Flashback To Fleetwood Mac Performing “Go Your Own Way” On ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’ In 1976

Flashback To Fleetwood Mac Performing “Go Your Own Way” On ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’ In 1976

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stevie nicks, lindsey buckingham
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham live in 1977. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.

The tension that has always resonated through Fleetwood Mac is arguably the very thing that makes their songs so powerful. The mid-late 70s saw the band on the brink of collapse as members’ personal lives and relationships dissolved into a fiery mess. But somehow, they managed to find a common thread and channel the very angst and pain that threatened to tear them apart into one of the most successful and iconic albums of all time, 1977’s Rumours.  

This tension is perfectly captured in this 1976 appearance on the massively popular music TV show, The Old Grey Whistle Test – a show that Joy Division, David Bowie many more had previously performed on. The band debuted their then-new single, the Lindsey Buckingham-penned “Go Your Own Way’ perfectly personifying the Mac’s increasingly fractious relationships, of which of he and Stevie Nicks’ recent split was at the centre of. 

Fleetwood Mac | “Go Your Own Way” [live on The Old Grey Whistle Test’ 1976]

Despite being obviously aware of the very personal sentiment at the heart of the song, Stevie gives a thunderous performance, which only serves to bolster Buckingham’s emotional delivery and in turn draw the whole band together, bonded by the common knowledge of how truly unique the situation was. 

Fleetwood Mac | “Rhiannon” [live on The Old Grey Whistle Test’ 1976]

They also gave a stellar performance of “Rhiannon” from their self-titled 1975 record. Nicks’ ever-impressive vocal is on fire – even by her own high standard. It’s moments like these that make it clear to see what makes her a double Rock and Roll Hall of Famer!

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