The group’s current incarnation, which includes core members Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie, will perform across six nights in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, leaving South Australian fans to go their own way to a concert interstate. There is, however, some cause for hope: band also omitted Adelaide from their last Australian tour schedule, only to add a stopover at Coopers Stadium following no small public outcry. The latest tour marks the longrunning group’s first Australian performances since parting ways with key member Lindsey Buckingham. As with the band’s recent marathon US tour, Buckingham’s vocal and guitar duties will be split between Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and guitarist Mike Campbell. In addition to Fleetwood Mac’s well-loved back catalogue, the band have been known to dip into Finn’s own songbook at US shows. While Buckingham’s absence may leave fans of the classic Rumours-era lineup wanting, the acrimonious circumstances over his sacking does mark the return of one of Fleetwood Mac’s most iconic elements: testy intra-band politics. Tickets for all dates are on sale from Friday, January 25 Fleetwood Mac 2019 Australian tour dates Perth RAC Arena Friday, August 9 Tickets Brisbane Brisbane Entertainment Centre Tuesday, August 20 Tickets Sydney Qudos Bank Arena Tuesday, August 27 and Thursday, August 29 Tickets Melbourne Rod Laver Arena Monday, September 2 and Wednesday, September 4 Tickets<doc-sep>The new-look Fleetwood Mac have added a second Perth show to their Australian tour. RAC Arena will host the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees on August 9 and again on August 11. Promoters said “exceptional demand” for tickets to the first concert, which went on sale on Friday, had prompted the band to announce a second Perth performance. Tickets for the new show are on sale now. Demand for the legendary band has not waned due to the departure of long-time singer, songwriter and guitar virtuoso Lindsey Buckingham, and addition of Kiwi icon Neil Finn and guitarist Mike Campbell from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Buckingham was booted from the band due to disagreements about touring last year. Camera Icon John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Neil Finn, Mick Fleetwood, and Mike Campbell of Fleetwood Mac perform at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. Credit: Getty Images for iHeartMedia The latest incarnation of the Mac is now a six-piece which also includes co-founders, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, plus singer Stevie Nicks, who joined with then boyfriend Buckingham in 1975, and Christine McVie, who reunited with the Don’t Stop hit-makers five years ago. Since forming as a blues outfit in London in 1967, Fleetwood Mac has had 18 official members with the rhythm section of Fleetwood and McVie the only constants. Fleetwood said the band has “always been about an amazing collection of songs that are performed with a unique blend of talents”. Camera Icon The so-called classic line-up of Fleetwood Mac which toured Australia in 2015. Credit: Danny Clinch “We jammed with Mike and Neil and the chemistry really worked and let the band realise that this is the right combination to go forward with in Fleetwood Mac style,” the 71-year-old drummer said. “We know we have something new, yet it’s got the unmistakable Mac sound.” The RAC Arena concert will be the Mac’s first indoor gig in WA since in 1990 when they played two shows at the Perth Entertainment Centre on the Behind the Mask Tour. Camera Icon Lindsey Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac last year after falling out over touring details. Credit: McClatchy Tribune Buckingham was also missing from that that tour — the group’s last before Nicks left to pursue a solo career and Christine McVie retired from touring. On their previous visit in 2015, the classic line-up of Fleetwood Mac featuring Buckingham and both McVies played a superb show in rain-sodden Domain Stadium. Camera Icon Stevie Nicks out front of the Mac during their Domain Stadium concert on a wet and wild night in 2015. Credit: Simon Santi The North American leg of the current world tour with Finn and Campbell began in October and resumes in January. They play outdoor and stadium shows in Europe and the UK in June before heading Down Under.<doc-sep>
In a statement, Fleetwood said he looked forward to showing off the band's new look come August. Buckingham was dramatically fired from the rock band last year after a disagreement over a US tour. Crowded House frontman Neil Finn and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell later joined the band, and both will accompany Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie on the upcoming Australian tour. The band will kick off its local tour in Perth in August, before playing a string of shows along Australia's east coast. "Fleetwood Mac has always been about an amazing collection of songs that are performed with a unique blend of talents," he said. "We jammed with Mike and Neil and the chemistry really worked and let the band realise that this is the right combination to go forward with in Fleetwood Mac style. We know we have something new, yet it's got the unmistakable Mac sound." The new-look Fleetwood Mac. The band is scheduled to play one show in Perth and Brisbane, followed by two shows at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena and Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena. The dates come off the back of the band's tour of more than 50 cities in North America. Buckingham last year described his departure from Fleetwood Mac as "not my doing or my choice". The guitarist first joined the band in 1974 with then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks. "I think what you would say is that there were factions within the band that had lost their perspective," he said at a political fundraiser. "What that did was to harm – and this is the only thing I'm really sad about, the rest of it becomes an opportunity – it harmed the 43-year legacy that we had worked so hard to build."