Fleetwood Mac at Wembley Stadium review: What’s the new lineup like?

19 June 2019, 12:26 | Updated: 19 June 2019, 13:08

The rumours are true. The magic of Fleetwood Mac is well and truly alive with their Wembley Stadium performance proving that even without Lindsey Buckingham — the chain can’t be broken.

The charmingly dysfunctional rock band rounded out their European tour in London on Tuesday, with the second of two shows at Wembley Stadium supported by The Pretenders.

The tour, which kicked off in the US and is headed to Australia next, follows last year’s controversial sacking of longtime band member, Lindsey Buckingham. So, how exactly was the band without Lindsey?

1. Fleetwood Mac: Who replaced Lindsey Buckingham?

   

   Well, Fleetwood Mac has replaced Buckingham with two music heavyweights in their own right — Crowded House’s Neil Finn and Mike Campbell from Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Their new lineup and hit heavy setlist made for a night fans won’t be forgetting for a while.  

   Finn’s undoubtedly strong vocals worked well with Stevie Nicks’ distinct sound on tracks like ‘The Chain’ and ‘Second Hand News’— you could see exactly why they chose him to join the band.

   Campbell provided all the edge needed for those memorable guitar solos. He even borrowed his vocals on Peter Green’s ‘Oh Well’ from the band’s back catalog, taking the fans back far further than Rumours.

   Vocally the lineup works, the band sounds as good as ever and Finn’s voice fits into the narrative perfectly.

   If you don’t like Fleetwood Mac now’s your chance to leave cause it’s all I’m gonna talk about for at least a month #FleetwoodMac pic.twitter.com/phFSm1CwBg

   — Ellie Spilker (@elliespilker) June 18, 2019

   Nearly the entire of Wembley stood up from the initial bars of the first track ‘The Chain’ right until the end of the ‘Don’t Stop’ finale — something which is often rare at a concert of this size.

   The crowd was a massive mix of baby boomers and millennials, proving the band’s ability to transcend generations and bring people together.

   It would be foolish not to acknowledge that the magic of Buckingham and Nicks wasn’t missed at points of the show.

   For years, fans have watched on enchanted as the two former lovers put on a tense but passionate performance, night after night. In recent times, the pair allegedly had nothing to do with each other after the lights turned out — which made their chemistry all the more intriguing.

2. Fleetwood Mac: What can we expect from the 2019 setlist?

   Thank you all for coming 🤩
   
   We can't wait to do it all again with you on Tuesday 🙌 #FleetwoodMac pic.twitter.com/X3rEOkxvUF

   — Wembley Stadium (@wembleystadium) June 16, 2019

   That being said, there wasn’t a seat in the house that didn’t seem still gloriously enthralled by Fleetwood Mac, even after all of these years.

   While fans may have been disappointed that Tusk was absent from the setlist, Nicks’ feminine reworking of ‘Black Magic Woman’ certainly made up for it.

   The song, made famous by Santana, was actually written by original Fleetwood Mac member Peter Green.

   Nicks’ vocals shined on ‘Landslide’ which she dedicated to legendary record producer Jimmy Iovine and her ‘muse’ Harry Styles — both who were in the audience.

3. Fleetwood Mac: Did Neil Finn sing any Crowded House?

   Magic happened when Neil Finn sang his Crowded House classic ‘Don’t Dream Its Over’.

   The crowd at Wembley sung triumphantly with him, phone lights waving in the air — especially when Stevie joined him on a verse.

   This moment truly cementing the fact that if anyone was to replace Buckingham, Neil Finn’s definitely the best man for the job.

   

   For the encore, Fleetwood Mac paid tribute to the late Tommy Petty — former bandmate of Mike Campbell and longtime friend/collaborator of Stevie Nicks. They sang 'Free Fallin’' as a photo montage of Petty hung in the background, a true testament to another rock and roll great.

   To end, the band launched into ‘Don’t Stop’, leaving the crowd with the notion that if Fleetwood Mac had to go their own way to do this tour — it was definitely worth it.