Christine McVie rejoining Fleetwood Mac
For those of you who haven’t stopped thinking about a tomorrow when Christine McVie returns to Fleetwood Mac, your wishes have been granted.
The return of McVie, a songwriting and vocal linchpin of the group, was confirmed onstage by the band’s Mick Fleetwood during a concert in Maui on Saturday. According to various sources, he told the crowd, “This is the worst-kept secret there is, but Christine McVie will be rejoining Fleetwood Mac.”
McVie, who wrote such Mac staples as “Don’t Stop” and “You Make Loving Fun,” had previously appeared with the group during a London concert last year, and had expressed interest in returning in a Guardian interview. “I miss them all. If they were to ask me I would probably be very delighted … but it hasn’t happened so we’ll have to wait and see,” she told the paper.
In response, Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks told Billboard, “I said to her, ‘It’s your band. I don’t really think you have to ask. Because it’s your band. McVie. Fleetwood Mac-vie? So, it all depends, Chris, on you.’ ”
The band is currently on hold while Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie (Christine McVie’s ex-husband) undergoes cancer treatments.
Sutherland anxious over ‘24’ return
Jack Bauer is back, and he’s on the run in London.
Kiefer Sutherland returns as the intrepid counterterrorist in a 12-episode run of “24: Live Another Day,” debuting with a two-hour show May 5 on Fox. It will take up its regular one-hour slot starting May 12.
“I’m about as anxious and wound up as I’ve been in a long time,” Sutherland said Monday.
He returns to a character he played for eight seasons, from 2001 to 2010.
“There’s a great impetus for all of us to create something new with the show,” Sutherland said.
The show will be set and shot in London and retain the real-time format with split screens and interwoven story lines. It picks up four years after the events of the show’s final season with Bauer now a fugitive being hunted by the CIA.
Also back from the original series are Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kim Raver and William Devane. Several newcomers have joined the cast, including Oscar nominee Judy Davis and Yvonne Strahovski of “The Wire.”
Rajskub, who plays Chloe, said she closely followed Internet speculation about the series return and waited eagerly to find out whether she’d be included.
“I have a lot of people who refuse to call me anyone but Chloe,” she said. “I never thought ‘24’ would come back and in this format.”
The birthday bunch
Blues singer Clarence Carter is 78. Singer-songwriter Allen Toussaint is 76. Singer Jack Jones is 76. Actress Faye Dunaway is 73. Singer-producer T Bone Burnett is 66. Actor Carl Weathers is 66. Singer Geoff Tate (Queensryche) is 55. Rapper LL Cool J is 46. Actor Jason Bateman is 45. Musician Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) is 45. Actor Kevin Durand is 40. Singer-guitarist Caleb Followill (Kings of Leon) is 32. Actor Zach Gilford is 32.