"Oh Diane" is a song by British-American rock group

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

. It was written by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut for the 1982 album ''

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...

'', the fourth album by the band with Lindsey Buckingham as producer.

Background

Despite the previous two singles from the album (" Hold Me" and "

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

") being unsuccessful in the United Kingdom, the song became a hit there when released in December 1982. It charted at number 69 on 18 December 1982 and took 10 weeks to gradually climb the chart, peaking at number 9 in February 1983, helping to push its parent album ''Mirage'' into the Top 10. The sleeve for "Oh Diane" saw the band return to using the

penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

trademark in a nod to the band's earlier years; their 1973 album was called ''

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

''. "Oh Diane" was released in Britain on 7" and 12" and also as a 7" picture disc of the penguin design. In the USA, another track from ''Mirage'', " Love in Store", was released as the third single instead and was a moderate success. "Oh Diane" was therefore the fourth single issued in the US; it was released in February 1983, but failed to chart. However, it did become a minor hit on the American

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart, peaking at number 35. Despite being a Top 10 hit in the UK, "Oh Diane" does not appear on the 2002 UK version of the album, ''

The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac ''The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac'' is an enhanced compilation album released by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac in 2002 to promote their then-upcoming album '' Say You Will'' (2003). It was released as a double album in the US on 12 Oct ...

'' (or the 2009 re-issue), although it was included on 2018's ''

50 Years – Don't Stop ''50 Years – Don't Stop'' is a box set by British-American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also r ...

''.

Personnel

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

– electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, lead and backing vocals *

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of th ...

– drums, tambourine *

John McVie John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fleet ...

– bass guitar *

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...

– keyboards, backing vocals *

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

- güiro, backing vocals

Track listings

In the UK, "Oh Diane" was released as the band’s first 12” single featuring the additional b-side track "

The Chain "The Chain" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album '' Rumours''. It is the only song from the album with writing credits for all five members ( Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John ...

" from the 1977 album '' Rumours''. UK 7" single (Warner Brothers Records FLEET 1) # "Oh Diane" – 2:33 # "Only Over You" – 4:08 UK 12" single (Warner Brothers Records FLEET 1) # "Oh Diane” – 2:33 # "Only Over You” – 4:08 # "The Chain" – 4:28 US 7" single (Warner Brothers Records 7-29698) # "Oh Diane" – 2:33 # "That’s Alright" – 3:09

Chart positions

References

External links

Official Site
{{Authority control 1982 singles Fleetwood Mac songs Music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy Song recordings produced by Richard Dashut Songs written by Lindsey Buckingham 1982 songs Warner Records singles Songs written by Richard Dashut