Australian indie-pop four-piece The Tullamarines have delivered one of Like A Version’s most anticipated covers of the year, taking on Fleetwood Mac‘s “The Chain” in their debut appearance at the triple j studio.
The band — Angus Purvis, Lucinda Machin, Josh and Benny — leaned into the song’s dynamics, trading harmonies across its quieter passages before spotlighting the iconic bass-driven breakdown and building into a full-blown closing jam. The arrangement stayed faithful to the spirit of the original while leaving room for the band’s own four-part vocal blend to take centre stage. They also performed their original track “Running On Empty” as part of the session.
The song choice came with some nerves attached. “We had a lot of songs that we were thinking about. The Chain came up as an option, and we were very, very scared,” vocalist Purvis admitted in an accompanying triple j interview. “And they were thinking we couldn’t do that justice.” Co-vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Machin said the band ultimately decided to “give it a go, see what happens” — describing the song’s lyrical themes and construction as “very angsty,” while Purvis remarked that “The Chain” feels like it’s been around “forever.”
For good reason. “The Chain” is drawn from Fleetwood Mac‘s Rumours (1977) — the album that spent 31 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it one of the longest-running chart-toppers in the chart’s history. Rumours has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and remains one of the best-selling albums ever recorded. While “The Chain” was never released as a standalone single, it has become one of the most recognised tracks in the band’s catalogue, widely used in film, television and sport and covered extensively in the decades since.
The Tullamarines are currently on an upward trajectory in the Australian independent music scene. Their 2025 sophomore EP Safety Blanket has been nominated for Best Independent Pop Album or EP at this year’s AIR Awards, with winners to be announced at an invite-only ceremony at Adelaide Town Hall on July 30. The band spent the past 12 months building momentum through sold-out headline shows, festival appearances and achieving full triple j rotation, while supporting international acts including The Vaccines and Everything Everything.
