If, like me, you’ve been waiting impatiently for news of a Fleetwood Mac tour, I have good news for you: There is a very acceptable substitute.

There’s always a certain nervousness about a tribute band concert. Will they be embarrassingly awful? Well, from the moment a video of Mick Fleetwood (yes, the real one!) introduces Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, you know this will be a high-quality show.

The first half was a note-perfect tribute to the iconic Rumours album. Every track was lapped up by what looked pretty much a sell-out audience at the Regent. The hits just kept coming - The Chain, Don’t Stop, Go Your Own Way, and all the others.

The singer portraying Stevie Nicks was absolutely outstanding. If you closed your eyes and just listen, you really could have been listening to the real thing.

The opening of the second half illustrated the challenge of being a Fleetwood Mac tribute act. Because the 50-year history of the band features not one, but two distinctly different line-ups and musical styles.

In the beginning, Fleetwood Mac were a blues-rock band led by troubled genius Peter Green. They produced hits such as the instrumental Albatross, Black Magic Woman, and Oh Well. Very different to the folk-rock style of the Nicks-Buckingham era.

How does a tribute band reflect those formative years? Rumours of Fleetwood Mac do it by transforming themselves into an all-male blues-rock line-up for half a dozen songs from those early, far-off days.

It’s all done very well, but inevitably it’s like watching a completely different band. I wonder if any of the audience enjoy BOTH incarnations equally? There’s almost an argument for two tribute acts instead of one!

‘Stevie’ and ‘Christine McVie’ return to stage for the climax of the show, with superb performances of songs including the iconic Rhiannon, Everywhere, and the encore, Tusk.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening - whetting the appetite for the real thing...