From the Vault…..Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain
This weekend’s F1 roar will also be accompanied by another distinctive, rock n’ roll, sound
Article by Andy Barnham
The F1 season kicks off this weekend and with it comes a music track which has become synonymous with the roar of the engines. It begins with a bass line, which accompanied by drums builds up apprehension and tension, slowly at first and then speeds up until it is joined by a guitar that quickly over takes the two other in sheer ferocity and aggression. What better track to be twinned with F1?
The track is Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain. Released in 1977 on the Rumours album, the second, frenzied, half of the track was quickly picked up by the BBC to introduce their coverage of F1 in 1978 and was the theme tune until 1997 when the BBC lost the F1 rights to ITV. It reentered the public consciousness in 2009 when F1 reappeared on the BBC.
Rumours is Fleetwood Mac’s most successful album, winning them Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1977 and to date has sold more than 40million copies globally placing the album 6th= in all time sales. However this commercial success came at a price; the album was underpinned by emotional turmoil within the group. The five person strong band included a relationship, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, along with a marriage, John and Christine McVie, all of which collapsed during recording along with the marriage of final band member Mick Fleetwood and his wife.
Of all the songs on Rumours, it is The Chain that speaks the loudest to the internal schisms rife at the time. It is one of the few songs that is credited to all the members. Nicks penned the lyrics and with Christine McVie wrote the first half of the song. John McVie and Fleetwood wrote the final section with Buckingham composing the intro at the end of the process to complete the song. It is therefore not surprising the song has such distinct, almost schizophrenic, sections.
Listening to the song it is hard to escape the emotion and desponding vehemence, raw even today, with live versions only accentuating the tumultuous history behind it. As the guitar and drums were the only instruments recorded together (the remainder of the song was recorded individually) the live performances bring out visible tensions with Nicks and Buckingham singing together on stage; most apparent in the footage from ’82.
In an age when developments in technology have led to the music industry losing a certain magic I wonder if, and when, a track like this will next come along (read previous comment here). As the F1 theme is only the second half of this emotional roller coaster, why don’t you listen to the full track. Wait until the witching hour, when the noise of the world grows quiet and music takes on that extra frisson, and put the volume all the way up to 11. 
Image kindly supplied by IWC