Fleetwood Mac

The original Fleetwood Mac was formed in July 1967 by Peter Green (b. Peter Greenbaum, 29 October 1946, Bethnel Green, London, England; guitar) and Mick Fleetwood (b. 24 June 1947, London, England; drums), both of whom had recently left John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. They secured a recording deal with Blue Horizon Records on the strength of Green's reputation as a blues guitarist before the label's overtures uncovered a second guitarist, Jeremy Spencer (b. 4 July 1948, Hartlepool, Cleveland, England), in a semi-professional group, the Levi Set. A temporary bassist, Bob Brunning, was recruited into the line-up, until a further Mayall acolyte, John McVie (b. 26 November 1945, London, England), was finally persuaded to join the new unit. Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, as the group was initially billed, made its debut on August 12, 1967 at Windsor's National Jazz And Blues Festival. Their first album, FLEETWOOD MAC, released on Blue Horizon in February the following year, reached the UK Top 5 and established a distinctive balance between Green's introspective compositions and Spencer's debt to Elmore James. A handful of excellent cover versions completed an album that was seminal in the development of the British blues boom of the late '60s.
The group also enjoyed two minor hit singles with Black Magic Woman, a hypnotic Green composition later popularized by Santana, and a delicate reading of Need Your Love So Bad, first recorded by Little Willie John. Fleetwood Mac's second album, MR. WONDERFUL, was another triumph, but while Spencer was content to repeat his established style, Green, the group's leader, extended his compositional boundaries with several haunting contributions, including the heartfelt Love That Burns. His guitar playing, clean and sparse but always telling, was rarely better, while McVie and Fleetwood were already an instinctive rhythm section. MR. WONDERFUL also featured contributions from Christine Perfect (b. 12 July 1943, Birmingham, England), pianist from Chicken Shack, and a four-piece horn section, as the group began to leave traditional blues behind. A third guitarist, Danny Kirwan, (b. 13 May 1950, London, England), was added to the line-up in September 1968. The quintet scored an immediate hit when Albatross, a moody instrumental reminiscent of Sleep Walk by Santo And Johnny, topped the UK charts. The single, which reached number 2 when it was reissued in 1973, was the group's first million seller.
Fleetwood Mac then left Blue Horizon, although the company subsequently issued BLUES JAM AT CHESS, on which the band jammed with several mentors, including Buddy Guy, Otis Spann and Shakey Horton. Following a brief interlude on Immediate Records, which furnished the hypnotic Man Of The World, the quintet made their debut on Reprise with Oh Well, their most ambitious single to date, and the superb THEN PLAY ON. This crafted album unveiled Kirwan's songwriting talents and his romantic leanings offset the more worldly Green. Although pictured, Jeremy Spencer was notably absent from most of the sessions, although his eccentric vision was showcased on a self-titled solo album.
Fleetwood Mac now enjoyed an international reputation, but it was a mantle too great for its leader to bear. Peter Green left the band in May 1970 as his parting single, the awesome The Green Manalishi, became another Top 10 hit. He was replaced by Christine Perfect, now married to John McVie, and while his loss was an obvious blow, Kirwan's songwriting talent and Spencer's sheer exuberance maintained a measure of continuity on a fourth album, KILN HOUSE. However in 1971 the group was rocked for a second time when Spencer disappeared mid-way through an American tour. It transpired he had joined a religious sect, the Children Of God and while Green deputized for the remainder of the tour, a permanent replacement was found in a Californian musician, Bob Welch (b. 31 July 1946, California, USA).
The new line-up was consolidated on two melodic albums, FUTURE GAMES and BARE TREES. Neither release made much impression with UK audiences who continued to mourn the passing of the Green-led era, but in America the group began to assemble a strong following for their new-found transatlantic sound. However, further changes occurred when Kirwan's chronic stage-fright led to his dismissal. Bob Weston, a guitarist from Long John Baldry's backing band, was his immediate replacement, while the line-up was also bolstered by former Savoy Brown vocalist, Dave Walker. The group, however, was unhappy with a defined frontman and the singer left after only eight months, having barely completed work on their PENGUIN album. Although not one of the band's strongest collections, it does contain an excellent Welch composition, Night Watch.
The remaining quintet completed another album, MYSTERY TO ME, which was released at the time of a personal nadir within the group. Weston, who had been having an affair with Fleetwood's wife, was fired midway through a prolonged US tour and the remaining dates were cancelled. Their manager, Clifford Davis, assembled a bogus Mac to fulfil contractual obligations, thus denying the ‘real’ group work during the inevitable lawsuits. Yet despite the inordinate pressure, Perfect, Welch, McVie and Fleetwood returned with HEROES ARE HARD TO FIND, a positive release which belied the wrangles surrounding its appearance. Nonetheless the controversy proved too strong for Welch, who left the group in December 1974. His departure robbed Fleetwood Mac of an inventive songwriter whose American perspective helped redefine the group's approach.
It was while seeking prospective recording studios that Fleetwood was introduced to Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham via the duo's self-named album. Now bereft of a guitarist, he recalled Buckingham's expertise and invited him to replace Welch. Lindsey accepted on condition that Nicks also join, thus cementing Fleetwood Mac's most successful line-up. FLEETWOOD MAC, released in 1975, was a promise fulfilled. The newcomers provided easy, yet memorable compositions with smooth harmonies while the British contingent gave the group its edge and power. A succession of stellar compositions, including Over My Head, Say You Love Me and the dramatic Rhiannon, confirmed a perfect balance had been struck giving the group their first in a long line of US Top 20 singles. The quintet's next release, RUMOURS, proved more remarkable still. Despite the collapse of two relationships—the McVies were divorced, Buckingham and Nicks split up—the group completed a remarkable collection which laid bare the traumas within, but in a manner neither maudlin nor pitiful. Instead the ongoing drama was charted by several exquisite songs; Go Your Own Way, Don't Stop, Second Hand News and Dreams, which retained both melody and purpose. An enduring release, RUMOURS has sold upwards of 25 million copies and is second to Michael Jackson's THRILLER as the best-selling album of all time.
Having survived their emotional anguish, Fleetwood Mac was faced with the problem of following-up a phenomenon. Their response was TUSK, an ambitious double-set which showed a group unafraid to experiment, although many critics damned the collection as self-indulgent. The title track, a fascinating instrumental, was an international hit, although its follow-up, Sara, a composition recalling the style of RUMOURS, was better received in the USA than the UK. An in-concert selection, FLEETWOOD MAC (LIVE), was released as a stop-gap in 1980 as rumours of a complete break-up flourished. It was a further two years before a new collection, MIRAGE, appeared by which point several members were pursuing independent ventures. Buckingham and Nicks, in particular, viewed their own careers with equal importance and MIRAGE, a somewhat self-conscious attempt at creating another RUMOURS, lacked the sparkle of its illustrious predecessor. It nonetheless yielded three successful singles in Hold Me, Gypsy and Buckingham's irrepressible Oh Diane.
Five years then passed before a new Fleetwood Mac album was issued. TANGO IN THE NIGHT was a dramatic return to form, recapturing all the group's flair and invention with a succession of heartwarming performances in Little Lies, Family Man and You And I (Part 2). Christine McVie contributed a further high-point with the rhythmic sing-a-long Anyway. The collection was, however, Lindsey Buckingham's swan-song, although his departure from the band was not officially confirmed until June 1988. By that point two replacement singer/guitarists, ex-Thunderbyrd Rick Vito (b. 1950) and Billy Burnette (b. 7 May 1953), had joined the remaining quartet. The new line-up's debut, BEHIND THE MASK, ushered in a new decade and era for this tempestuous group, that gained strength from adversity and simply refused to die. Its success confirmed their status as one of the major groups in the history of popular music.