Fleetwood Mac Manager Dennis Dunstan: “They’re evergreen songs and every generation seems to develop a new love of this material"

ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL and iconic acts of all time, Fleetwood Mac remain a global phenomenon. This summer, fans will have a brilliant opportunity to hear stunning orchestral versions of their classic hits at the Ambassador in Dublin, which is set to host Seventh Wonder Performs The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac. Assembled by Fleetwood Mac’s one-time manager, Aussie Dennis Dunstan, and carrying the endorsement of Mick Fleetwood – who describes it as “really spooky good!” – the gig is a must-see for devotees of the original band.

“I was on a ship cruise called Rock The Boat, which operates out of Sydney,” explains Dunstan, speaking from his home in Australia. “The promoter is a friend of mine, and he said I needed to come down and see this Fleetwood Mac tribute. As soon as he said it, I went, ‘Oh god no, not another one!’ But he talked me into it and said these guys are exceptional. So I went down and I was actually blown away by the vocals of Amanda Canzurlo, who goes by the name Bloom here. For many years, I’d discussed this idea with Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood, of Fleetwood Mac coming back with an orchestra.

“They both loved the idea, but of course with the passing of Christine, those plans all sadly ended. But I had a chat with Amanda and the group, and I said, ‘You’ve got a great product, but with an orchestra, it’d be incredible.’ They really loved the concept. They went away and did some demos with the Perth Philharmonic Orchestra, and when I listened to them, I just couldn’t believe how good they were.

“So good in fact, that I sent it to Mick Fleetwood. Within an hour, he called me back and said, ‘Dennis, are you sitting down? Mate, this is so good, it’s giving me goosebumps. You’ve got my full authority to go ahead with this and give it everything.’ We recently had the first show of our world tour, a sold out date at Sydney Opera House, which was mind-blowingly good.”

INTER-BAND TENSIONS

Fleetwood Mac achieved superstardom with the 1977 classic Rumours, which shifted 40 million copies worldwide and ultimately became one of the biggest selling albums of all time. Famously, the recording was dogged by inter-band tensions, with Christine and John McVie divorcing after eight years of marriage, and Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks going through an on-off relationship that led to regular fights. Dunstan, whose relationship with the band grew after working as their road manager in Australia, reckons the conflict stirred their creativity.

“There is no question that’s what happened,” he reflects. “With Stevie and Lindsey, there was a lot about the conflict – with Christine, it was about healing and moving on. It was, ‘Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow’. Or a track like ‘Warm Ways’ – all of these beautiful songs. I think they all realised the band was bigger than all of them. When I talk with them, they go, ‘Can you believe that songs about break-ups and heartbreak would go on to become iconic classics?’ That’s exactly how they talk – they go, ‘We’ve got to pinch ourselves that these songs have become immortal.’

“They’re evergreen songs and every generation seems to develop a new love of this material. You have parents handing it down to their kids, then the kids grow and do the same in turn. Mick and I often talk about it and go, ‘We can’t believe it – the band seems to be bigger now than ever.’ It’s amazing.”

Dunstan still marvels at Fleetwood Mac’s creativity.

“When you got them in the studio, Christine was a master at harmonies,” he says. “So was Stevie. They’d sit there and work, and then Lindsey would step in the booth, and this three-part harmonising would start. I’d sit there and get blown back in my seat; this magical resonance just happened. Ken Caillat, the engineer, and I would look at each other and go, ‘We can’t believe how good this is.’ They just had this magic. Then you’d get Mick on the drums, and John on bass, putting this incredible backbone behind the whole thing.

“The rhythm section was the heart and soul of that band as well. So when it was their turn in the studio, the band would sit back in awe. Mick would do his unique fills, which have stood the test of time. He’s not a technical drummer, or a John Bonham of the world, but he’s an amazingly crafty, super-talented player – he brought a lot of magic to the Fleetwood Mac entity.”

The Mac had another titanic seller on their hands with 1987’s Tango In The Night, which contained mega-hits like ‘Big Love’, ‘Lies’ and ‘Everywhere’.

Dennis with Stevie Nicks

PRETTY MAGIC

“It was pretty magic,” Dunstan says of the recording. “I was actually living at Christine’s house when she was writing a lot of her big hits on that record. She knew I was a drummer, and asked me into the music room. She said, ‘D, I’ve got an idea.’ She starts going, ‘Tell me lies...’ She’d stick on a cassette and have me tap along, with her singing. It was sort of half the tempo. She brought it into Lindsey and he went, ‘I can really hear this.’ By then, most of the bickering had disappeared. When he put his magic touch on things, Lindsey Buckingham was a genius.

“He sped it up a little bit and then they threw in the harmonies. The band were getting on pretty well during Tango In The Night and there were some good times in the studio, actually.”

Nonetheless, following the album’s conclusion, as the band gathered to plot the tour, a major row erupted between Buckingham and Nicks – which even continued into the street outside.

“I was at the meeting, it was at Christine’s house,” Dunstan recalls. “I was the one who actually came in and broke it up! It was around six months after the album was made, and we were setting up a tour. It had been organised and everyone had put time aside. Then Lindsey came out and said, ‘I need more time to finish my solo album.’ I’m not kidding, John McVie got up and walked out – he couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“That’s when Stevie just lashed out at him. They got up and stormed out into the carpark of Christine’s house. Next I looked out the window and thought, ‘I better get out there’. It was really getting heated. The next minute, they’ve got their hands around each other’s throats, and I just came out and pushed them apart. I said, ‘Lindsey, back off here man, this is getting out of control.’ Basically, that was when Lindsey departed. He was gone for some time.”

It led to a period where the group had to reconfigure their approach.

“Over the next year, myself and Mick went about getting Rick Vito and Billy Burnette into the band to replace Lindsey,” Dennis continues. “It was an emotional time for me as well, because I loved Lindsey, he was a personal friend of mine. He could be volatile. Throughout his whole career, he would show his emotion, or wouldn’t be a team player at times. Wanting too much control was probably one of his creative missteps.

“He would get so intense, or so involved in his solo projects, he even found it hard to finish them. The record companies would go, ‘Lindsey, you’ve got to finish this.’ He would just take forever to conclude these projects. I think that’s why Fleetwood Mac was very good with Lindsey when he was in the band, because they would say, ‘No, that’s it, that song is finished.’ Whereas he would just go on and on, and always want to tweak things. He was a perfectionist, a genius, but at times he was his own worst enemy.”

As Fleetwood Mac achieved greater and greater levels of success, it naturally afforded Dennis the opportunity to meet various A-listers.

“Before I worked for Fleetwood Mac, I worked on the Paul McCartney Wings tour in Australia,” he says. “I got to know Paul and Linda, and I took Fleetwood Mac to his show at the LA Forum. We went backstage, and he came up and hugged me before he even said ‘hello’ to the band!”

Was there anyone Dunstan was epecially knocked out by?

AMAZING MEMORIES

“Probably Tina Turner,” he replies. “She was a huge Fleetwood Mac fan. Elton John was amazing. And Mick Jagger borrowed my stereo one night to try and woo Stevie Nicks, when we were on the road. I had a Nakamichi cassette deck the band had bought me, cos none of the rooms had any of that in the ‘80s. We were in Europe and Mick came by. He said, ‘Stevie said you’ve got the best stereo.’ And he grabbed it. In the morning, I went to find him in Stevie’s room – and he’d already upped and gone, and taken my stereo!

“About a week later, we get to Munich and I roll up to the hotel, still sort of pissed off. There was this huge bunch of flowers waiting at the reception desk, and the manager said, ‘Dennis, there’s flowers here from Mr. Mick Jagger.’ Then from behind the desk, they pull out my stereo, and there’s this beautiful note from Mick Jagger, saying, ‘Dennis, can’t thank you enough – sounded so good, I had to take it on the road!’

“I’ve got pictures here of myself with Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, and some of the blues greats who Mick knew very well. I’ve got amazing memories of the people I met – it was brilliant.”

• Seventh Wonder Performs The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac play the Ambassador Theatre, Dublin on August 29.