Saturday Deluxe / 9 February 2019
Lindsey Buckingham has open heart surgery
Scary stuff as Lindsey Buckingham‘s wife Kristen yesterday revealed that the musician underwent ’emergency open heart surgery’ late last week.
Buckingham, who was forced out of Fleetwood Mac last year, is now at home recuperating but sadly he has suffered vocal chord damage as a result of the operation. Fans and family will be hoping that this damage is not permanent, but Kristen says that this is “unclear” at the moment.
Referring to the Fleetwood Mac situation, Kristen also pointed out that “this past year has been a very stressful and difficult year for our family” before going on to say that Lindsey “looks forward to recovery and putting all this behind him.”
Read Kristen Buckingham’s tweet in full
Tears For Fears back on tour
Tears For Fears made a welcome return to the London stage this week, as they played to a capacity crowd at the O2 Arena. I was there and although I wasn’t going to review this gig, I feel like it’s worth making a few points. It is very much a ‘greatest hits’ type show designed to impress the casual Tears For Fears fan who has ‘forgotten how many hits they had’ – not the uber fan looking for any kind or rarities or surprises. So apart from a few tracks – ‘Badman’s Song,’ ‘Secret World,’ ‘Memories Fade’, ‘Everybody Loves A Happy Ending’ and ‘Suffer The Children’ – everything is very familiar.
Although they are apparently still toiling on the new album, Tears For Fears aren’t really an ongoing enterprise as such, or a ‘band’, in any real sense of the word. You could argue they never have been. The fact that Roland and Curt have made just one album together in the last 30 years and are separated by the Atlantic Ocean (maybe how they like it!) tells you all you need to know. Every now and again they come together for tours, or special projects (reissues, greatest hit compilations) but ultimately it is not in their interests to experiment or mess around with setlists (normally cut down to about an hour for festivals) too much. To illustrate how inflexible the current set-up is, they didn’t play either of the new tracks from 2017’s Rule The World compilation ‘I Love You But I’m Lost’ or ‘Stay’.
As a big fan, I’d love to see some ‘deeper cuts’ included and it’s a crying shame that almost two entire albums from the 1990s (Elemental and Raoul and the Kings of Spain) are ignored because that was the era of a Curt-free Tears For Fears. But I don’t see the setlist fundamentally changing until they have a new album to promote, or decide to do something specific, like play an album in full.
Watch Tears For Fears perform Memories Fade in London last Wednesday.
Super Furry Animals release cancelled
Music on Vinyl’s 2LP coloured vinyl edition of Super Furry Animals‘ Rings Around The World has been scrapped. When this was announced, the band stated that they were unhappy, as they knew nothing about it and one assumes that some legal shenanigans have gone on between record labels that have resulted in this being cancelled. Anyone who ordered via SDE will get a full refund.
Donna Summer vinyl
For some reason the new Donna Summer 30th anniversary 2LP coloured vinyl edition of Another Place and Time took an age to appear on Amazon UK for pre-order this week. This vinyl edition includes the album on LP 1 and bonus remixes on LP 2. The listing is now up, although bear in mind that it’s currently cheaper on the SDE shop!
Read more about the Another Time and Place 30th anniversary reissue
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Thanks for the swift refund on the SFA release, Paul: all sorted yesterday. Given the goings on at Pledgemusic and the delays in refunds being issued there it’s good to know that there are some suppliers out there who are providing appropriate customer service and looking after their subscribers.
Thanks Greg.
Those who know the Buckingham/Nicks album will know, that although formally they joined “Fleetwood Mac” in reality “Fleetwood Mac” became “Buckingham/Nicks”. It was their sound and their songs, that made the 70s Mac big also improving Christine McVie’s songs. And whenever Buckingham was not in the band, the music went downhill. In a certain way his forced departure from the band probably brought him a lot of recognition, more people began to understand, what he contributed to the band. Too sad, that this happened now. Hopefully he will fully recover and enjoy a long good life with his family and friends. And as the music is what drives this man, I wish him luck, that he can carry on making music.
TFF excellent in Glasgow tonight
Think folk are reading too much into the body language thing. Yes, they don’t talk during the show but I certainly sensed no real animosity. They were extremely professional, performed well as a band and entertained the audience who were very appreciative. Roland even applauded a couple of things Curt said in his chat. Roland seemed to be enjoying himself and I just think Curt is a totally different type of personality who isn’t as extrovert.
I also felt that the set was pretty good, didn’t feel too short at all
Well done guys
There’s a lot of angry Fleetwood Mac fans posting on the Stevie Nicks & Mick Fleetwood Instagram pages about their post wishing LB well & his sacking. I can understand it, without Lindsey in the band I’m not interested! Not only is he a great guitar player but he writes their best songs too.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the ‘sacking’ I think it’s okay to fall out with someone, force them from a band and still be glad that they haven’t died of a heart attack.
Poor Lindsey, wishing him a speedy and full recovery!
(oh, that Fleetwood Mac, like the Sabbath of Black and YES, many others… when it’s not friends in a band but people you’re paid to work with)…
Anyhow, It would be great to see TFF expand their set (think a Cure-like ‘Reflection’) and perhaps do a “classic album” (as hinted at) presentation of “The Hurting” as the first portion of their live set… to be followed by an encore set of lesser known songs.
“Memories Fade” onto “Suffer The Children” is stunning live!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYGhHtML3_I
Set #1
The Hurting
Mad World
Pale Shelter
Ideas As Opiates
Memories Fade
Suffer The Children
Watch Me Bleed
Change
The Prisoner
Start Of The Breakdown
SET #2
Tears Roll Down (intro music)…
Broken
The Working Hour
Year Of The Knife
Always In The Past
Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)
Elemental
New Star
Me And My Big Ideas
Size Of Sorrow
Who You Are
ENCORE
I Believe
Stay
I Love You But I’m Lost
Shocked to hear about Lindsey! The weird thing for me is, my father had this same surgery and ALSO had vocal chord damage with it. This was due to them not being able to successfully de-inhibate him after the surgery so they had to do a tracheostomy. Was a few weeks before he could talk again, which was a scary time as he also made his living by his voice (speaking, rather than singing) but it eventually came back as before so I have high hopes for Lindsey. Hopefully this will give him the same renewed vigor and passion for life the procedure did for my dad. Lindsey has always been a favorite of mine and one of the first band members of any group I knew as an individual when I was a kid. I actually had someone offer me a ticket for the new FM touring group and I refused cause it just isn’t the same without Lindsey (plus it just pissed me off how the band went about that whole situation), which I know as fact having seen the 1988 line-up perform.
For fans of Americana music, look up John Stewart talking about how he first heard of and met Lindsey, a wonderful story about how their playing styles linked up.
Here’s wishing for a quick and complete recovery for Lindsey Buckingham. His version of Fleetwood Mac was never my favorite but there’s no denying he’s a great musician and songwriter, and that he captured an essential moment in time when that version of the band was in its prime. Hopefully this is a lesson learned by the legion of his elderly musical peers that it might be time to slow down the pace. For instance, it is long past time for Ozzy Osbourne to retire. His recent array of health problems are an indication that he is pushing himself too hard (or is it someone else who is pushing him too hard?) I fear that he’ll be the next to go. I would rather remember him as he was in his prime rather than the ragged, tired old man on stage these days. Please Ozzy, take a moment to assess the remainder of your life.
I’ve been TFF fan since the beginning and own virtually everything released under the name. I’ve always thought Curt was the weak link in the band and brought only a pretty face, sweet voice and mediocre bass skills with Rol as the driving force. I’d be more than happy for Rol to continue on his own and enjoy himself again even though he’d drop a few purist fans. He could even put Creep and Ashes to Ashes into his live set . Tomcats 2 please.
This is very bad news about Lindsey Buckingham. I wish him a speedy and full recovery.
Perhaps he could still make records using guest vocalists.
Best wishes and prayers to Lindsey for a healthy and quick recovery. Thanks for posting as all musicians are only human. Perhaps this might bring them back together again if they can forgive each other for all the sinning lol.
Saw TFF on night 2 of the Tour at the 3 arena in Dublin and have to say it was slightly weird. When it was good it really was excellent, but when it was bad it was dreadful and sadly for someone who grew up on The Hurting is was those tracks (Pale Shelter, Change) that we’re especially clunky.
They did do Falling Down from Raoul and the Kings of Spain but again it was pretty poor. But the good stuff (seeds, big chair stuff and the great songs from the very underrated everybody loves a happy endin) were wonderful.
Very strange band dynamic (or lack thereof) on stage though. They arrived on stage 20 mins late, Curt was apologetic, Roland was grumpy, there was zero interaction among band members. It all seemed barely civil between the two frontmen. Curt was also pretty under-rehearsed and was vocally weak in places.
I get that it was night 2 and there are bound to be teething problems but honestly unless they really need that cash I’d be surprised if the tour makes the distance. They just looked really uncomfortable.
That sounds very bad, which it wasn’t. I loved huge chunks of it and it was a wish list item ticked. But it was very much a curate’s egg.
Can’t believe they did Falling Down!? I love that song! Thanks for your thoughts.
Strange, in Liverpool Roland seemed really happy. True there wasn’t much interaction between them but going back as far as the Seeds tour in 1990 there want’ much then either.
Musically though I couldn’t fault them, Curt certainly didn’t falter vocally. Sounds like you just got unlucky. Agree with others than another 30 mins would have been welcome although with Alison Moyet on top form it still made for a great show.
Paul, they played Falling down in Liverpool as well but we didn’t get Suffer. I don’t know why they couldn’t keep both, add ILYBIL which they have been playing live and maybe 1/2 more to get to a 2hr show. This said are there time limits on the show length put in place by the venues ??
TFF have always played fairly short gigs, so it’s not the venues.
Even back in ’85 when I saw them, the set-list was short (70 minutes at best). But they also had so few songs, opening and closing the set with the same track – Shout. We didn’t seem to mind though.
I too saw them in Dublin and would probably have a different opinion on some of the concert. I thought Pale Shelter and Change sounded great. I would agree about Falling Down, but it maybe suffered from being a lesser known song. I would agree about the lack of interaction between band members, though I didn’t feel that Roland was grumpy. I saw him smiling at times. As for the vocals I thought that Roland’s voice sounded a bit croaky on his first song, as for Curt I don’t think his voice is quite as good as it was. But I thought it sounded stronger than it did at the Radio 2 Concert in 2017 where he sounded a bit strained.
I remember there were some truly jaw-droppingly a-maz-ing versions of “Falling Down” kicking around on YouTube from a few years back. I think it might have been Sao Paolo…
Maybe it’s an omen for Buckingham not in The Mac. All he/we would need is for him to collapse on stage.
Folk may be interested to know about the latest enterprise by Jeff Rougvie (producer/A&R for Bowie, Elvis Costello and Big Star among others). He’s written a music-themed comic called ‘Gunning for Hits’ which features a stark, scarlet Bowie on the cover. It’s a thriller set in the music business so likely to utilise lots of his insider knowledge and experience in the detail. I have ordered it but not actually read it yet so dunno if it’s any good. https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/gunning-for-hits-1
[To be clear, I’ve no connection with this, just mentioning it as someone whose interests cross over with music and comics].
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, issue 2 has a very cool cover. Question is can I get this in the UK?
Yeah, you can get it in Forbidden Planet, GoshComics, Orbital Comics and shops of that ilk. You can also order from various stores via eBay and lots of those do free postage.
i’ve read it and yes, the cover got me hooked hence my now owning it!
some very good background of the music biz and i like the way the artwork weaves around and into the wordplay. Some parts of it are quite dark though – definitely not a comic for kids.
worth tracking down
I wish Lindsey a speedy recovery, Poor guy has not had a good year. And as for the Fleetwood Mac scenario, I love Fleetwood Mac i was listening to the original Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green) in the very early 70’s and loved them, still do. Then i got switched on to the Buckingham Nicks line up after hearing Rhiannon on the Old Grey Whistle Test, and bought the White album. That line up was special, Fleetwood, McVie, McVie, Buckingham and Nicks, but i sorry take Lindsey away and it looses what made it tick. I saw that line up on the Tusk Tour in 1980 they were brilliant, saw them again sans Buckingham in 1988 just not the same band terrible. This new line up that is masquerading on tour at the moment i am just not interested in. Get well soon Lindsey.
Horrified about Lindsey! I’m so thankful he was able to get help and wish him the best recovery! Not too surprising since he spent a good twenty years smoking, drinking, and doing drugs, right? Jesus, that picture is brutal and rather somewhat question to post I would say BUT I am thankful for you all posting it! Lord have mercy! Please wish him well!
Hey, Dr. AlexKx, do you need to speculate on the causes of others’ health issues? The guy is 69 years old! At that age, we are all bound to have some problems.
I hope Mr Buckingham gets better & back to full power soon. He’s a creative genius! The Mac are not the same or as good without him!
Do we know if the SFA album had actually been pressed?
Best wishes to Lindsay Buckingham for a speedy recovery. On TFF I’m in the minority here in not being remotely fussed about hearing anything past The Hurting and Big Chair ( both excellent albums).
They do seem as dysfunctional as a-ha. Looking forward to seeing them and White Lies in June
A-Ha. Dysfunctional. How’s that? Are you referring to the temporary break up, album production, song writing, live performances? I’ve never noticed anything dysfunctional about A-Ha. Could you be more specific please? I’m just interested in your take?
Cheers
Watching them live with Morten not talking with anyone and leaving the stage at the end of every song (not after, but when it’s still on) and returning when the next song already started. He standing there with one hand in a pocket and looks like he has nothing to do with what‘s going on there. The rest of the band seem to work well.
Where was A-Ha mentioned?
Re A-ha
My perception of them is that they seem to exist more as a business than a band, and whilst they did unplugged thing together I believe Lifelines, Cast in steel at least (not sure about the others in between) were recorded in different continents. Its also fairly well known they don’t get on very well.
And finally there is the live element- talk about lack of chemistry, there was none at all on the Cast in steel tour. Not one of them looked like they wanted to be there, at one point Morten walked off stage and given the weirdness of the show I genuinely thought that was it, overall it was a strange experience and not one I will ever repeat
Even if the singing leaves Lindsey, he is and incredible guitarist and producer, and he may be inspired to use his talents in other ways that continue to spread his legacy and also inspire younger musicians so let’s not give up on the guy just yet…
Just saw a great show by him and his band in December, and he seemed very energetic and positive about taking his band forward with some new music. I wish the best for him and that he’s able to realize everything that he wants to do…
Can’t wait to get the Donna Summer -Another Place and Time packages!! Sending healing energy to Lindsey B!
Interesting about the Super Furry Animals reissue being cancelled. Richard Fearless said that it was the first knew about it when the recent Death In Vegas reissues were announced.
Maybe there was more of a response to the SFA release. After all, why release something when the band are telling their audience not to buy it?
Alternatively, it may not have been as legally sound as MOV thought – someone at Sony could have made a mistake.
Peter Gabriel has also just made available all his live albums and OVO on streaming platforms. It includes Plays Live now in the correct running order. Secret World now includes San Jacinto as a bonus and best of all is Growing Up Live which had never been available before as audio only.
In Cardiff pleases to see them do the XTC ish “call me Mellow” but that was it as far as deep cuts go.Could have done without “Creep” as..well I came to hear TFF songs.
I though that ‘Elemental’ and ‘Raoul’ were really good albums.
Especially Elemental. The whole album is pure class.
High quality B-sides during this era too!
No mistake during this period
Agreed on ‘Curt-less’ era B-sides, Paul: Bloodletting Go is terrific IMHO!
Why did Roland stopped making music even out of TFF? I don’t care much for Smith output but Orzabal’s was great, considering Raoul and Elemental were solo albums, why did he stopped in 2000 after only one proper solo album ? The man seemed to still have a lot of great songs in him… what a waste
Elemental and Raoul were hardly solo since Alan Griffiths has co-writing credits for almost every song on those albums.
Really hoping Lindsey makes a full recovery, he’s a phenomenal guitarist, much overlooked when the greats are talked about. Love his solo catalogue too and was hoping for some European gigs at some point after the disappointment of the cancellation of his tour a number of years ago.
I truely wish Curt Smith considers to reissue “Soul On Board” album with bonus and to be honest (although I’m a diehard fan) I don’t mind about a New TFF album, it’ll never be the same again just because we’re not in the eighties anymore and I really prefer Seeds box to be release instead.
I’d be curious about a reissue of “Soul on Board”, but Curt doesn’t like the album himself, so probably not gonna happen soon…
Terrible news about Lindsey – Hope he will recover fully. As to the future, his wellbeing is the greatest gift. He has already given more than enough!
Sorry Banquet Records but the Summer lp costs me 5+ more pounds chez you so im gonna choose amazon because im not sure how well you package your items. At least amazon will replace without much fuss
Our packaging is top notch. Here’s some customer feedback > https://twitter.com/andyAVAVsystems/status/1094204259879604224
Agreed. I have ordered the Conversation LP and I got the White Album box from SDE and can vouch for the quality of the packing.
You have no fears ordering from SDE shop. I got the Frankie box and the packaging was superb.
If it wasn’t for an impending emigration where I’ll initially have to leave all my music behind I’d have ordered the Gerry rafferty album without hesitation.
Order with every confidence.
I assume the Tears For Fears setlist was exactly the same as their Albert Hall gig two years ago, and their Camp Bestival headline set in 2016? Which I get the impression is almost the same as, but trimmed down for, their US gigs supporting Hall & Oates?
They’re great and can still put on a show, but it does feel like they’re doing it on autopilot and probably writing their shopping lists in their heads at the time. The complete lack of interaction between Roland and Curt on stage doesn’t help either – feels like they still don’t like each other but have realised they can be more financially secure playing together again than apart.
More or less, yes. Dropping Creep and replacing with Suffer The Children is the only real change.
Hope Lindsey makes a full recovery – Guitar genius and integral part of any true Fleetwood Mac…
Just need that Tears For Fears “Seeds Of Love” deluxe box and then maybe some new stuff.
They were my first live concert in 1985 in Adelaide!
It Lindsey Buckingham never sings again but otherwise keeps his health, I’m sure he, his family and his fans will be really happy for him. .His talents as musician, composer and producer will give him enough ways to satisfy his musical creativity.
I’ll join many others in wishing him well.
Well said, CJ. Wishing him a speedy and safe recovery.