Rumours of Fleetwood Mac @ Darlington Civic

Anyone who loves music from the past 40 years will have no doubt enjoyed at least a handful of Fleetwood Mac's songs; from their first hit Albatross right through to the 80's smashes Big Love and Little Lies. Likewise their albums have always managed to deliver on every occasion but the history books will show that it was their eponymous 'Rumours' album that does, and will continue to, stand the test of time as a true classic.  

The songs are masterpieces in their own right but when the story surrounding the band (the in-fighting, love triangles and months of silence) are added there is more than a frisson of extra edge and pathos to the words.  Rumours, and the original live tour to accompany the album, was used by some band members to sarcastically remind others of their infidelities, betrayal and disdain.  I can't see the current crop of 'pop stars' ever having the mastery of English to be able to write such cutting sentiment into such catchy songs.

The show is, in effect, split into 3 parts (although there is only 1 interval); part one is a complete rendition of the Rumours album culminating in a spine tingling rendition of 'The Chain'.  Part two, straight after the break, allows the boys to take the stage and treat us to the more psychedelic repertoire of late 60's prog rock including a jaw dropping version of 'Rattlesnake Shake'. Then part three welcomes the girls back for a final foray into the more recent catalogue, ending with an almost tribal immersion in 'Tusk'.

The musical prowess of all on stage is simply mesmerising whilst the vocals and  harmonies are pitch perfect to the originals.  Louise Rogan as Stevie Nicks delivers sheer power and presence which defies the laws of physics from such a small frame while Amanda Kostadinov is as sultry and seductive as Christine McVie has ever been.  Alan Hughes takes the Lyndsey Buckingham role with the perfect blend of amazing guitar and punchy vocals backed by James Harrison on iconic basslines (he stole the first half with The Chain's middle refrain).  Ben Hughes, a mere baby compared to the rest of the cast brings a real blues feel to his guitar playing and is the perfect foil to the wonderful trance-inducing keyboards of the legendary Mr Dave Goldberg (whose performance is a great reason to have him age-tested - no way did someone so active & sprightly play keyboards on Radio 1 in the late 1960's).

If you look in any music press listings you will find many tribute bands covering almost all the big name acts from the 60's and 70's - The Counterfeit Stones, The Bootleg Beatles, Abbaesque, the Pink Floyd Experience but I challenge any of them to be as good as Rumours; in fact I will go so far as to say they would rival the original Fleetwood Mac if someone could ever get them on the same stage.