Rumours of Fleetwood Mac at the Grand Opera House York Review
Rumours of Fleetwood Mac
Grand Opera House, York
23 February 2015
Reviewed by Emma Wasson
Last night I went to see Rumours of Fleetwood Mac being hosted at the Grand Opera House in York. The Opera House is always a lovely venue to visit with parking close by at Castle Hill car park and great for its central location in the city. The staff were all very friendly and helpful whilst I was at the Opera House. The bar area was nearly full when I arrived and everyone seemed in high spirits and there was a fantastic turnout, especially for a Monday night.
Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, consists of 8 members, these being:
- Ben Hughes on Rhythm Guitar
- Dave Goldberg on Keyboard and Guitar
- Alan Cosgrove on drums
- James Harrison on Bass Guitar
- Paul Walsham on Percussion
- Allan Hughes on Lead Acoustic Guitar and Vocals
- Amanda Kostadinov on Vocals/Keyboard and Accordion
- Louise Rogan on lead vocals.
The show opened with a personalised message from Mick Fleetwood, shown on a big screen located towards the back of the stage, he introduced the band and wished everyone an enjoyable evening. I thought this was a lovely touch and obviously with the band being endorsed by Mick himself was a huge sign of respect for Rumours of Fleetwood Mac.
The group of singers and musicians explained their love of Fleetwood Mac songs and sounds and treated us to an evening of varied tracks from various albums spanning the numerous decades since Fleetwood Mac were first established way back in 1967. There was a real mixed bag, which in turn highlighted the talents on the group as a band together, but showcased individual singers and musicians as they performed solo numbers like “Songbird” to the early acoustic songs written by Peter Green, Fleetwood Mac’s founding member, such as “Albatross”.
The stage was set up with 3 musicians/singers taking front stage during the first half of the performance whilst the remaining 5 members were towards the back, with the drummer in the middle on a slightly elevated platform. At the back of the stage hung above the musicians was a giant screen, which the band used at different points during the performance to add a little extra to certain songs. There were various spot lights mounted on stage, as well as hung above the performers and I thought these were used very effectively throughout the entire performance, adding more colour and flashing lights for the louder jazzier songs, and toning it right down for the slower or individual performances.
Throughout the performance many of the band members, especially Allan on lead guitar, chatted at ease with the audience having a bit of light hearted banter to keep everyone engaged. I always think this is a lovely touch and makes the performance more personal and it was well received by the audience in York last night.
During the first half the audience was treated to songs such as “Gypsy”, “You make loving fun”, “As long as you follow”, “Little lies” and “Dreams”. These songs showcased the talents of all the artists on stage and really got the audience in the mood for more. Louise Rogan also performed a solo of “Songbird”, which was truly beautiful. The whole auditorium was completely silent apart from Louise’s voice and accompaniment of acoustic guitar and keyboard. It was a joy to listen to.
The second half of the show saw a change around on stage with the absence of Amanda, Louise and Paul. Ben, Dave and Allan took front of stage, and we were taken back to the Peter Green era as the remaining members of the band performed more instrumental numbers such as “Black Magic Woman”, “Need your love so bad”, and of course “Albatross”, much to the delight of the audience.
After many numbers the other members rejoined the band and changed the tempo again, encouraging audience participation with clapping and swaying.
However during the second half, Louise performed another solo number as she sang “Landslide”, accompanied by 2 acoustic guitars, again an absolute pleasure to listen to as all the noise had died down and you were able to get lost in the music.
The ladies had a costume change throughout the show, which I felt fitted well to their personalities, with Louise rocking the bohemian look, down to the finishing touches of diamante beads draped from her centre microphone stand.
You can tell the band have been together for 17 years as they all work extremely well together and feel completely at ease at being on stage and performing to an audience. Throughout the whole show you could feel the passion that the band have for their music as this was clearly portrayed through every song they performed as they gave it 110%.
As the evening’s performance drew to a close and the band left the stage, they were cheered back on to carry out 2 additional songs, where they requested everyone to stand up and join in, and everyone I saw was having a fantastic time, including myself singing, clapping and dancing away to “Go your own way” and “Don’t stop”, it was a great end to a fabulous evening. Alan Cosgrove concluded by thanking everyone for their support and invited everyone to join them at the bar for a chat. So at the very end I got to meet the artists in person, which is always a pleasure and thank them for their wonderful performance.
Rumours of Fleetwood Mac were first rate from start to finish and it’s clear to see why the band has been and continue to be successful. Every one of them has music running through their veins and are all exceptionally musically talented and it was a joy and watch them perform at York Opera House. I would definitely recommend this to others and give the performance 5 out of 5.
Rating: 5/5 
Rumours of Fleetwood Mac is currently on tour, for more information, tour dates and venues visit www.rumoursoffleetwoodmac.com.
Grand Opera House York, Clifford and Cumberland Street, York, YO1 9SW | 0844 8713024
