This Day in ’67: Fleetwood Mac Debut at the National Jazz and Blues Festival
52 years ago today, Fleetwood Mac made their grand debut at a UK music festival, one with a line-up that’ll make any music fan look back on and drool. Oh, and if the name of the event doesn’t ring a bell, just know that within a few years it would evolve into a little something known as the Reading Festival.
That’s right: the National Jazz and Blues Festival got its start in 1961, when it was merely called the National Jazz Festival. The event added “Blues” to its name in 1964, but by 1969 it was the National Jazz, Pop, Ballads & Blues Festival, and by ’71 it was starting to be referred to simply as the Reading Festival, a name which would eventually stick as the definitive name.
But let’s get back to ’67, shall we? Here’s the full line-up of artists who performed on that weekend:
Friday, August 11, 1967:
- Eric Burdon & the Animals
- Marmalade
- Small Faces
- The Move
- Tomorrow
Saturday, August 12, 1967:
- Amen Corner
- Paul Jones
- Ten Years After
- The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation
- The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
- The Nice
- Timebox
- Zoot Money
Sunday, August 13, 1967:
- Alan Brown
- Blossom Toes
- Chickenshack
- Cream
- Denny Laine & His Electric String Band
- Donovan
- Fleetwood Mac
- Jeff Beck Group
- John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
- P.P. Arnold
Pretty crazy, right? But let’s focus in a bit more specifically on Fleetwood Mac, who performed a grand total of seven songs during the course of their set: “Talk to Me Baby,” “I'm Going Home,” “I Need You,” an untitled instrumental, “Fine Little Mama,” “The World Keeps on Turning,” and “Shake Your Moneymaker.”
No, they weren’t onstage for a tremendous length of time, but in that short period, Fleetwood Mac nonetheless made a major impression, one which they continue to make to this day.
