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With VRBoCare, help is always ready before, during and after your stay. We've planned for the plot twists, so support is always available because a great trip starts with Peace of Mind.
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It's April 2, 1977, at the Odeon, a concert hall in Birmingham, England. 34 year old Christina McVie parts the heavy stage curtain just enough to peek out at the packed auditorium. She's pleased to see no empty seats because this gig has special meaning for her. After years in America, she's returned to play her hometown with her band, Fleetwood Mac. Birmingham is the latest stop on a world tour to promote the band's new album, Rumors. This album was made in a storm of fierce arguments and barely controlled chaos, and it may be the band's last. But if it does mark an end to the group, Christine wants it to go out on a high note. She lets the curtain fall and turns down a narrow hallway toward the green room. It's crowded with friends, crew and hangers on half empty glasses sit on every surface and hairspray chokes the air. But Christine's fellow band members sit in the corners, as far from each other as they can manage. Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham's eyes are fixed on his instrument. Bassist Mick Fleetwood finalizes the set list. Singer Stevie Nicks layers mascara on in a mirror, and drummer John McVie and Christine's ex husband nurses a can of beer. Christine lowers herself into an armchair next to Stephie. The two exchange a knowing look. It's going to be another exhausting night. But before Christine can say another word, the dressing room door bursts open and a member of the band's management pushes in. A call has just come in from the United States. Rumors has reached number one. Suddenly the room transforms as friends cheer. Someone pulls out a bottle of champagne and fires the cork into the air. Even the estranged band members shake hands and embrace their feuds momentarily forgotten. Then a stagehand comes by with a message the band's needed on stage. It's showtime. Three months after its release, Fleetwood Max Rumors now sits at the top of the Billboard 200. It'll reach the same mark in the United Kingdom and countless other countries around the world, and it will stay at the top of the charts for months to come. It's an extraordinary success in more ways than one, thanks to the band's infinding. One of the best selling albums of all time almost never saw the light of day, let alone reach the top of the billboard charts on April 2, 1977. From Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsey Graham and this is history. Daily. History is made every day on this podcast. Every day we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is April 2nd, 1977. Fleetwood Max Rumors tops the charts It's December 1974 at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, California, two years before Rumors reaches number one. Inside the control room of Studio A, 27 year old Mick Fleetwood leans against some audio equipment and listens as a demo plays. The guitarist on the tape is competent but nothing special. He shakes his head because he can tell this isn't what he's looking for. The band Fleetwood Mac is now seven years old. It was formed in London by guitarist Peter Green and named after its drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and bassist John McVie. The band's debut album peaked at number four in the UK in 1968. Playing the blues, the group built a small but devoted following, but the original lineup never held. Peter Green left the band in 1970 after struggling with drug and mental health problems. A sequence of new guitarists then cycled in and out, and by 1974 there were just three members who remained from the early days. Mick Fleetwood on drums, John McVie on bass, and John's wife Christine McVie on keyboards and vocals. By then the band had shifted from strict blues toward a softer rock sound, but they decided it was time to reinvent themselves again. They relocated to California in search of a new sound, but just as they arrived, their latest guitarist resigned. Now a man down, Mick must rebuild Fleetwood Mac once again. He picks up the next tape from the pile of demos and slots it into the player. This one's by a duo who were recently dropped by their label after the failure of their debut album. The recording is rough but immediately grabbing. The guitar work is sharp and precise, and the woman singing has a haunting voice that seems to float above the chords. After listening to demos all afternoon, this is the first track that's really caught Mick's attention. He's still listening to the tape when the door to Studio A swings open. A young man with dark hair and a guitar slung over his shoulder steps inside, a broad smile on his face. He says he was recording next door when he heard the tape playing through the walls. He quickly recognized the song because it's one of his own. He holds out his hand and introduces himself as Lindsey Buckingham. Mick and Lindsey shake hands. Lindsey speaks quickly and confidently about arrangement and sound. He talks about precision and control. And Mick is impressed. And a few days later he makes a call inviting Lindsay to be Fleetwood Mac's new guitarist. Lindsey agrees, but but with One, if Mick wants him, he must take his girlfriend too. The woman singing on the demo. Fleetwood Mac has never added two new members at once, never mind two musicians who are a couple. Still, Mick was so impressed by the demo that he agrees. So Lindsey Buckingham is soon joined in Fleetwood Mac by his partner, Stevie Nicks. And in the summer of 1975, the newest iteration of Fleetwood Mac releases a self titled album. It's well received by the critics, and the record climbs steadily up the Billboard 200 until it reaches number one in September 1975. This is a good start, but Mick believes they've only just scratched the surface. Fleetwood Mac can conquer the world. But Chartres success quickly exposes new divisions in the band. After years of touring and working together, the McVie's marriage begins to fall apart. Arguments that once stayed private spill into rehearsals, and in early 1976, the couple separates. But both decide to remain in the band. Though if that didn't make rehearsals and shows awkward enough, Stevie and Lindsey's partnership is in trouble too. They had built their musical identity together as a duo, but now that they're in a band, jealousy and rivalry creep into their relationship. Even drummer Mick's marriage begins to suffer after he discovers his wife is having an affair with a couple close friend. So despite its commercial success, Fleetwood Mac feels like it's on the verge of a breakdown. But the band is tied into a contract. They owe Warner Bros. Another album, and the label wants it as soon as possible. Mick understands the stakes. The band is on the verge of becoming one of the biggest acts in the world, and he can't let everything fall apart now. So in early 1976, he persuades his bandmates to try something new for their next album. A songwriting retreat. For the next several months, they'll live and work together in isolation. It seems a bold move for a band that's often at each other's throats. But Mick hopes that without outside pressures, they'll be able to reconnect over what brought them together in the first place. The music. They rent out the Record Plant studio in Sausalito, a small town north of San Francisco Bay. Eager to take delivery of the next album, Warner Bros. Agrees to cover the cost, and before the month is out, Fleetwood Mac will head to the studio. Five musicians, three collapsing relationships and one contract that binds them together. The results will be explosive and brilliant. It's March 1976 at the Record Plant Studio in Sausalito, California, two years after Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac producer Rich Dash at ducks as John McVie hurls a glass of vodka across the recording space. It shatters against the wall and the sharp smell of alcohol cuts through the cigarette smoke. Richard slowly peers over an amp he's taken refuge behind. John stands near the doorway, jaw tight and breathing heavy. Across the room, drummer Mick Fleetwood has his head in his hands. No one says anything. Instead, the two men silently exit through separate doors behind the glass. In the control room, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie nicks and Christine McVie watch from behind the mixing desk. Richard exhales, stands up and then goes to join them. Richard wasn't supposed to produce Fleetwood Mac's next album. The band fired the studio's in house engineer after just four days of work and persuaded Richard to take over. But every morning when he wakes up, he wonders whether he's made a big mistake. Fleetwood Mac arrived in Sausalito with relations between the five members at an all time low. Christine and John's divorce was a mess. Christine had begun dating the band's lighting director, and Stephie and Lindsay's volatile partnership had gotten even worse. Mick often had to act as mediator, but he resented the role, and besides, he had his own problems at home. So the task before them recording a new album, was the only thing keeping them together. Stephie and Christine rented a house overlooking the bay. The men stayed in another house across town. They only met in the studio, and within days they were barely speaking to each other. And now they only seem to communicate through the lyrics of their songs. But Richard needs to keep the sessions on track. So while Mick and John cool off, Richard suggests that Lindsay take the chance to finalize the backing vocals for Go youo Own Way, a song he's been working on for weeks. The lyrics are clearly aimed at Stephie, and he spits them out while staring at her. Across the studio, Stephie stands coolly at the microphone and records harmonies on a chorus that accuse her of shacking up with another man. Eventually, the take descends into the two singers arguing. Every day seems to end like this. Sessions begin at midnight and stretch toward dawn and with minimal sleep. The band members rely on cocaine and alcohol to fuel their recording, but these only add to the strain. Arguments ignite and subside without warning. It's exhausting. But despite these tensions, every member of the band wants this new album to be perfect. They don't want any filler tracks. Every song has to be a potential hit single. The process is relentless. The band argues over every minute detail. A single harmony note, a drum fill, the placement of a syllable. Time seems to lose all meaning, and they rarely leave the studio. Entire days pass without any of them seeing sunlight. One night, Richard threads a tape reel onto a machine to play back the chain, a track assembled from separate pieces spliced together with razor blades and editing tape. He presses play and his foot begins to tap as the song builds towards something euphoric. But midway through the track, Richard hears something. A faint but unmistakable hiss has crept into the mix. He stops the machine and inspects the tape heads. To his horror, he sees that they're coated in fine brown dust. Months of repeated playback has stripped the coating from the tapes, and if the oxide continues to peel off like this, the recorded music will eventually disintegrate permanently. Announcing this problem could push the already very tense band band over the edge. So knowing that, Richard keeps quiet about what he's found. Instead, he begins making copies of the most fragile tapes, working between takes and arguments as the band records. He's in a silent race against time, unsure what will fail first, the tapes or the band. Either way, there's a risk that all their work here will be for nothing. With the band's constant bickering slowing them down, the recording sessions fall further and further behind. Planned promotional activities for the new album are canceled in an attempt to catch up. But even so, Fleetwood Mac's record label, Warner Bros. Is forced to postpone the original Release date of September 1976 until after Christmas. And then finally, late in the year, the band declares themselves finished. They leave the studio, but there's barely any time for a break. Rumors will be released in fair February 1977, and almost straight away, Fleetwood Mac will have to embark on a world tour to promote it. Only then will they discover whether the last few months of hell have been worth it. It's the evening of February 23, 1978, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. A year after the release of Rumors, 34 year old Christine McVie accepts a glass of champagne from a waiter's silver tray in the foyer. She tips her head back and drains the glass in one go. Over the loudspeaker, a voice calls guests back to their seats. The final commercial break is ending and the 20th annual Grammy Awards ceremony is almost over. Only one category remains. Christine hurries to rejoin the other members of Fleetwood Mac. Her bandmates rise to let her squeeze into her seat, and she's just in time. No sooner has she sat down than the entrance music swells and the presenters walk on stage in crisp tuxedos. The folk trio Crosby Stills and Nash gather at a microphone. One of them holds a large gold envelope. Christine brushes the hair from her eyes and presses her palms against the smoke smooth velvet of her gown. The nominations for the Album of the year echo through the auditorium. Christine doesn't hold out much hope. They've already missed out on the awards for Best Pop Performance and Best Vocal Arrangement, and the shortlist for Album of the year is even more competitive. Rumours may be the best selling record of the year, but it's up against critically acclaimed albums like Aja by Steely Dan, Hotel California by the Eagles, JT by James Taylor, not to mention the original soundtrack to this year's hit movie Star Wars. On stage, the envelope is opened and the album of the year is Crosby Stills in Nan Roll Please Fleetwood and Mac For a split second, neither Christine nor her bandmates move a muscle. Then, as cheers and applause echo around the auditorium, they rise together. Lindsey Buckingham slings his arm around Christine's shoulder as the band makes their way towards the stage as one. It's a show of unity from a group that nearly disintegrated while documenting their breakups and betrayals in songs they'd written about each other. But right now, all that heartache and hard work seems worth it. Rumours is Album of the year for 1977. This enormous success will be enough to hold the band together for three more albums. Eventually, in the late 1980s, Fleetwood Mac will disintegrate, though they will continue to reunite with tour and even released new records at different times throughout the 90s. But none of Fleetwood Mac's later albums will ever match the critical or commercial success of Rumors, the brilliant record that hit number one on the Billboard charts on April 2, 1977. Next on History Daily April 3, 1860 the first letter is carried from Missouri to California by a new mail service, the Pony Express. From Noiser and Airship. This is History Daily Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham Audio editing by Jake Sampson Sound design by Molly Bond Music by Thrum this episode is written and researched by Olivia Jordan Edited by Scott Reeves Managing Producer Emily Burke Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.