, other than Fleetwood Mac, are your musical influences and why?
AC: I’m now 63 and from Liverpool so our house was full of Beatles music. We used to play all the Merseybeat bands – the Swinging Blue Jeans, The Merseybeats etc, so I was really brought up on that. Around 1970 I did hear Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, which was blues, and I was totally amazed by it. Mick Fleetwood is certainly one of my influences. He is a fantastic spiritual drummer, a great understanding of rhythm and his own style which I’m forever trying to emulate. I do my best to capture the spirit of his playing but there is only one Mick Fleetwood. In the ‘80s I switched to listen to a lot of American rock such as Toto and Michael McDonald. I’ve got a good wide range of influences
BSA: What is your rider before gigs?
AC:Yorkshire Tea! One of the things we understand on this show is that we are paying homage to Fleetwood Mac – this is not our music. The audiences come and enjoy what we do but really it’s about Fleetwood Mac’s music. So no big rider here, although our keyboard player Dave loves Wagon Wheels. Just good biscuits and tea and a glass of Malbec at the end of the show
BSA:What is the weirdest and, alternatively, the most thoughtful gift you have received either before or after a concert?
AC: When we go to America we get some weird and wonderful gifts, especially based around mystical and spiritual figurines. We get T-shirts, hats, teddy bears. It’s really great to get lovely gifts.
BSA: Dead or alive, who would be your ‘fantasy band’?
AC: If we put a band together, wow, I’d have to put one of my favourite drummers, Keith Moon, then John Lennon, Flea as the bass player. All my heroes I’d put in one band.
BSA: How will you address and pay tribute to the late Christine McVie on this new UK tour?
AC: I’m glad you’ve asked this. His tour is tinged with a bit of sadness because it was a shock to every Fleetwood Mac fan that Christine left us not so long ago. As soon as that happened we were formulating the set-list and we all said that this new UK tour just has to be for Christine. She was the beating heart of Fleetwood Mac musically and spiritually. It’s exciting for this tour that there are lots of songs Christine left us with. We’re having a great time playing Christine McVie songs, maybe ones which we haven’t played previously, or that the global audience haven’t heard for a while. Sophie, our keyboard player who performs the songs of Christine, is doing great. At the end she sings Songbird and it’s very emotional. We will be forever grateful to Christine as Fleetwood Mac fans.
Photo Credit: Ed Fielding
