Fleetwood Mac’s Jeremy Spencer Tours U.S.

Original Mac slide guit virtuoso plays States for first time in over three decades.

By Fred Mills

Guitar fans and blues aficionados know the name Jeremy Spencer: along with Peter Green, he was one of the original Fleetwood Mac guitarists. The band formed in 1967 and was a significant force on the British blues scene during the late ‘60s — at least as important an outfit as the later, Buckingham-Nicks SoCal soft rock version. Slide virtuoso Spencer split in 1971 in the middle of an American tour after being recruited by religious cult the Children Of God, and Spencer subsequently recorded a handful of solo albums prior to essentially retiring from public view to focus on family and church matters.

All along, though, he continued to play, and in 2006 he recorded an album in Norway, Precious Little (it can be ordered from his official website or from Blind Pig Records. Now word arrives that for the first time since the early 1970s Spencer will perform in the United States.  Spencer, accompanied by his Norwegian band, will make appearances in St. Louis, a suburb of Chicago, and a festival near Madison, Wisconsin.

According to Spencer’s camp, the genesis of Spencer’s re-emergence came at the behest of the promoter of the Notodden Blues Festival in Norway, Jostein Forsberg:

“He convinced Spencer to perform publicly again.  He paired the rock legend with some of the best musicians in Norway, most of whom had been playing together for twenty-five years.  Their performance at the Festival was a huge success. Completely taken by the sympathetic backing provided by the Norwegian musicians, Spencer used the group to record his first album in 27 years, Precious Little, which Vintage Guitar magazine said ‘may well be the pop music comeback of the past several decades.’” Blues Revue senior editor Art Tipaldi added, "In the past two years, I've seen Jeremy Spencer perform four shows at the Notodden Blues Festival and I can tell you that each show was better than the previous. Jeremy has lost none of the fire from those Fleetwood Mac days. His slide guitar still sends chills. Every note I've heard Jeremy play showcases his great commitment to the blues. I've seen him ignite the stage with a mixture of classic Chicago blues and smart contemporary songs. This tour is the music rediscovery of 2008."

Spencer himself issued a statement, saying, "Having not played 'live' in America since 1972 is already rather daunting, along with 'shipping coals to Newcastle' by playing blues there with a group of Norwegian musicians!  But it's exciting for us to be charting unfamiliar territory, and we want to give our best to the audiences."

It’s definitely a modest string of dates. But it’s also a rare opportunity to see a genuine musical legend in action.

Jeremy Spencer Tour Dates:

July 10     St. Louis, MO     Beale on Broadway

July 11     Berwyn, IL          Fitzgerald's

July 12     Belleville, WI       Belleville American Music Festival