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Fleetwood Mac were a British-American rock band formed in London in 1967 by guitarist and singer Peter Green. Green recruited drummer Mick Fleetwood, guitarist and singer
Jeremy Spencer Jeremy Cedric Spencer (born 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the ...
and bassist
Bob Brunning Robert Brunning (29 June 1943 – 18 October 2011) was a British musician who was, as a small part of a long musical career, the original bass guitar player with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac. Career Fleetwood Mac When Peter Green left t ...
, with John McVie replacing Brunning a few weeks after the band's first public appearance at the 1967 National Jazz & Blues Festival in Windsor. Guitarist and singer Danny Kirwan joined in 1968.
Christine Perfect 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 ...
, who initially contributed as a session musician, married McVie and became an official member in July 1970 on vocals and keyboards, two months after Green left; she became known as Christine McVie. Primarily a British blues band in their early years, Fleetwood Mac achieved a UK number-one single in 1968 with the instrumental "
Albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...
", and had other UK top ten hits with " Man of the World", " Oh Well" (both 1969), and " The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (1970). After Green's departure, Spencer and Kirwan also left in 1971 and 1972 respectively, with
Bob Welch Bob Welch may refer to: *Bob Welch (baseball) (1956–2014), American baseball pitcher *Bob Welch (author) (born c. 1955), American author and newspaper columnist *Bob Welch (musician) (1945–2012), American musician and member of Fleetwood Mac ** ...
replacing Spencer, and Bob Weston and
Dave Walker David Walker (born 25 January 1945) is a British singer and guitarist who has been front-man for a number of bands; most notably The Idle Race, Savoy Brown and Humble Pie, he also served briefly with Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath. History ...
replacing Kirwan. By the end of 1974, Weston and Walker had been dismissed and Welch had left, leaving the band without a guitarist or male vocalist. While Fleetwood was scouting studios in Los Angeles, he heard the American folk-rock duo Buckingham Nicks, consisting of guitarist and singer Lindsey Buckingham and singer
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 ...
. In December 1974, he asked Buckingham to join Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham agreed on the condition that Nicks could also join. The addition of Buckingham and Nicks gave the band a more pop rock sound and their 1975 album ''
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 ...
'' topped the ''Billboard'' 200 chart in the United States. Their album '' Rumours'' (1977) produced four U.S. Top 10 singles and remained at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 for 31 weeks. It also reached the top spot in countries around the world and won the
Grammy Award for Album of the Year The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regar ...
in 1978. ''Rumours'' has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in history. Although each member of the band went through a breakup (John and Christine McVie, Buckingham and Nicks, and Fleetwood and his wife Jenny Boyd) while recording the album, they continued to write and record together. The line-up remained stable through three more studio albums, but by the late 1980s began to disintegrate. After Buckingham left in 1987, he was replaced by Billy Burnette and Rick Vito, although Vito left in 1991 along with Nicks. A 1993 one-off performance for the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton reunited the classic 1974–1987 line-up for the first time in six years. A full reunion took place four years later, and Fleetwood Mac released their fourth U.S. No. 1 album, '' The Dance'' (1997), a live album marking the 20th anniversary of ''Rumours'' and the band's 30th anniversary. Christine McVie left in 1998 after the completion of The Dance tour. Fleetwood Mac released their final studio album, '' Say You Will'', in 2003. Christine McVie rejoined in 2014 and joined them for their
On With the Show Tour On with the Show was a world tour by the rock group Fleetwood Mac. The tour began in Minneapolis, Minnesota on September 30, 2014 and concluded in Auckland, New Zealand on November 22, 2015. Tickets were available for pre-sale between March 31 to ...
. In 2018, Buckingham was fired and replaced by Mike Campbell, formerly of
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...
, and Neil Finn of Split Enz and
Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...
. After Christine McVie's death in 2022, Nicks said in 2024 that the band would not continue without her. Fleetwood Mac have sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling bands. In 1979, they were honoured with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
. In 1998, they were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2018, Fleetwood Mac received the MusiCares Person of the Year award from the Recording Academy in recognition of their artistic achievement in the
music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
and dedication to
philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
.


History


1967–1970: Formation and early years

Fleetwood Mac were formed in July 1967 in London, England, by Peter Green after he left the British blues band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Green had previously replaced guitarist
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
in the Bluesbreakers and had received critical acclaim for his work on their album '' A Hard Road''. Green had been in two bands with Mick Fleetwood, Peter B's Looners and the subsequent Shotgun Express (which featured a young
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
as vocalist), and suggested Fleetwood as a replacement for drummer
Aynsley Dunbar Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick R ...
when Dunbar left the Bluesbreakers to join the Jeff Beck Group.Brunning, B. (1998). ''Fleetwood Mac – The First 30 Years''. London: Omnibus Press. p. 18.
John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...
agreed and Fleetwood joined the Bluesbreakers. The Bluesbreakers then consisted of Green, Fleetwood, John McVie and Mayall. Mayall gave Green free recording time as a gift, which Fleetwood, McVie and Green used to record five songs. The fifth song was an instrumental that Green named after the rhythm section, "Fleetwood Mac" ("Mac" being short for McVie). Soon after this, Green suggested to Fleetwood that they form a new band. The pair wanted McVie on bass guitar and named the band "Fleetwood Mac" to entice him, but McVie opted to keep his steady income with Mayall rather than take a risk with a new band. In the meantime, Green and Fleetwood teamed up with slide guitarist
Jeremy Spencer Jeremy Cedric Spencer (born 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the ...
and bassist
Bob Brunning Robert Brunning (29 June 1943 – 18 October 2011) was a British musician who was, as a small part of a long musical career, the original bass guitar player with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac. Career Fleetwood Mac When Peter Green left t ...
. Brunning was in the band on the understanding that he would leave if McVie agreed to join. The band made its debut on Sunday 13 August 1967 at the National Jazz and Blues Festival (a forerunner of the Reading Festival), billed as "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac featuring Jeremy Spencer". Brunning played only a few gigs with Fleetwood Mac. Within a few weeks of their first show, John McVie agreed to join the band as permanent bassist. Fleetwood Mac's self-titled debut album was released by the Blue Horizon label in February 1968. The song "Long Grey Mare" was recorded earlier with Brunning on bass, while the rest of the album was recorded with McVie. The album was successful in the UK and reached no. 4, although no tracks were released as singles. Later in the year, the singles " Black Magic Woman" (later a big hit when covered by
Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
) and "
Need Your Love So Bad "Need Your Love So Bad", sometimes known as "I Need Your Love So Bad", is a song first recorded by Little Willie John in 1955. Called a "unique amalgam of gospel, blues and rhythm & blues", it was John's second single as well as his second reco ...
" were released, both going top-forty in the UK. The band's second studio album, '' Mr. Wonderful'', was released in August 1968. The album was recorded live in the studio with miked amplifiers and a PA system, rather than being plugged into the board. The sessions featured a horn section as well as friend of the band,
Christine Perfect 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 ...
of
Chicken Shack Chicken Shack are a British blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by Stan Webb (guitar and vocals), Andy Silvester (bass guitar), and Alan Morley (drums), who were later joined by Christine Perfect (later McVie) (vocals and keyboards) in 1967. ...
, on keyboards. Later that year, Chicken Shack would score a British hit with a cover of the
Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...
classic "I'd Rather Go Blind", with Perfect on lead vocal. Perfect would also be twice voted female artist of the year in England. Shortly after the release of ''Mr. Wonderful'', 18-year-old guitarist Danny Kirwan joined the band, making Fleetwood Mac a five-piece band with three guitarists. Kirwan was in the South London blues trio Boilerhouse with Trevor Stevens (bass) and Dave Terrey (drums). Green and Fleetwood had watched Boilerhouse rehearse in a basement boiler-room, and Green had been so impressed that he invited the band to play support slots for Fleetwood Mac. Green wanted Boilerhouse to become a professional band, but Stevens and Terrey were not prepared to turn professional, so Green tried to find another rhythm section for Kirwan by placing an ad in ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
''. There were over 300 applicants, but when Green and Fleetwood ran auditions at the Nag's Head in Battersea (home of the Mike Vernon Blue Horizon Club) the hard-to-please Green could not find anyone good enough. Fleetwood invited Kirwan to join Fleetwood Mac as a third guitarist. Green was frustrated that Jeremy Spencer did not contribute to his songs. Kirwan, a talented self-taught guitarist, had a signature vibrato and a unique style that added a new dimension to the band's sound. In November 1968, with Kirwan in the band, they released their first number-one single in Europe, "
Albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...
", an instrumental with lead guitar by both Green and Kirwan. Green said later that the success of "Albatross" was thanks to Kirwan: "If it wasn't for Danny, I would never have had a number one hit record." In January 1969, they released their first compilation album '' English Rose'', which contained half of ''Mr. Wonderful'' plus new songs from Kirwan. Their next and more successful compilation album ''
The Pious Bird of Good Omen ''The Pious Bird of Good Omen'' is a compilation album by the British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1969. It consists of their first four non-album UK singles and their B-sides, two other tracks from their previous album '' Mr. ...
'' was released in August and contained various singles, B-sides and tracks the band had recorded as back-up for Eddie Boyd. On tour in the US in January 1969, the band recorded '' Fleetwood Mac in Chicago'' (released in December as a double album) at the soon-to-close
Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...
Studio with some of the blues legends of Chicago, including
Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
, Buddy Guy and
Otis Spann Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Miss ...
. These were Fleetwood Mac's last all-blues recordings, with the band moving more towards rock. Along with the change of style, the band was also going through label changes. Until that point, they had been on the Blue Horizon label, but with Kirwan in the band the musical possibilities had become too diverse for a blues-only label. The band signed with
Immediate Records Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder, and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene. History Immediate Records was started in 1965. Signed ...
and released the single " Man of the World", which became another British and European hit. For the B-side, Spencer fronted Fleetwood Mac as "Earl Vince and the Valiants" and recorded "
Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite "Man of the World" is a song recorded by Fleetwood Mac in 1969, and composed by vocalist and lead guitarist Peter Green. After the group signed to Immediate Records that year, the label collapsed shortly after the single's release. As such, "Man ...
", typifying the more raucous rock 'n' roll side of the band. Immediate Records was in bad shape however, so the band shopped around for a new deal. The Beatles wanted the band on Apple Records (Mick Fleetwood and
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
were brothers-in-law), but the band's manager Clifford Davis decided to go with Warner Bros. Records (through
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
, a
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
-founded label), the label they have stayed with ever since. Under the wing of Reprise, Fleetwood Mac released their third studio album, '' Then Play On'', in September 1969. Although the initial pressing of the American release of this album was the same as the British version, it was altered to contain the song " Oh Well", which featured consistently in live performances from the time of its release through 1997 and again starting in 2009. ''Then Play On'', which saw the band broaden their style away from straight blues, was written by Kirwan and Green, plus a track each by Fleetwood and McVie. Jeremy Spencer, meanwhile, had recorded a solo album of 1950s-style rock and roll songs, backed by the rest of the band except Green. By 1969, Green was using LSD. During a European tour towards the end of that year, he experienced a bad acid trip at a hippie commune in Munich. Clifford Davis, the band's manager, singled out this incident as the crucial point in Green's mental decline. He said: "The truth about Peter Green and how he ended up how he did is very simple. We were touring Europe in late 1969. When we were in Germany, Peter told me he had been invited to a party. I knew there were going to be a lot of drugs around and I suggested that he didn't go. But he went anyway and I understand from him that he took what turned out to be very bad, impure LSD. He was never the same again." German author and filmmaker Rainer Langhans stated in his autobiography that he and his then-girlfriend, model
Uschi Obermaier Ursula "Uschi" Obermaier (; born 24 September 1946) is a former fashion model and actress associated with the 1968 left-wing movement in Germany. She is considered an iconic sex symbol of the so-called "1968 generation" and the protests of 1968. ...
, met Green in Munich and invited him to their Highfisch-Kommune, where the drinks were spiked with acid. Langhans and Obermaier were planning to organise an open-air "Bavarian Woodstock", for which they wanted
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
and The Rolling Stones to be the main acts. Already in contact with Hendrix, they hoped Green would help them to get in contact with The Rolling Stones. Green's last studio recording with Fleetwood Mac was " The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" and its B-side, "World in Harmony". The tracks were recorded at Warner-Reprise's studios in Hollywood on the band's third US tour in April 1970, a few weeks before Green left the band. Released as a single the following month, it made No. 10 in the UK. Prior to its studio recording, the band had played the song live at the Boston Tea Party in February 1970. Some recordings of the three Boston Tea Party gigs (5–7 February 1970) were eventually released in the 1980s as the '' Live in Boston'' album. A more complete remastered three-volume compilation of these shows was released by Snapper Music in the late 1990s. "Green Manalishi" was released as Green's mental stability deteriorated. He wanted the band to give all their money to charity, but the other members of the band disagreed. In 1978,
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
recorded a cover of "Green Manalishi" for their '' Hell Bent for Leather'' album, with a live version appearing on their ''
Unleashed in the East ''Unleashed in the East'' is the first live album by the English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in September 1979 on Columbia Records. It was recorded live over two nights in Tokyo during their Hell Bent for Leather ...
'' album the following year. In April 1970, Green decided to quit the band after the completion of their European tour. His last show with Fleetwood Mac was on 20 May 1970. During that show, the band went past their allotted time and the power was shut off, although Mick Fleetwood kept drumming.


1970–1974: Transitional era

The remaining four members, Fleetwood, McVie, Spencer and Kirwan, set about work on their next album. In September 1970, Fleetwood Mac released their fourth studio album, ''
Kiln House ''Kiln House'' is the fourth studio album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 18 September 1970 by Reprise Records. This is the first album after the departure of founder Peter Green, and their last album to feature guitaris ...
'', to generally positive reviews. Kirwan's songs on the album moved the band in a melodic rock direction, while Spencer's contributions focused on re-creating the country-tinged "Sun Sound" of the late 1950s.
Christine Perfect 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 ...
, now Christine McVie following her marriage to John McVie, had retired from the music business after one unsuccessful solo album, though she contributed (uncredited) to ''Kiln House'', singing backup vocals and playing keyboards. She also drew the album cover. After ''Kiln House'', Fleetwood Mac were progressing and developing a new sound, and she was invited to join the band to help fill in the rhythm section. The first time she had played live with the band had been a guest appearance at
Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...
, England, in May 1969, just as she was leaving Chicken Shack, while her first gig as an official member of the band was on 1 August 1970 in New Orleans, Louisiana. In early 1971, the band released a non-album single, Danny Kirwan's "
Dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...
" b/w "The Purple Dancer" in the UK and certain European countries, but despite good notices in the press, it was not a success. In 1971, CBS Records, which now owned Fleetwood Mac's original record company Blue Horizon (except in the US and Canada), released the band's third compilation album, ''
The Original Fleetwood Mac ''The Original Fleetwood Mac'' is a compilation album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, first released in May 1971. It consists of various outtakes recorded by the first incarnation of the band in 1967–68. The album was re-released i ...
'', containing previously unreleased material from 1967 and 1968. While on a US tour in February 1971, Jeremy Spencer said he was going out to "get a magazine" but never returned. After several days of frantic searching, the band discovered that Spencer had joined a religious group, the Children of God. The band were liable for the remaining shows on the tour and asked Peter Green to step in as a replacement. Green brought along his friend
Nigel Watson Nigel Jerome Edwin Watson (24 September 1947 – 16 February 2019) was an English guitarist best known for his work with ex- Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green. Career After Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1970, he worked with Watson on two solo ...
, who played the
congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...
(twenty-five years later Green and Watson collaborated again to form the
Peter Green Splinter Group The Peter Green Splinter Group were a blues band formed in 1997, fronted by guitarist and singer Peter Green. Green was the leader of Fleetwood Mac until 1970. He suffered a mental breakdown during the 1970s. He was rehabilitated with the aid ...
), and insisted on playing only new material and none he had written. Green and Watson played the last week of the tour, with a show in San Bernardino on 20 February 1971 being recorded. Green did not want to re-join the band permanently and a search for a guitarist to replace Spencer began after the tour was completed. In the summer of 1971, the band held auditions for a replacement guitarist at their large country home, "Benifold", which they had jointly bought with their manager Davis for £23,000 () prior to the ''Kiln House'' tour. A friend of the band, Judy Wong, recommended her high school friend
Bob Welch Bob Welch may refer to: *Bob Welch (baseball) (1956–2014), American baseball pitcher *Bob Welch (author) (born c. 1955), American author and newspaper columnist *Bob Welch (musician) (1945–2012), American musician and member of Fleetwood Mac ** ...
, who was living in Paris, France, at the time. The band held a few meetings with Welch and decided to hire him, without actually playing with him, after they heard a tape of his songs.Brunning, B (1998): Fleetwood Mac – The First 30 Years. London: Omnibus Press p37 In September 1971, the band released their fifth studio album, ''
Future Games ''Future Games'' is the fifth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 3 September 1971. It was recorded in the summer of 1971 at Advision Studios in London and was the first album to feature Christine McVie as a fu ...
''. As a result of Welch's arrival and Spencer's departure, the album was different from anything they had done previously, with the band moving further away from their blues rock roots towards a more melodic rock style, and vocal harmonies starting to become a key part of their sound. While it became the band's first studio album to miss the charts in the UK, it helped to expand the band's appeal in the United States. In Europe, CBS released Fleetwood Mac's first '' Greatest Hits'' album in late 1971. In 1972, six months after the release of ''Future Games'', the band released their sixth studio album, ''
Bare Trees ''Bare Trees'' is the sixth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in March 1972. It was their last album to feature Danny Kirwan, who was fired during the album's supporting tour. In the wake of the band's success in ...
''. Mostly composed by Kirwan, ''Bare Trees'' featured the Welch-penned single "
Sentimental Lady "Sentimental Lady" is a song written by Bob Welch. It was originally recorded for Fleetwood Mac's 1972 album '' Bare Trees'', but was re-recorded by Welch on his debut solo album, ''French Kiss'', in 1977. It is a romantic song, originally w ...
", which would be a much bigger hit for Welch five years later when he re-recorded it for his solo album '' French Kiss'', backed by Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie. ''Bare Trees'' also featured "Spare Me a Little of Your Love", a Christine McVie song that became a staple of the band's live act throughout the early to mid-1970s. While the band was doing well in the studio, their tours started to be problematic. By 1972, Kirwan had developed an alcohol dependency and was becoming alienated from Welch and the McVies. In August 1972, before a concert on a US tour, Kirwan smashed his Gibson
Les Paul Custom The Gibson Les Paul Custom is a higher-end variation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was developed in 1953 after Gibson had introduced the Les Paul model in 1952. History The 1952 Gibson Les Paul was originally made with a mahogany body with a ...
guitar and refused to go on stage. The band played the show as a quartet, after which Kirwan criticised their performance, and he was subsequently fired from the band. Fleetwood said later that the pressure had become too much for Kirwan, and he had suffered a breakdown. Following Kirwan's departure, the band recruited guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist
Dave Walker David Walker (born 25 January 1945) is a British singer and guitarist who has been front-man for a number of bands; most notably The Idle Race, Savoy Brown and Humble Pie, he also served briefly with Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath. History ...
, the latter formerly of Savoy Brown and Idle Race. Bob Weston was well known as a slide guitarist and had known the band from his touring period with Long John Baldry. Fleetwood Mac also hired Savoy Brown's road manager, John Courage. Fleetwood, the McVies, Welch, Weston and Walker recorded the band's seventh studio album, ''
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 ...
'', which was released in January 1973. After the subsequent tour the band fired Walker because they felt his vocal and performance style did not fit well with the rest of the band. The remaining five members carried on and recorded the band's eighth studio album, ''
Mystery to Me ''Mystery to Me'' is the eighth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 15 October 1973. This was their last album to feature Bob Weston. Most of the songs were penned by guitarist/singer Bob Welch and keyboardis ...
'', six months later. This album contained Welch's song " Hypnotized", which received airplay on the radio. While ''Mystery to Me'' eventually received a Gold certification from the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, personal problems within the band emerged. The McVies' marriage was under a lot of stress, which was aggravated by their constant working with each other and by John McVie's considerable
alcohol abuse Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence, in extreme cases resulting in health problems for individuals and large scale social problems such as alcohol-relat ...
. In 1973, Weston had an affair with Fleetwood's wife Jenny Boyd, sister of
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
's first wife Pattie Boyd. Fleetwood found out two weeks into a US tour. His devastation lead to the band firing Weston and cancelling the remaining 26 dates of the tour.Brunning, B (1998): Fleetwood Mac – The First 30 Years. London: Omnibus Press pp52-54 The last date played was Lincoln, Nebraska, on 20 October 1973.Brunning, B (1998): Fleetwood Mac – The First 30 Years. London: Omnibus Press p54 In a late-night meeting after that show, the band told their sound engineer that the tour was over and Fleetwood Mac was splitting up.Brunning, B (1998): Fleetwood Mac – The First 30 Years. London: Omnibus Press pp54-55


1974: Name dispute and "fake Fleetwood Mac"

In late 1973, after the collapse of the US tour, the band's manager, Clifford Davis, was left with major touring commitments to fulfill and no band. Fleetwood Mac had "temporarily disbanded" in Nebraska and its members had gone their separate ways.p94 Davis was concerned that failing to complete the tour would destroy his reputation with bookers and promoters. He sent the band a letter in which he said he "hadn't slaved for years to be brought down by the whims of irresponsible musicians". Davis claimed that he owned the name 'Fleetwood Mac' and the right to choose the band members. He recruited members of the band Legs, which had recently issued one single under Davis's management, to tour the US in early 1974Brunning, B (1998): ''Fleetwood Mac – The First 30 Years''. London: Omnibus Press pp55-56 under the name "The New Fleetwood Mac" and perform the rescheduled dates. This band—who former vocalist Dave Walker said were "very good"Brunning, B (1998): ''Fleetwood Mac – The First 30 Years''. London: Omnibus Press p59—consisted of
Elmer Gantry ''Elmer Gantry'' is a satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis in 1926 that presents aspects of the religious activity of America in fundamentalist and evangelistic circles and the attitudes of the 1920s public toward it. The novel's protagonis ...
(Dave Terry, formerly of Velvet Opera: vocals, guitar),
Kirby Gregory Graham Patrick "Kirby" Gregory, often credited simply as Kirby (born 11 March 1953 in Wallingford, Berkshire, England) is an English musician best known for playing with rock bands Curved Air and Stretch. He now works in the field of addiction ...
(formerly of
Curved Air Curved Air are an English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band is a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fus ...
: guitar), Paul Martinez (formerly of the Downliners Sect: bass), John Wilkinson (also known as Dave Wilkinson: keyboards) and Australian drummer Craig Collinge (formerly of
Manfred Mann Chapter Three Manfred Mann Chapter Three were a British experimental jazz rock band founded by South African keyboard player Manfred Mann and long-time partner Mike Hugg, both former members of the group Manfred Mann. The line-up for its debut at Newcastl ...
,
The Librettos ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
, Procession and Third World War). The members of this group were told that Mick Fleetwood would join them on the tour to validate the use of the name. Fleetwood said later that he had not agreed to be part of the tour. The "New Fleetwood Mac" tour began on 16 January 1974 at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was initially successful. One of the band members said the first concert "went down a storm".Brunning, B (1998): Fleetwood Mac – The First 30 Years. London: Omnibus Press p65 The promoter was dubious at first but said later that the crowd had loved the band and they were "actually really good". More successful gigs followed, but then word got around that this was not the real Fleetwood Mac and audiences became hostile. The band was turned away from several gigs and the next six shows were pulled by promoters. The band struggled on and played further dates in the face of increasing hostility and heckling. The tour collapsed further, with more dates pulled, Wilkinson quitting, and a concert in Edmonton where bottles were thrown at the stage. The band dissolved and the remainder of the tour was cancelled. The
lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
that followed regarding who owned the rights to the name "Fleetwood Mac" put the real Fleetwood Mac on hiatus for almost a year. Although the band was named after Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, they had apparently signed contracts in which they had forfeited the rights to the name. Their record company, Warner Bros. Records, when appealed to, said they did not know who owned it. The dispute was eventually settled out of court, four years later, in what was described as "a reasonable settlement not unfair to either party".Brunning, B (1998): Fleetwood Mac – The First 30 Years. London: Omnibus Press p68 In later years Fleetwood said that, in the end, he was grateful to Davis because the lawsuit was the reason the band moved to California. Nobody from the alternative line-up was ever made a part of the real Fleetwood Mac, although some of them later played in Danny Kirwan's studio band. Gantry and Gregory went on to become members of Stretch, whose 1975 UK hit single " Why Did You Do It?" was written about the touring debacle. Gantry later collaborated with the Alan Parsons Project. Martinez went on to play with the
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
offshoot
Paice Ashton Lord Paice Ashton Lord was a short-lived British rock band featuring Deep Purple band members Ian Paice and Jon Lord with singer Tony Ashton. The band was formed in 1976, released its only album in 1977 and broke up in 1978. History After Deep Pur ...
, as well as
Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...
's backing band.


1974: Return of the authentic Fleetwood Mac

While the fake Fleetwood Mac were on tour, Welch stayed in Los Angeles and connected with entertainment attorneys. He realised that Fleetwood Mac was being neglected by Warner Bros and that they would need to change their base of operation from England to America, to which the rest of the band agreed. The presence of a false Fleetwood Mac had also confused matters. Rock promoter Bill Graham wrote a letter to Warner Bros to convince them that the real Fleetwood Mac was Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, and Bob Welch. This did not end the legal battle, but the band was able to record as Fleetwood Mac again. Instead of hiring another manager, Fleetwood Mac, having re-formed, became the only major rock band managed by the artists themselves. In September 1974, Fleetwood Mac signed a new recording contract with Warner Bros, but remained on the Reprise label. In the same month, the band released their ninth studio album, ''
Heroes Are Hard to Find ''Heroes Are Hard to Find'' is the ninth studio album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 13 September 1974. This is the last album recorded with Bob Welch, who left the band at the end of 1974. It was the first Fleetwo ...
''. This was the first time Fleetwood Mac had only one guitarist. While on tour, they briefly added a second keyboardist, Doug Graves, who had been an engineer on ''Heroes Are Hard to Find''. In 1980, Christine McVie said Graves had been there to back her up, but after the first two or three concerts it was decided that she was better off without him: "The band wanted me to expand my role and have a little more freedom, but he didn't play the same way I did." Keyboard player Robert ("Bobby") Hunt, who had been in the band Head West with Bob Welch in 1970, replaced Graves for the remaining dates on the tour but was not invited to join the band full time. By the time the tour ended (on 5 December 1974 at Cal State University), the ''Heroes'' album had reached a higher position on the American charts than any of the band's previous records.


1975–1987: Addition of Buckingham and Nicks, and global success

In Bob Welch's words, following the ''Heroes are Hard to Find'' tour, "the buzz that the ''Mystery to Me'' band had started to create... asgone. I astotally exhausted by writing, singing, touring, negotiating, moving, and frankly so ereMick, John and Chris. We were ''all'' discouraged that ''Heroes'' adn'tdone better. Something needs to change, but what? … There was also a kind of fatigue, anger and bitterness that all the work we had done hadn't really paid off and we were just all sort of shaking our heads saying 'what do we do now' … Everybody knew that we had to find some new creative juice." Welch himself had grown tired of the constant struggles to keep Fleetwood Mac functioning and was openly considering leaving the band. Whilst Fleetwood was checking out Sound City Studios in Los Angeles during the autumn of 1974, the house engineer, Keith Olsen, played him a track he had recorded, "Frozen Love", from the album '' Buckingham Nicks'' (1973). Fleetwood liked it and was introduced to the guitarist from the band, Lindsey Buckingham, who was at Sound City that day recording demos. Fleetwood asked him to join Fleetwood Mac, and Buckingham agreed, on the condition that his music partner and girlfriend,
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 ...
, be included. Welch considered remaining as part of this extended lineup but opted to depart for a solo career. Buckingham and Nicks joined the band on New Year's Eve 1974. In 1975, the new line-up released their first album together, the self-titled ''
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 ...
'', the band's tenth studio album overall. The album was a breakthrough for the band and became a huge hit, reaching No. 1 in the US and selling over 7 million copies. Among the hit singles from this album were Christine McVie's " Over My Head" and " Say You Love Me" and Stevie Nicks' " Rhiannon", as well as the much-played album track "
Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
", a live rendition of which became a hit twenty years later on '' The Dance'' album. In 1976, the band was suffering from severe stress. With success came the end of John and Christine McVie's marriage, as well as Buckingham and Nicks's long-term romantic relationship. Fleetwood, meanwhile, was in the midst of divorce proceedings from his wife, Jenny, and had also begun an affair with Nicks. The pressure on Fleetwood Mac to release a successful follow-up album, combined with their new-found wealth, led to creative and personal tensions which were allegedly fuelled by high consumption of drugs and alcohol. The band's eleventh studio album, '' Rumours'' (the band's first release on the main Warner label after Reprise was retired and all of its acts were reassigned to the parent label), was released in February 1977. In this album, the band members laid bare the emotional turmoil they were experiencing at the time. ''Rumours'' was critically acclaimed and won the
Grammy Award for Album of the Year The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regar ...
in 1977. The album generated four top-ten singles: Buckingham's " Go Your Own Way", Nicks' US No. 1 " Dreams", and Christine McVie's " Don't Stop" and " You Make Loving Fun". Buckingham's "
Second Hand News "Second Hand News" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham. The song was first performed for the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac as the opening track of their 1977 album '' Rumours''. Background "Second Hand News" was a frontrunner for ...
", Nicks' " Gold Dust Woman", and " The Chain" (the only song written by all five band members) also received significant radio airplay. By 2003, ''Rumours'' had sold over 19 million copies in the US alone (certified as a diamond album by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
) and a total of 40 million copies worldwide, bringing it to eighth on the list of best-selling albums. Fleetwood Mac supported the album with a lucrative tour. On 10 October 1979, Fleetwood Mac were honoured for their contributions to the music industry with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6608 Hollywood Boulevard. Buckingham convinced Fleetwood to let his work on their next album be more experimental and to be allowed to work on tracks at home before bringing them to the rest of the band in the studio. The result of this, the band's twelfth studio album '' Tusk'', was a 20-track double album released in 1979. It produced three hit singles: Buckingham's " Tusk" (US No. 8), which featured the
USC Trojan Marching Band The USC Trojan Marching Band, also known as the Spirit of Troy, represents the University of Southern California (USC) at various collegiate sports, broadcast, popular music recording, and national public appearance functions. The Spirit of ...
; Christine McVie's " Think About Me" (US No. 20); and Nicks' six-and-a-half minute opus "
Sara Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...
" (US No. 7). "Sara" was cut to four-and-a-half minutes for both the single and the first CD release of the album in the 1980s, but the full version has since been restored on the 1988 '' Greatest Hits'', the 1992 ''
25 Years – The Chain ''25 Years – The Chain'' is a box set by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac originally released on 24 November 1992. The set contains four CDs, covering the history of the band from its formation in 1967 to 1992. The set features sev ...
'' box set, 2002's ''
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 ...
'', and the 2004 remaster of ''Tusk''. Original guitarist Peter Green also took part in the sessions of ''Tusk'', although his playing on the Christine McVie track "Brown Eyes", is not credited on the album. In an interview in 2019, Fleetwood described ''Tusk'' as his "personal favourite" and said, "Kudos to Lindsey … for us not doing a replica of ''Rumours''." ''Tusk'' sold four million copies worldwide. Fleetwood blamed the album's relative lack of commercial success on the RKO radio chain having played the album in its entirety prior to release, thereby allowing mass home taping. The band embarked on an 11-month tour to support and promote ''Tusk''. They travelled around the world, including the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In Germany, they shared the bill with reggae superstar Bob Marley. On this world tour, the band recorded music for their first live album, which was released at the end of 1980. The band's thirteenth studio 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 ...
'', was released in 1982. Following 1981 solo albums by Nicks ('' Bella Donna''), Fleetwood ('' The Visitor''), and Buckingham ('' Law and Order''), there was a return to a more conventional approach. Buckingham had been chided by critics, fellow band members, and music business managers for the lesser commercial success of ''Tusk''. Recorded at Château d'Hérouville in France and produced by
Richard Dashut Richard Charles Dashut (born September 19, 1951) is an American record producer who produced several Fleetwood Mac albums including '' Rumours'', ''Tusk'', '' Live'', '' Mirage'', ''Tango in the Night'', and ''Time''. Dashut was born in West ...
, ''Mirage'' was an attempt to recapture the huge success of ''Rumours''. Its hits included Christine McVie's " Hold Me" and "
Love in Store "Love in Store" is a song by British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac. The song is the opening track on the 1982 album '' Mirage'', the fourth album by the band with Lindsey Buckingham acting as main producer with Richard Dashut and Ken Cailla ...
" (co-written by Robbie Patton and Jim Recor, respectively), Nicks' "Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac song), Gypsy", and Buckingham's "Oh Diane", which made the Top 10 in the UK. A minor hit was also scored by Buckingham's "Can't Go Back (Fleetwood Mac song), Can't Go Back". In contrast to the Tusk Tour, the band embarked on only a short tour of 18 American cities, with the Los Angeles show being recorded and released on video. They also headlined the first US Festival, on 5 September 1982, for which the band was paid $500,000 (equivalent to $ in 2024). ''Mirage'' was certified double platinum in the US. Following ''Mirage'' the band went on hiatus, which allowed members to pursue solo careers. Nicks released two more solo albums (1983's ''The Wild Heart (album), The Wild Heart'' and 1985's ''Rock a Little''). Buckingham issued ''Go Insane (album), Go Insane'' in 1984, the same year that Christine McVie made an Christine McVie (album), eponymous album (yielding the Top 10 hit "Got a Hold on Me" and the Top 40 hit "Love Will Show Us How"). All three became successful in their solo efforts, with Nicks being the most popular. During this period, Fleetwood had filed for bankruptcy, Nicks was admitted to the Betty Ford Clinic for addiction problems, and John McVie had suffered an addiction-related seizure – all of which were attributed to the lifestyle of excess afforded to them by their worldwide success. It was rumoured that Fleetwood Mac had disbanded, but Buckingham commented that he was unhappy at allowing ''Mirage'' to remain the band's last effort. The lineup featuring Fleetwood, the McVies, Buckingham, and Nicks recorded one more album, their fourteenth studio album, ''Tango in the Night'', in 1987. The recording started off as a Buckingham solo album before becoming a full group project. The album went on to become their best-selling release since ''Rumours'', especially in the UK where it hit No. 1 three times in the following year. The album sold three million copies in the US and contained four hits: Christine McVie's "Little Lies" and "Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac song), Everywhere" ("Little Lies" being co-written with her new husband, Eddy Quintela), Sandy Stewart (musician), Sandy Stewart and Nicks' "Seven Wonders (song), Seven Wonders", and Buckingham's "Big Love (Fleetwood Mac song), Big Love". "Family Man (Fleetwood Mac song), Family Man" (Buckingham and
Richard Dashut Richard Charles Dashut (born September 19, 1951) is an American record producer who produced several Fleetwood Mac albums including '' Rumours'', ''Tusk'', '' Live'', '' Mirage'', ''Tango in the Night'', and ''Time''. Dashut was born in West ...
) and "Isn't It Midnight" (Christine McVie) were also released as singles.


1987–1995: Departures of Buckingham and Nicks

With a ten-week tour scheduled, Buckingham held back at the last minute, saying he felt his creativity was being stifled. A group meeting at Christine McVie's house on 7 August 1987 resulted in turmoil. Tensions were coming to a head. Fleetwood said in his autobiography that there was a physical altercation between Buckingham and Nicks. Buckingham left the band the following day. After Buckingham's departure, Fleetwood Mac added two new guitarists to the band, Billy Burnette and Rick Vito, again without auditions. Burnette was the son of Dorsey Burnette and nephew of Johnny Burnette, both of The Rock and Roll Trio. He had already worked with Fleetwood in Zoo, with Christine McVie as part of her solo band, had done some session work with Nicks, and backed Buckingham on ''Saturday Night Live''. Fleetwood and Christine McVie had played on his ''Try Me'' album in 1985. Vito, a Peter Green admirer, had played with many artists from Bonnie Raitt to John Mayall, to Roger McGuinn in Thunderbyrd and worked with John McVie on two Mayall albums. The 1987–88 "Shake the Cage" tour was the first outing for this line-up. It was successful enough to warrant the release of a concert video, also titled ''Tango in the Night'', which was filmed at San Francisco's Cow Palace arena in December 1987. Capitalising on the success of the ''Tango in the Night'' album, the band released a '' Greatest Hits'' album in 1988. It featured singles from the 1975–1988 era and included two new compositions, "No Questions Asked (Fleetwood Mac song), No Questions Asked" written by Nicks and Kelly Johnston, and "As Long as You Follow", written by Christine McVie and Quintela. 'As Long as You Follow' was released as a single in 1988 but only made No. 43 in the US and No. 66 in the UK, although it reached No.1 on the US Adult Contemporary charts. The ''Greatest Hits'' album, which peaked at No. 3 in the UK and No. 14 in the US (though it has since sold over 8 million copies there) was dedicated by the band to Buckingham, with whom they were now reconciled. In 1990, Fleetwood Mac released their fifteenth studio album, ''Behind the Mask (album), Behind the Mask''. With this album, the band veered away from the stylised sound that Buckingham had evolved during his tenure (which was also evident in his solo work) and developed a more adult contemporary style with producer Greg Ladanyi. The album yielded only one Top 40 hit, Christine McVie's "Save Me (Fleetwood Mac song), Save Me". ''Behind the Mask'' only achieved RIAA certification, Gold album status in the US, peaking at No. 18 on the ''Billboard'' album chart, though it entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1. It received mixed reviews and was seen by some music critics as a low point for the band in the absence of Buckingham (who had actually made a guest appearance playing on the title track). But ''Rolling Stone'' magazine said that Vito and Burnette were "the best thing to ever happen to Fleetwood Mac". The subsequent "Behind the Mask" tour saw the band play sold-out shows at London's Wembley Stadium. In the final show in Los Angeles, Buckingham joined the band onstage. The two women of the band, McVie and Nicks, had decided that the tour would be their last (McVie's father had died during the tour), although both stated that they would still record with the band. In 1991, however, Nicks and Rick Vito left Fleetwood Mac altogether. In 1992, Fleetwood arranged a 4-CD box set, spanning highlights from the band's 25-year history, entitled ''
25 Years – The Chain ''25 Years – The Chain'' is a box set by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac originally released on 24 November 1992. The set contains four CDs, covering the history of the band from its formation in 1967 to 1992. The set features sev ...
'' (a cut-down 2-CD box set, ''Selections from 25 Years – The Chain'', was also released). A notable inclusion in the box set was "Silver Springs (song), Silver Springs", a Nicks composition that was recorded during the ''Rumours'' sessions but was omitted from the album and used as the B-side of "Go Your Own Way". Nicks had requested use of this track for her 1991 best-of compilation ''TimeSpace'', but Fleetwood had refused as he had planned to include it in this collection as a rarity. The disagreement between Nicks and Fleetwood garnered press coverage and was believed to have been the main reason for Nicks leaving the band in 1991. The box set also included a new Nicks/Vito composition, "Paper Doll (Fleetwood Mac song), Paper Doll", which was released in the US as a single and produced by Buckingham and Richard Dashut. There were also two new Christine McVie compositions, "Heart of Stone" and Love Shines (song), "Love Shines". "Love Shines" was released as a single in the UK and elsewhere. Buckingham also contributed a new song, "Make Me a Mask". Fleetwood also released a deluxe hardcover companion book to coincide with the release of the box set, titled ''My 25 Years in Fleetwood Mac''. The volume featured notes written by Fleetwood detailing the band's 25-year history and many rare photographs. The classic 1974–1987 line-up reunited in 1993 at the request of US President Bill Clinton for his first United States presidential inaugural balls, Inaugural Ball. Clinton had made Fleetwood Mac's " Don't Stop" his campaign theme song. His request for it to be performed at the Inauguration Ball was met with enthusiasm by the band, although this line-up had no intention of reuniting permanently. Inspired by the new interest in the band, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, and Billy Burnette recorded another album as Fleetwood Mac, with Bekka Bramlett, who had worked a year earlier with Fleetwood's Zoo, joining the band. Solo singer-songwriter/guitarist and original Traffic (band), Traffic member Dave Mason, who had worked with Bekka's parents Delaney & Bonnie twenty-five years earlier, was also added. Although she remained an official band member and would be part of the next studio album, Christine McVie chose to take a break from touring around this time. The other five members (Fleetwood, J. McVie, Burnette, Bramlett and Mason) toured in 1994, opening for Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and in 1995 as part of a package with REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar. This tour saw the band perform classic Fleetwood Mac songs spanning the band's whole history to that point. In 1995, at a concert in Tokyo, the band was greeted by former member Jeremy Spencer, who performed a few songs with them. On 10 October 1995, Fleetwood Mac released their sixteenth studio album, ''Time (Fleetwood Mac album), Time'', which was not a success. Although it hit the UK Top 50 for one week, the album had zero impact in the US. It failed to graze the ''Billboard'' Top 200 albums chart, a reversal for a band that had been a mainstay on that chart for most of the previous two decades. Shortly after the album's release, Christine McVie informed the band that the album would be her last. Bramlett and Burnette subsequently formed a country music duo, Bekka & Billy.


1995–2007: Reformation, reunion, and Christine McVie's departure

Just weeks after disbanding Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood started working with Lindsey Buckingham again. John McVie was added to the sessions, and later Christine McVie. Stevie Nicks also enlisted Buckingham to produce a song for a soundtrack. In May 1996, Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, and Nicks performed together at a private party in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky, prior to the Kentucky Derby, with Steve Winwood filling in for Buckingham. A week later, the ''Twister (1996 film), Twister'' film soundtrack was released, which featured the Nicks-Buckingham duet "Twisted (Stevie Nicks song), Twisted", with Fleetwood on drums. This eventually led to a full reunion of the ''Rumours'' line-up, which officially reformed in March 1997. The regrouped Fleetwood Mac performed a live concert on a soundstage at Warner Bros. Burbank, California, Burbank, California, on 22 May 1997. The concert was recorded and filmed, and from this performance came the 1997 live album and video '' The Dance'', which brought the band back to the top of the US album charts for the first time in 10 years. ''The Dance'' returned Fleetwood Mac to a superstar status they had not enjoyed since ''Tango in the Night''. The album was certified 5 million units by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. An arena tour followed the MTV premiere of ''The Dance'' video and kept the reunited Fleetwood Mac on the road throughout much of 1997, the 20th anniversary of ''Rumours''. With additional musicians Neale Heywood on guitar, Brett Tuggle on keyboards, Lenny Castro on percussion and Sharon Celani (who had toured with the band in the late 1980s) and Mindy Stein on backing vocals, this would be the final appearance of the classic line-up including Christine McVie for 16 years. Neale Heywood and Sharon Celani remain touring members to this day. In 1998 Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
. Members inducted included the 1968–1970 band, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, and Danny Kirwan, and ''Rumours''-era members Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey Buckingham. Bob Welch was not included, despite his key role in keeping the band alive during the early 1970s. The ''Rumours''-era version of the band performed both at the induction ceremony and at the Grammy Awards programme that year. Peter Green attended the induction ceremony but did not perform with his former bandmates, opting instead to perform his composition " Black Magic Woman" with
Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
, who were inducted the same night. Neither Jeremy Spencer nor Danny Kirwan attended. Fleetwood Mac also received the "Outstanding Contribution to Music" award at the Brit Awards (British Phonographic Industry Awards) the same year. Shortly after this, Christine McVie officially left the band. 2002 saw the release of ''
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 ...
'', issued as a 21-track single CD in the UK and a 40-track double CD in the US. Christine McVie's departure left Buckingham and Nicks as the two singer-songwriters on the band's seventeenth studio album, '' Say You Will'', released in 2003 (although Christine contributed some backing vocals and keyboards as a guest). The album debuted at No.3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart (No. 6 in the UK) and yielded chart hits with "Peacekeeper (Fleetwood Mac song), Peacekeeper" and the title track, and a successful world arena tour which lasted through 2004. The tour grossed $27,711,129 and was ranked No. 21 in the top 25 grossing tours of 2004. Around 2004–05 there were rumours of a reunion of the early line-up of Fleetwood Mac involving Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. While these two apparently remained unconvinced, in April 2006 bassist John McVie, during a question-and-answer session on the ''Penguin'' Fleetwood Mac fan website, said of the reunion idea: In interviews given in November 2006 to support his solo album ''Under the Skin (Lindsey Buckingham album), Under the Skin'', Buckingham stated that plans for the band to reunite once more for a 2008 tour were still in the cards. Recording plans had been put on hold for the foreseeable future. In an interview Nicks gave to the UK newspaper ''The Daily Telegraph'' in September 2007, she stated that she was unwilling to carry on with the band unless Christine McVie returned.


2008–2013: Touring activity

In March 2008, it was mooted that Sheryl Crow might work with Fleetwood Mac in 2009. Crow and Stevie Nicks had collaborated in the past and Crow had stated that Nicks had been a great teacher and inspiration to her. Later, Buckingham said that the potential collaboration with Crow had "lost its momentum" and the idea was abandoned. In March 2009, Fleetwood Mac started their "Unleashed (concert tour), Unleashed" tour, again without Christine McVie. It was a greatest hits show, although album tracks such as "Storms (Fleetwood Mac song), Storms" and "I Know I'm Not Wrong" were also played. During their show on 20 June 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Stevie Nicks premiered part of a new song that she had written about Hurricane Katrina. The song was later released as "New Orleans" on Nicks's 2011 album ''In Your Dreams (Stevie Nicks album), In Your Dreams'' with Mick Fleetwood on drums. In October 2009 and November, the band toured Europe, followed by Australia and New Zealand in December. In October, 2002's ''
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 ...
'' was re-released in the UK, this time using the US 2-CD track listing, entering at number six on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 November 2009 a one-hour documentary, ''Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop'', was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, featuring recent interviews with all four current band members. During the documentary, Nicks gave a candid summary of the current state of her relationship with Buckingham, saying, "Maybe when we're 75 and Fleetwood Mac is a distant memory, we might be friends." On 6 November 2009, Fleetwood Mac played the last show of the European leg of their ''Unleashed'' tour at London's Wembley Arena. Christine McVie was in the audience. Nicks paid tribute to her from the stage to a standing ovation from the audience, saying that she thought about her former bandmate "every day", and dedicated that night's performance of "
Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
" to her. On 19 December 2009, Fleetwood Mac played the second-to-last show of their ''Unleashed'' tour to a sell-out crowd in New Zealand, at what was intended to be a one-off event at the Brooklands, Taranaki, TSB Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth. Tickets, after pre-sales, sold out within twelve minutes of public release. Another date, Sunday 20 December, was added and also sold out. The tour grossed $84,900,000 and was ranked No. 13 in the highest grossing worldwide tours of 2009. On 19 October 2010, Fleetwood Mac played a private show at the Phoenician Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona for TPG (Texas Pacific Group). On 3 May 2011, the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Network broadcast an episode of ''Glee (TV series), Glee'' entitled "Rumours" that featured six songs from the band's 1977 album. The show sparked renewed interest in the band and its most commercially successful album, and ''Rumours'' re-entered the ''Billboard'' 200 chart at No.11 in the same week that Nicks's solo album ''In Your Dreams (Stevie Nicks album), In Your Dreams'' debuted at No.6. (She was quoted by ''Billboard'' saying that her new album was "my own little ''Rumours''.") The two recordings sold about 30,000 and 52,000 units respectively. Music downloads accounted for 91 per cent of the ''Rumours'' sales. The spike in sales for ''Rumours'' represented an increase of 1,951%. It was the highest chart entry by a previously issued album since '' The Rolling Stones reissue of ''Exile On Main St.'' re-entered the chart at No. 2 on 5 June 2010. In an interview in July 2012 Nicks confirmed that the band would reunite for a tour in 2013. Original Fleetwood Mac bassist
Bob Brunning Robert Brunning (29 June 1943 – 18 October 2011) was a British musician who was, as a small part of a long musical career, the original bass guitar player with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac. Career Fleetwood Mac When Peter Green left t ...
died on 18 October 2011 at the age of 68. Former guitarist and singer Bob Weston was found dead on 3 January 2012 at the age of 64. Former singer and guitarist
Bob Welch Bob Welch may refer to: *Bob Welch (baseball) (1956–2014), American baseball pitcher *Bob Welch (author) (born c. 1955), American author and newspaper columnist *Bob Welch (musician) (1945–2012), American musician and member of Fleetwood Mac ** ...
was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 7 June 2012 at the age of 66. Don Aaron, a spokesman at the scene, stated, "He died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest." A suicide note was found. Welch had been struggling with health issues and was dealing with depression. His wife discovered his body. The band's 2013 tour, which took place in 34 cities, started on 4 April in Columbus, Ohio. The band performed two new songs ("Sad Angel" and "Without You"), which Buckingham described as some of the most "Fleetwood Mac-ey"-sounding songs since ''Mirage''. "Without You" was rerecorded from the Buckingham-Nicks era. The band released their first new studio material in ten years, ''Extended Play (Fleetwood Mac EP), Extended Play'', on 30 April 2013. The EP debuted and peaked at No. 48 in the US and produced one single, "Sad Angel". On 25 and 27 September 2013, the second and third nights of the band's London O2 shows, Christine McVie joined them on stage for "Don't Stop". "[Buckingham's] words to us were, 'She can't just come and go,'" Nicks recalled. "That's important to him, but it's not so important to me... Much as Lindsey adores her – and he does; she's the only one in Fleetwood Mac he was ever really willing to listen to – he doesn't want the first-night reviews to be all about Christine's one song, rather than the set we rehearsed for two months. But it will be wonderful to have her back up there – and, from there, who knows?" On 27 October 2013, the band cancelled their New Zealand and Australian performances after John McVie had been diagnosed with cancer so that he could undergo treatment. They said: "We are sorry not to be able to play these Australian and New Zealand dates. We hope our Australian and New Zealand fans as well as Fleetwood Mac fans everywhere will join us in wishing John and his family all the best." Also in October 2013, Stevie Nicks appeared in ''American Horror Story: Coven'' with Fleetwood Mac's song "Seven Wonders (song), Seven Wonders" playing in the background. In November 2013, Christine McVie expressed interest in a return to Fleetwood Mac, and also affirmed that John McVie's prognosis was "really good".


2014–present: Final years

On 11 January 2014, Mick Fleetwood confirmed that Christine McVie would be rejoining Fleetwood Mac. On with the Show tour, On with the Show, a 33-city North American tour, opened in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 30 September 2014. A series of May–June 2015 arena dates in the United Kingdom went on sale on 14 November, selling out in minutes. High demand caused additional dates to be added to the tour, including an Australian leg. In January 2015, Buckingham suggested that the new album and tour might be Fleetwood Mac's last, and that the band would cease operations in 2015 or soon afterwards. He said work would continue on the new album, and solo work would "take a back seat for a year or two". Fleetwood said the new album might take a few years to complete and that they were waiting for contributions from Nicks, who had been ambivalent about committing to a new record. In August 2016, Fleetwood said that while the band had "a huge amount of recorded music", virtually none of it featured Nicks. Buckingham and Christine McVie, however, had contributed many songs to the new project. He told ''Ultimate Classic Rock'': "[McVie] wrote up a storm. She and Lindsey could probably have a mighty strong duet album if they want... I hope it will come to more than that." Nicks explained her reluctance to record another album with Fleetwood Mac. "Do you want to take a chance on [spending a year recording an album with] a bunch of arguing people? And then not wanting to go on tour because you just spent a year arguing?" On 9 June 2017, Buckingham and Christine McVie released a new album, titled ''Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie'', which included contributions from Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. The album was preceded by the single "In My World". A 38-date tour to support the album began on 21 June and concluded 16 November. Fleetwood Mac also planned to embark on another tour in 2018. The band headlined the second night of the Classic West concert on 16 July 2017 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and the second night of the Classic East concert at New York City's Citi Field on 30 July 2017. In January 2018, Fleetwood Mac received the MusiCares Person of the Year award and reunited to perform several songs at the Grammy Award, Grammy-hosted gala honouring them. In April 2018, the song "Dreams" re-entered the Hot Rock Songs chart at No. 16 after a viral meme had featured it. This chart re-entry came 40 years after the song had topped the Hot 100. The song's streaming totals also translated into 7,000 "equivalent album units", a jump of 12 per cent, which helped ''Rumours'' to go from No. 21 to No. 13 on the Top Rock Albums chart. In April 2018 Buckingham departed from the group a second time, having reportedly been dismissed. The reason was said to have been a disagreement about the nature of the tour, and in particular the question of whether newer or less well-known material would be included, as Buckingham wanted. Fleetwood stated on ''CBS This Morning'' on 25 April 2018 that Buckingham would not sign off on a tour that the group had been planning for a year and a half and they had reached a "huge impasse". When asked if Buckingham had been fired, he said, "We don't use that word because I think it's ugly." He said Buckingham's work in Fleetwood Mac was, and always would be, hugely respected. In October 2018, Buckingham filed a lawsuit against Fleetwood Mac for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of oral contract, and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, among other claims. He said later that a settlement had been reached and he was happy with it. Buckingham also provided his version of what had led to his departure from the band. He said that after their performance at the MusiCares event, the band's manager, Irving Azoff, had told him that, among other things, Nicks was not happy about his reaction to the intro music for their acceptance speech being "Rhiannon"; and about the way he had allegedly "smirked" during her thank-you speech. Buckingham conceded the first point. "It wasn't about it being 'Rhiannon'. It just undermined the impact of our entrance." Azoff subsequently told him that Nicks had given the rest of the band an ultimatum: either Buckingham went or she would. Former
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...
guitarist Mike Campbell and Neil Finn of
Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...
were named to replace Buckingham. On ''CBS This Morning'', Fleetwood said that Fleetwood Mac had been reborn and that "This is the new lineup of Fleetwood Mac." Aside from touring, the band planned to record new music with Campbell and Finn in the future. The band's "An Evening with Fleetwood Mac" tour started in October 2018. The band launched the tour at the iHeartRadio Music Festival on 21 September 2018 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. On 8 June 2018, former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Danny Kirwan died at the age of 68 in a hostel for homeless alcoholics in London, after contracting pneumonia earlier in the year. ''Mojo (magazine), Mojo'' quoted Christine McVie as saying: "Nobody else could play like him. He was a one-off. Danny was a perfectionist; a fantastic musician and a fantastic writer."Mojo magazine, London, September 2018: "A Loner and a One-Off: Danny Kirwan 1950–2018": Mark Blake. One of Kirwan's songs, "Tell Me All the Things You Do" from ''
Kiln House ''Kiln House'' is the fourth studio album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 18 September 1970 by Reprise Records. This is the first album after the departure of founder Peter Green, and their last album to feature guitaris ...
'', was included in the set of the "An Evening with Fleetwood Mac" tour. On 28 May 2020, Neil Finn, featuring Nicks and McVie with Campbell on guitar, released the song "Find Your Way Back Home" for the Auckland homeless shelter Auckland City Mission. Founding member Peter Green died on 25 July 2020 at the age of 73. In October 2020, ''Rumours'' again entered the ''Billboard'' top 10. The album received 30.6 million streams on streaming platforms the week of 15 October, which was in part due to a Dreams (Fleetwood Mac song)#Nathan Apodaca TikTok, viral video featuring the song " Dreams". On 30 November 2022, Christine McVie died at the age of 79. In February 2023, when asked about further activity from the band, Fleetwood replied, "I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris. I'd say we're done, but then we've all said that before. It's sort of unthinkable right now." He said the other surviving members were keeping themselves busy with musical pursuits outside the band and that he intended to do the same. In an October 2023 interview, Nicks stated that she saw no reason to continue the band after McVie's death. Upon the release of Crowded House's album ''Gravity Stairs'' in 2024, Finn expressed surprise that the online encyclopedia Wikipedia still listed him as a member of Fleetwood Mac. In a 2024 interview with ''Mojo (magazine), Mojo'', Nicks reiterated that the band would not continue without Christine McVie.


Tours

* Early gigs (1967) * First Tour (1968) * Mr. Wonderful Tour (1968–1969) * Then Play On Tour (1969–1970) * Kiln House Tour (1970–1971) * Future Games Tour (1971) * British Are Coming Tour (1972) * Bare Trees Tour (1972) * Penguin Tour (1973) * Mystery to Me Tour (1973) * Heroes Are Hard to Find Tour (1974) * Fleetwood Mac Tour/Summer Tour '76 (1975–1976) * Rumours Tour (1977–1978) * Tusk Tour (1979–1980) * Mirage Tour (1982) * Shake the Cage Tour (1987–1988) * Behind the Mask Tour (1990) * Another Link in the Chain Tour (1994–1995) * The Dance Tour (1997) * Say You Will Tour (2003–2004) * Unleashed (concert tour), Unleashed Tour (2009) * Fleetwood Mac Live Tour (2013) * On with the Show (concert tour), On with the Show Tour (2014–2015) * An Evening with Fleetwood Mac Tour (2018–2019)


Band members


Final lineup

* Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion (1967–1995, 1997–2022) * John McVie – bass (1967–1995, 1997–2022) *Christine McVie – keyboards, vocals (1970–1995, 1997–1998, 2014–2022; her death) *
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 ...
– vocals (1975–1991, 1997–2022) * Mike Campbell – lead guitar, vocals (2018–2022) * Neil Finn – vocals, rhythm guitar (2018–2022)


Timeline


Discography

Studio albums * ''Fleetwood Mac (1968 album), Fleetwood Mac'' (1968, also known as ''Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac'') * '' Mr. Wonderful'' (1968) * '' Then Play On'' (1969) * ''
Kiln House ''Kiln House'' is the fourth studio album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 18 September 1970 by Reprise Records. This is the first album after the departure of founder Peter Green, and their last album to feature guitaris ...
'' (1970) * ''
Future Games ''Future Games'' is the fifth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 3 September 1971. It was recorded in the summer of 1971 at Advision Studios in London and was the first album to feature Christine McVie as a fu ...
'' (1971) * ''
Bare Trees ''Bare Trees'' is the sixth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in March 1972. It was their last album to feature Danny Kirwan, who was fired during the album's supporting tour. In the wake of the band's success in ...
'' (1972) * ''
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 ...
'' (1973) * ''
Mystery to Me ''Mystery to Me'' is the eighth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 15 October 1973. This was their last album to feature Bob Weston. Most of the songs were penned by guitarist/singer Bob Welch and keyboardis ...
'' (1973) * ''
Heroes Are Hard to Find ''Heroes Are Hard to Find'' is the ninth studio album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 13 September 1974. This is the last album recorded with Bob Welch, who left the band at the end of 1974. It was the first Fleetwo ...
'' (1974) * ''
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 ...
'' (1975) * '' Rumours'' (1977) * '' Tusk'' (1979) * ''
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 ...
'' (1982) * ''Tango in the Night'' (1987) * ''Behind the Mask (album), Behind the Mask'' (1990) * ''Time (Fleetwood Mac album), Time'' (1995) * '' Say You Will'' (2003)


Awards and nominations


Grammy Awards


Citations


Sources

* Berkery, Patrick. "The Return of the Mac Daddy: Mick Fleetwood". Via ProQuest. ''Modern Drummer'', Sep 2015. Web. Jul 2016. *
Bob Brunning Robert Brunning (29 June 1943 – 18 October 2011) was a British musician who was, as a small part of a long musical career, the original bass guitar player with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac. Career Fleetwood Mac When Peter Green left t ...
, ''Blues: The British Connection'', Helter Skelter Publishing, London 2002, – First edition 1986 – Second edition 1995 ''Blues in Britain'' *
Bob Brunning Robert Brunning (29 June 1943 – 18 October 2011) was a British musician who was, as a small part of a long musical career, the original bass guitar player with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac. Career Fleetwood Mac When Peter Green left t ...
, ''The Fleetwood Mac Story: Rumours and Lies'', Omnibus Press London, 1990 and 1998, *
Bob Brunning Robert Brunning (29 June 1943 – 18 October 2011) was a British musician who was, as a small part of a long musical career, the original bass guitar player with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac. Career Fleetwood Mac When Peter Green left t ...
, ''Fleetwood Mac: The First 30 Years'', Omnibus Press, London, 1998, * Caillat, Ken and Steve Steifel: Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album. New Jersey: Wiley, 2012. Print * Carol Ann Harris, ''Storms: My Life with Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac'', Chicago Review Press, 2007, * Christopher Hjort, ''Strange brew:
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
and the British blues boom, 1965–1970'', foreword by
John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...
, Jawbone 2007, * Dick Heckstall-Smith, ''The safest place in the world: A personal history of British Rhythm and blues'', 1989 Quartet Books Limited, – Second Edition : ''Blowing The Blues – Fifty Years Playing The British Blues'', 2004, Clear Books, * Evans, Mike, ''Fleetwood Mac'': ''The Definitive History'', Sterling New York, 2011, * Fancourt, L., (1989) ''British blues on record (1957–1970)'', Retrack Books. * Fleetwood, Mick, Stephen Davis and Frank Harding. My Twenty-Five Years in Fleetwood Mac. New York, NY: Hyperion, 1992. Print. * Fleetwood, Mick, and Bozza, Anthony. ''Play On''. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 2014. * Fortner, Stephen. "Filling Some Mightily High Heels with Fleetwood Mac". ProQuest. Keyboard, Jan 2016. Web. Jul 2016 * Martin Celmins, '' Peter Green'' – ''Founder of Fleetwood Mac'', Sanctuary London, 1995, foreword by B.B. King, * Mick Fleetwood with Stephen Davis, ''Fleetwood – My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac'', William Morrow and Company, 1990, * Shapiro, Harry, ''Alexis Korner: The Biography'', Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London 1997, Discography by Mark Troster, * Unterberger, Richie, ''Fleetwood Mac: The Complete Illustrated History''. Voyageur Press, 2017. * Mike Vernon, ''The Blue Horizon story 1965–1970 vol. 1'', notes of the booklet of the Box Set (60 pages) * Paul Myers, '' Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues'', Vancouver 2007, GreyStone Books,


Further reading

* Silver, Murray ''When Elvis Meets the Dalai Lama'', (Bonaventure Books, Savannah, 2005) in which the author recounts his days as a concert promoter in Atlanta, Ga., and having brought Fleetwood Mac to town for the first time in December 1969. * Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic * ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll'' (Simon & Schuster, 2001)


External links

*
Fleetwood Mac
on the Internet Archive * * {{Authority control Fleetwood Mac, 1967 establishments in the United Kingdom American blues rock musical groups American musical quintets American musical sextets American pop rock music groups American soft rock music groups Art pop musicians Brit Award winners British blues musical groups British blues rock musical groups British expatriates in the United States British musical quintets British musical sextets British pop rock music groups British soft rock music groups Female-fronted musical groups Grammy Award winners Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners Lindsey Buckingham Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups established in 1967 Rock music groups from London Musical groups reestablished in 1997 Reprise Records artists Stevie Nicks Warner Records artists Mixed-gender bands