A look back at September 11, 1977 backstage at Milwaukee County Stadium for the Fleetwood Mac show.

Some history of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1987!

December 12, 2022

On November 30th, we lost musician Christine McVie from the band Fleetwood Mac. I was fortunate enough to photograph Christine with Fleetwood Mac three times through the years. She had such a great voice and was a talented artist.  She even did the album cover artwork for their album "Kiln House". That album is one of my personal favorites, especially  the song "Station Man".

In my very early photography days back on October 20th 1971 at the Milwaukee Arena, I photographed Rory Gallager, Frank Zappa and Fleetwood Mac with Christine. Also playing in the band was guitarist and vocalist Bob Welch who passed in 2012.  Rhythm guitarist, Danny Kirwan, also played that night. He passed away in 2018.

Maybe there is a new Fleetwood Mac band upstairs having fun and playing music again. Christine and Bob Welch really worked well together with their awesome vocals. Christine has been quoted saying  that she really enjoyed working with Bob.

These black and white photos shown here are not the greatest photos I've ever taken but I was just getting started at 17 years old!

The next time I photographed Fleetwood Mac was on September 11th, 1977 at Milwaukee County Stadium. I wasn't allowed to photograph the show but had fun backstage taking a few photos and then listened to the band play to a very large crowd. One of the photos shows Christine backstage with a large boombox! Kenny Loggins and his band opened up  for Fleetwood Mac that night.

Then in 1987 as a house photographer for Alpine Valley Music Theater, I was allowed to take a few photos and one of Christine is included here as the last photo.

Enjoy a look at Christine, Bob Welch, Danny Kirwan and a couple of Mick Fleetwood.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

January 7, 2019

Happy New Year everyone!!!  Hope you all had a great holiday season.

This week we look at Fleetwood Mac way back when in 1987 when Lindsey Buckingham was not yet part of the group.

It's similar to what Fleetwood Mac is like now without Lindsey.  For me,  he really was the heart of the band. Well, maybe after Peter Green and Bob Welch that is!

So, check out Stevie Nicks, Billy Burnette, Rick Vito, Christine McVie and of course Mick Fleetwood. This was a cold night in 1987 at Alpine Valley Music Theater here in Wisconsin.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Fleetwood Mac at Alpine Valley Music Theater in 1987 on a cold night in the valley!

Fleetwood Mac at the Milwaukee Arena on October 20, 1971.

January 13, 2014

Today's blog is a quick look at the Bob Welch version of Fleetwood Mac.

Here we see the band at the Milwaukee Arena on October 20, 1971. This was the show where they shared the lineup with Rory Gallager and Frank Zappa. I believe that Fleetwood Mac was the headliner act.

The band at that time was being led by Bob Welch on guitar and main vocals. Christine Perfect, who later married the band's bass player, John McVie, was on keyboards. Mick Fleetwood of course is the drummer and Bob Weston is the other guitar player.

Bob Welch had a great voice and we miss him.

Enjoy some old photos and have a great week!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

September 9, 2013

In the early 1970's, I was on the Alpine Valley National Ski Patrol as a Junior Ski Patrolman on the ski hill in East Troy, Wisconsin!

In 1987, I returned to East Troy, Wisconsin, as the house photographer for the Alpine Valley Music Theater which is on the other side of the ski resort! It is one big valley of fun wether it's winter or summer here in Wisconsin!

One of the best shows in 1987 was Fleetwood Mac even though Lindsey Buckingham wasn't in the band. It took two guys to try to replace Lindsey and it was a different sound.

Enjoy some photos and notice that you can see their breath! Stevie even wore gloves because it was so cold that night in the valley!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Lindsey Buckingham