Fleetwood Mac: after its 926 weeks on the chart, who's still buying Rumours?

[gristy]

Well, me for one. I bought a fresh copy just last week.



As it turns 45, the drug-fuelled breakup classic is outselling almost everyone on vinyl thanks to its frank songwriting, enduring virality and the patronage of Harry Styles

Annie Zaleski
Thu 10 Feb 2022 11.00 EST

Forty-five years ago this month, Fleetwood Mac released Rumours, an album that combined gauzy soft pop, manicured folk and stormy rock with a soap-operatic level of intra-band strife. It won album of the year at the Grammys, went 20 times platinum in the US alone, and sits alongside Kind of Blue and The Rite of Spring in the Library of Congress’s registry of historically significant recordings.

What’s truly remarkable, though, is how it continues to sell new physical copies, despite being available to stream and in secondhand form in every high-street charity shop. According to the UK’s Official Charts Company, Rumours sold 34,593 vinyl copies in 2021, third only to new albums by Adele and Abba, and besting new records by Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey. It sold 32,508 copies the previous year. It is currently at No 29 in its 926th week on the UK album chart – up five places from the week before – while in the US, Rumours sold 6,000 vinyl copies in the last week of January, reaching No 1 on the vinyl albums chart. It sold 169,000 vinyl copies in the US in 2021 (according to MRC Data).

More: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/feb/10/fleetwood-mac-after-926-weeks-on-the-chart-whos-still-buying-rumours

The album:

[Bristlecone]

1. One of the few full albums I have on my iPhone.

That and the Allman Brothers Eat a Peach.

I think rather than purchase, Its easy to get full albums via Apple Music or one of the many other platforms. I have Quite a few that way.

[Corgigal]

2. My daughter bought me

vinyl of this album last Christmas.

Cause, it an important album, and still sounds beautiful.

[yankeepants]

3. I had a landlord who played this album 24/7

Full blast. I can't listen to it ever again.

[dem4decades]

4. I just listened to my Future Games album yesterday.

[Enter stage left]

5. Wow...I still remember buying the tape...

we were on our way to Aspen from Salt Lake to take part in a SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) race and stopped to buy some groceries in Grand Junction CO.

The tape was by the checkout stand & I grabbed it without hesitation. We listened to the songs all the way to Aspen, and then all the way back to Salt Lake after the weekend was over.

Still one of the best albums of all time.

[applegrove]

6. Funny story: my grade 6 teacher was teaching

us statistics. They used favorite album of each student as the data. So many said Rumours. So did I. I actually had no albums other than the ones from our childhood. I was embarrassed so copied many. I had no clue what kind if album Rumours was. I then asked my mom if I could buy it. She agreed. I loved that album. It was the only one I had for a long time.

[hippywife]

7. I can't afford to buy music

in any form anymore, but as much as I loved this album and still sing along when I hear the songs, I don't think I'd buy it all over again.

ETA: Have to admit, that is an amazing run, though.

[gristy]

8. Preceding Rumours by 2 years was their namesake album Fleetwood Mac

Here's a live version of Over My Head from that album that I just adore. The subtle backup vocals from Nicks are just amazing. Props to the sound engineer who got everything set up so well. And to Nicks' wardrobe person!