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Hold Me (Fleetwood Mac song)

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"Hold Me"
Single by Fleetwood Mac
from the album Mirage
B-side"Eyes of the World"
ReleasedJune 1982[1]
Recorded1981
GenrePop rock
Length3:44
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Fleetwood Mac singles chronology
"Fireflies"
(1981) 		"Hold Me"
(1982) 		"Gypsy"
(1982)

"Hold Me" is a 1982 song by the British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac. It was the first track to be released as a single from the band's thirteenth album Mirage. Written by Christine McVie and Robbie Patton, McVie and Lindsey Buckingham shared lead vocals on the song. The single reached #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the band's first to break the top five since 1977.

Background

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"Hold Me" was written by Christine McVie and Robbie Patton. According to Mick Fleetwood in his 1990 autobiography, "Hold Me" was written about McVie's failed relationship with Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys.[2] During one of the recording sessions, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham suggested that he and McVie perform "Hold Me" as a duet similar to "Don't Stop". The two vocalists sang their parts with the studio windows open over the Paris countryside.[3]

Released in June 1982 in advance of the album itself, the song became one of Fleetwood Mac's biggest hits in the United States, peaking at No. 4 for a then-record seven consecutive weeks, from July 24, 1982, to September 4, 1982. (Potential higher chart placement was prevented by songs including "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor and "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band, as well as the No. 2 peaking of "Hurts So Good" by John Cougar.)[4] "Hold Me" ranked at No. 31 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1982.

In the United Kingdom, "Hold Me" was released in July 1982, but failed to chart. The song was eventually re-issued in February 1989 to promote the group's Greatest Hits (1988) package with "No Questions Asked" as the B-side and reached No. 94.[5]

The song is also included on the 2002 US version, and 2009 UK re-issue of the greatest hits album The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Number One[6]

Cash Box said that "the catchy hook, the solid rhythm and, of course, the female harmonies all come together in a package that can't be beat."[7] Billboard called it a "buoyant midtempo love song."[8] Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic labeled "Hold Me" as a "gorgeous Christine McVie creation" that "goes to all of the right places at the right times."[9] Paste ranked the song number 16 on its list of the 30 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs.[10]

Music video

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The music video for "Hold Me" features the band in a surreal scenario set in a desert, in keeping with the album title, based on several René Magritte paintings. In the video, Christine McVie is in a room surrounded by paintings, using a telescope to search for Lindsey Buckingham in the desert. Buckingham discovers Stevie Nicks lying on a chaise longue and paints a portrait of her. In other scenes, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood are archaeologists, dressed in khaki shorts and pith helmets. They find the desert littered with broken mirrors, which serve as a motif in the video, along with partially buried pianos, electric guitars, bass guitars, and other instruments.

Due to the band members' strained relationships at the time, the video shoot in the Mojave Desert was a "nightmare," according to producer Simon Fields. "[They] were, um, not easy to work with," agreed Steve Barron, who directed the clip. Most scenes feature only one or two band members at a time and the entire band is never seen together.[11]

"It was so hot, and we weren't getting along," recalls Nicks. Buckingham was still not over their breakup six years earlier, nor her subsequent affair with Fleetwood. Further, she elaborates, the rest of the band was angry with Fleetwood because he had then begun an affair with Nicks' best friend, causing serious issues for Nicks.[11]

"Four of them, I can't recall which four, couldn't be together in the same room for very long. They didn't want to be there," says Barron. "Christine McVie was about ten hours out of the makeup trailer. By which time it was getting dark." According to Fields, "John McVie was drunk and tried to punch me. Stevie Nicks didn't want to walk on the sand with her platforms. Christine McVie was fed up with all of them. Mick thought she was being a bitch, he wouldn't talk to her."[11]

Track listing

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7-inch single (US) (Warner Bros / 7-29966)[12]

A. "Hold Me" — 3:42
B. "Eyes of the World" — 3:41

12-inch promotional single (US) (Warner Bros / PRO-A-1040)[13]

  1. "Hold Me" — 3:42 (both sides)

Personnel

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Charts

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Fleetwood Mac – Hold Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  2. ^ Fleetwood, Mick; Davis, Stephen (1990). Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures with Fleetwood Mac. New York: William Morrow and Company. p. 250. ISBN 0-688-06647-X.
  3. ^ "Ken Caillat Question and Answer Session". 2016-04-18. Archived from the original on 2016-04-18. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  4. ^ "Billboard". Billboard. September 4, 1982. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  5. ^ "Official Charts - Fleetwood Mac". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  6. ^ Adeva (22 March 1989). "Spot the Spin: Fleetwood Mac – "Hold Me" (WEA)". Number One. No. 300. London: IPC Magazines Ltd. p. 42. ISSN 0266-5328. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024 – via Flickr.
  7. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 26, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  8. ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. June 19, 1982. p. 63. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  9. ^ Greenwald, Matthew. "Hold Me by Fleetwood Mac". AllMusic. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  10. ^ Mitchell, Matt (7 August 2023). "The 30 Greatest Fleetwood Mac Songs". Paste. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Marks, Craig; Tannenbaum, Rob (2011). I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. New York, NY: Dutton. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-0-525-95230-5.
  12. ^ Hold Me (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). Fleetwood Mac. Warner Bros. Records. 1982. 7-29966.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Hold Me (US 12-inch single sleeve). Fleetwood Mac. Warner Bros. Records. 1982. PRO-A-1040.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ^ "Fleetwood Mac – Hold Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6493." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 6524." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 27, 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Fleetwood Mac – Hold Me". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  23. ^ "USA Cashbox Charts Summaries". popmusichistory. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Fleetwood Mac – Hold Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  26. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1982". Kent Music Report. January 3, 1983. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Imgur.
  27. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1982". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Singles of 82". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  29. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1982". Retrieved 2 April 2017.

Bibliography

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