Mick Fleetwood, the legendary drummer of Fleetwood Mac who now lives on Maui, will appear in a virtual pay-per-view showing of a concert celebrating his late bandmate Peter Green. DANIEL SULLIVAN photo
In February 2020, Mick Fleetwood left his Maui home to fly to London to organize an all-star concert honoring the early years of Fleetwood Mac and its founding guitarist/vocalist Peter Green.
Held at the historic London Palladium, the stellar bill included Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, The Who’s Pete Townshend, Steven Tyler, former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, former Mac guitarist Rick Vito, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Ringo Starr’s son Zak Starkey.
A film of this unique concert, “Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate The Music Of Peter Green And The Early Years Of Fleetwood Mac,” will premiere as a pay-per-view virtual event at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Saturday.
Many of the musicians on the bill have performed on Maui over the years. McVie, Tyler and Vito all performed with the legendary drummer at a memorable concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in 2013. Inspired by the success of the MACC show, McVie returned to performing with Fleetwood Mac after a 15-year absence.
Fleetwood Mac’s connection with Maui stretches back to the 1970s, when the musicians would vacation on the island. Singer Stevie Nicks first met her backup singer, Sharon Celani, performing at Lahaina’s Blue Max.
Making Maui his home for many years, Fleetwood formed the Island Rumours Band with acclaimed falsetto singer Raiatea Helm and Willie K, to fuse rock and Hawaiian influences. He subsequently founded the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, which includes Maui musicians Lenny Castellanos and Mark Johnstone.
For Vito, the lead guitarist/vocalist with the Fleetwood Blues Band, the 2020 London concert was a highlight.
“Everybody wanted to pay their respects to Peter Green, who was still alive at the time,” Vito reported. “The whole night was a high point. A wonderful experience from beginning to end.”
Vito, a member of Fleetwood Mac in the late 1980s who lived on Maui in 2009, added, “I’ve been doing the song ‘Love That Burns’ with the Blues Band for years, and it brought the house down with a standing ovation.”
It was Green who named the group Fleetwood Mac when it formed in England in 1967. He composed many of the band’s early popular songs including “Black Magic Woman,” “Oh Well,” “The Green Manalishi” and the 2 million record-selling “Albatross.”
The late Willie K paid tribute to Green on his Hoku-winning album “Warehouse Blues,” with the song “Heart Aching Blues.”
Green died in July 2020. Fleetwood said in a statement that, “For me, losing Peter Green is monumental.”
As far as his Lahaina restaurant, Fleetwood’s on Front St., the legendary drummer reports he hopes to perform there again in the not too distant future.
“We are diligently working on it,” Fleetwood said. “Hopefully by the beginning of summer.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic on Maui, Fleetwood has donated protective masks to the Maui Police Department. The department thanked him by posting a video on Facebook, which included a group of officers singing to Fleetwood Mac’s song “Everywhere.”
Viewing of “Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate The Music Of Peter Green And The Early Years Of Fleetwood Mac,” is available at nugs.net, with ticket prices starting at $14.99. A double album will be released on April 30.
Fleetwood had talked about wanting to produce a special show to honor Green in a 2017 Maui News interview.
“I’m working on at least one really grand show where I can enlist some really cool people, all guitar players, to come and in a way say thank you to Peter Green,” he said. “There are many who have huge amounts of respect for him.”
Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3UoqWer6NjsLC5jqecsKtfobykrctmpZ6vo2R%2FcX6QaGdtZ52esKx5xaWcnqynpLylec%2BasKxlpKe2o8HTnmStp12hrrWxjJuYp5ydlsGmew%3D%3D