Fleetwood backs 'quiet' concert

Fans listened to Eagles of Death Metal through miniature receivers

Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio on Monday to attend an experimental "quiet" rock concert.

Rock band Eagles of Death Metal played two songs without amplification to an audience of around 100 people listening through miniature radio receivers.

Fleetwood said he hoped it would alert people to the dangers of loud music.

"I hope this makes the point that you can wear ear protection at concerts and still enjoy the concert," he said.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association measured the unamplified sound at 62 decibels.

The band then played three amplified songs on speakers which were measured at 124 decibels - the same level as a jet engine.

Fleetwood, 57, suffers from partial hearing loss.

But the veteran performer, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, questioned whether "quiet" concerts would catch on.

"Who's to say? Could you see 18,000 people someday listening to Pink Floyd on headphones? Maybe, with a weird magic wand."

Fleetwood said his band, who last released an album in 2003, were likely to tour again in 2006.