Kings of Leon ‘convinced Fleetwood Mac to headline Isle of Wight Festival’

The reformed group had been reluctant to play any open-air festivals

Kings Of Leon convinced Fleetwood Mac to play this year’s Isle of Wight Festival, festival founder John Giddings has revealed.

The headline slot will be Fleetwood Mac’s only festival appearance this summer, as the band had been reluctant to play open-air shows, Giddings tells NME. Kings of Leon headlined the festival in 2014.

SEE MORE: Fleetwood Mac Kick Off UK Tour At London O2 – Live Report

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Speaking to NME, Giddings said: “It was a real coup for us to get Fleetwood Mac. The reason is Isle of Wight had the heritage with ther Doors and Jimi Hendrix and Tom Petty. They originally didn’t want to do any open-air shows, but [2014 headliners] Kings of Leon told them it was a great festival to do, and we won them over.”

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Giddings added that “they spoke to Tom Petty and the Kings of Leon who said they had a great time at the festival. They managed to convince them”.

Last night (May 27), the band’s Stevie Nicks dedicated the song ‘Landslide’ to Adele on the opening night of the band’s UK tour.

The group played the first of a run of shows at London’s The O2 last night (May 27), with Nicks addressing the crowd mid-set to talk about her love of British singer, Adele. “She’s from here – you might know her,” commented Nicks. “She’s a fantastic songwriter… I told her ‘you’re going to be me in 40 years, you’re going to still be up onstage doing what you’re doing because of your songwriting’.” The song ‘Landslide’ originally featured on the band’s self-titled 1975 album.

Read NME’s full report from the show here.

Meanwhile, Nicks argues that “every band should have a girl in it” in a new interview.

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Speaking to Mojo, Nicks said: “I think every band should have a girl in it, because it’s always going to make for more cooler stuff going on than if it’s just a bunch of guys. It’s ultimately more romantic, no matter what. Even if nobody is getting together, it still casts a romantic spell.”

Speaking about Fleetwood Mac, she added: “[The relationships were] totally important and everybody is still writing about everybody else. It will never stop.”

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