The Tusk Tour was a world

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

by the rock group, Fleetwood Mac. The tour began on October 26, 1979, in Pocatello, Idaho and ended on September 1, 1980, in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. The Live album contained many of the live recordings of songs from The Tusk Tour.

History of the tour

In 1979, Fleetwood Mac embarked on their 112 show-long world tour promoting their new album, ''

Tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share ...

''. Beginning in Pocatello, Idaho on October 26, 1979, and ending September 1, 1980 at the Hollywood Bowl, the roller-coaster tour was near-detrimental to the survival of the band. In order to provide a cheaper option after the million dollars of expenses blown on the tour itself, every one of their shows performed were filmed and recorded for their '' Live'' album.

Setbacks

On top of this tour being excessively expensive it was also physically and mentally exhausting for the band members- and these two setbacks together were a recipe for disaster. As

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...

, singer-songwriter and keyboardist in the band puts it, "Somebody once said that with the money we spent on champagne on one night they could have made an entire album", she later recalls, "I used to go onstage and drink a bottle of

Dom Pérignon Dom Pérignon (; ) is a brand of vintage Champagne. It is named after Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who was an important quality pioneer for Champagne wine but who, contrary to popular myths, did not discover the Champagne method for making ...

, and drink one offstage afterwards . It's not the kind of party I’d like to go to now. There was a lot of booze being drunk and there was blood floating around in the alcohol, which doesn’t make for a stable environment." On top of all the drinking, the band members indulged in heavy amounts of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

and marijuana and McVie even jokes that the strength of the marijuana was so strong that the actual act of smoking it was not needed- it only needed to be blown in her face and she would feel the effects. With all the substance abuse the band members endured atop all the stress, the tour was not only disadvantageous, but also extremely unhealthy. As the tour progressed, the band members became less and less fond of each other and as a result of this tension as well as the financial setbacks endured, the band nearly parted ways as explained in ''Uncuts article, "Fleetwood Mac: 'Everybody was pretty weirded out' – the story of '' Rumours''", by the end of the tour the band members were "barely able to stand the sight of each other". While in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1980, Stevie Nicks was physically and emotionally attacked by fellow band member

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

. She explains that he began to mimic her by pulling his jacket up over his head to mirror what she did stylistically with her

shawl A shawl (from fa, شال ''shāl'',) is a simple item of clothing from Kashmir, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, which is often folde ...

, but she ignored his provoking gestures.

Tour dates

Set lists

North American leg 1979 #1

# " Say You Love Me" # "

The Chain "The Chain" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album '' Rumours''. It is the only song from the album with writing credits for all five members (Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John ...

" # "

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

" # " Not That Funny" # "

Rhiannon Rhiannon is a major figure in the Mabinogi, the medieval Welsh story collection. She appears mainly in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and again in the Third Branch. She is a strong-minded Otherworld woman, who chooses Pwyll, prince of Dyfe ...

" # "Over and Over" # " Oh Well" # "

Sara Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...

" # "What Makes You Think You're The One" # " Oh Daddy" # "Save Me a Place" # " Landslide" # "

" # "

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

" # "

You Make Loving Fun "You Make Loving Fun" is a song written and sung by Christine McVie of British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. The song was released as the fourth and final 45 rpm single from the band's 1977 album '' Rumours''. "You Make Loving Fun" was the a ...

" # "

I'm So Afraid "I'm So Afraid" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham for the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac for their tenth album, '' Fleetwood Mac''. The song was intended for a second Buckingham Nicks album, but the album never came to fruition ...

" # " World Turning" # "

Go Your Own Way "Go Your Own Way" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from their eleventh studio album, '' Rumours'' (1977). The song was released as the album's first single in December 1976 on both sides of the Atlantic. Written and sung ...

" # "

Sisters of the Moon "Sisters of the Moon" is a song by British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac. It was written and sung by band-member Stevie Nicks and was released in the US as the fourth single from the 1979 album '' Tusk''. It peaked at No. 86 on the ''Billboard ...

" # " Blue Letter" # "

Songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5000 ...

North American leg 1979 #2

# "Say You Love Me" # "The Chain" # "Dreams" # "Not That Funny" # "Rhiannon" # "Don't Stop" # "Oh Well" # "Sara" # "What Makes You Think You're The One" # "Oh Daddy" # "Save Me a Place" # "Landslide" # "Tusk" # "Angel" # "You Make Loving Fun" # "I'm So Afraid" # "World Turning" # "Go Your Own Way" # "Sisters Of The Moon" # "Blue Letter" # "Songbird"

North American leg 1979 #3

# "Say You Love Me" # "The Chain" # "Don't Stop" # "Dreams" # "Oh Well" # "Rhiannon" # "Oh Daddy" # "What Makes You Think You're The One" # "Sara" # "Not That Funny" # "Save Me a Place" # "Landslide" # "Tusk" # "Angel" # "You Make Loving Fun" # "I'm So Afraid" # "World Turning" # "Blue Letter" # "Go Your Own Way" # "Sisters Of The Moon" # "Second Hand News" # "Songbird"

Japan, Oceania, Second North American leg

# "Say You Love Me" # "The Chain" # "Don't Stop" # "Dreams" # "Oh Well" # "Rhiannon" # "Oh Daddy" # "What Makes You Think You're The One" # "Sara" # "Not That Funny" # "Never Going Back Again" # "Landslide" # "Tusk" # "Angel" # "You Make Loving Fun" # "I'm So Afraid" # "World Turning" # "Go Your Own Way" # "Sisters Of The Moon" # "Songbird"

European leg

# "Say You Love Me" # "The Chain" # "Don't Stop" # "Dreams" # "Oh Well" # "Rhiannon" # "Oh Daddy" # "That's Enough For Me" # "Sara" # "Not That Funny" # "Never Going Back Again" # "Landslide" # "Tusk" # "Angel" # "You Make Loving Fun" # "I'm So Afraid" # "World Turning" # "Go Your Own Way" # "Sisters Of The Moon" # "Songbird"

North American leg 1979 #4

# "Monday Morning" # "The Chain" # "Don't Stop" # "Dreams" # "Oh Well" # "Rhiannon" # "Over and Over" # "What Makes You Think You're The One" # "Sara" # "Not That Funny" # "Never Going Back Again" # "Landslide" # "Tusk" # "Think About Me" # "I'm So Afraid" # "Angel" # "You Make Loving Fun" # "World Turning" # "Go Your Own Way" # "Sisters Of The Moon" # "Songbird" "The Ledge" and "I Know I'm Not Wrong" were rehearsed before this tour, but it is unknown if they were performed.

Personnel

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...

– drums,

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

, congas,

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

wind chimes Wind chimes are a type of percussion instrument constructed from suspended tubes, rods, bells or other objects that are often made of metal or wood. The tubes or rods are suspended along with some type of weight or surface which the tubes or rods ...

talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitc ...

John McVie John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fle ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

– Hammond organ, Yamaha CP-30,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, accordion, acoustic guitar,

maracas A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

, acoustic guitar, vocals * Stevie Nicks – vocals,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

, cowbell ;Additional Personnel *Ray Lindsey – rhythm guitar on "Go Your Own Way" & "Second Hand News" *Jeffery Bova – keyboards on "Tusk" *Tony Todaro – percussion

References

{{Fleetwood Mac 1979 concert tours 1980 concert tours Fleetwood Mac concert tours