The band's
most recognizable lineup, clockwise from the left: Lindsey Buckingham,
Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, Stevie Nicks
Background information
Origin
London, England
Genre(s)
Blues (1967)
Blues-Rock
(1968-1969)
Rock
(1970-present)
Years active
1967—Present
Label(s)
Blue
Horizon
Epic
Reprise
Warner Bros.
Sire
CBS
Europe
Columbia
UK
Sanctuary
Website
fleetwoodmac.com
Members
Lindsey Buckingham
Mick
Fleetwood
John
McVie
Stevie
Nicks
Former members
Bob
Brunning (1967)
Peter Green
(1967-1970)
Jeremy
Spencer (1967-1971)
Danny
Kirwan (1968-1972)
Christine McVie (1970-1998)
Bob Welch (1971-1974)
Bob Weston (1973)
Dave
Walker (1973)
Billy
Burnette (1987-1996)
Rick
Vito (1987-1992)
Dave
Mason (1994-1996)
Bekka
Bramlett (1994-1996)
Fleetwood Mac (formed in July 1967) are an
influential and commercially successful Anglo-American band, who have had a high
turnover of personnel (from its inception until the end of 1974, no
incarnation of Fleetwood Mac lasted as much as two years) and varied
levels of success.
The only member who has been in the band from the beginning is
its namesake drummer Mick Fleetwood (bassist John
McVie, despite his giving part of his name to the band, did
not play on their first single or at their first concerts). Keyboardist
Christine McVie has, to
date, appeared on all but two albums, either as a member or as a
session musician.
The two most successful periods for the band were: during the
late 1960s British blues boom, when they were led by guitarist Peter Green, and
from 1975-1987, with the rock band that consisted of Mick
Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine
McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey
Buckingham.
Fleetwood Mac's album and single sales total more than 100
million, easily making them part of the list of
best-selling music artists.
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Contents
- 1 History
- 1.1 Peter
Green-led era (1967-1970)
- 1.1.1 Early years
- 1.1.2 Formation of the band
- 1.1.3 Danny Kirwan
- 1.1.4 Departure of Green
- 1.2 Transitional
era (1970-1975)
- 1.2.1 Christine McVie
- 1.2.2 Bob Welch
- 1.2.3 Tension in the band
- 1.2.4 "Fake" Mac
- 1.2.5 Departure of Welch
- 1.3 Mainstream
Success (1975-1987)
- 1.3.1 Buckingham Nicks
- 1.3.2 Fleetwood Mac (white album)
- 1.3.3 Rumours
- 1.3.4 Tusk
- 1.3.5 Mirage
- 1.3.6 Tango In The Night
- 1.4 Broken
Chain (1987-1997)
- 1.4.1 Behind The Mask
- 1.4.2 The Chain: 25 Year Anniversary
- 1.4.3 Time
- 1.5 Re-Connected
Chain (1997-present)
- 1.5.1 The Dance
- 1.5.2 Say You Will
- 2 Discography
- 3 Personnel
- 4 See
also
- 5 External
links
|
History
Peter Green-led era (1967-1970)
Early years
Fleetwood Mac were formed in 1967 in London when Peter Green left
the British blues band John Mayall
& the Bluesbreakers. Green had replaced guitarist Eric
Clapton in the Bluesbreakers, and received critical acclaim
for his work on their album, A Hard
Road. After he had been in the Bluesbreakers
for some time, Green asked if drummer Mick
Fleetwood could replace Aynsley Dunbar. Peter had
been in two bands with Fleetwood; Peter B's Looners
and the subsequent Shotgun Express (which featured
a young vocalist named Rod Stewart). John
Mayall agreed and Fleetwood became a member of the band.
The Bluesbreakers now consisted of Green, Fleetwood, John
McVie, and Mayall. Mayall gave Green free recording time as a
gift, in which Fleetwood, McVie, and Green recorded five songs. The
fifth song was an instrumental that Green named after the rhythm
section, "Fleetwood Mac."
Fleetwood and McVie were known for their regular drunkenness.
In fact, McVie had been fired from the band several times for his
drunkenness (once replaced by Jack Bruce, which led to the
formation of Cream). Fleetwood was fired
from the band because of his drinking problems. Green decided to leave
the band and was replaced by future Rolling
Stones guitarist Mick Taylor.
Formation of the band
Green contacted Fleetwood to form a new band. The pair
desperately wanted McVie on bass and even named the band 'Fleetwood
Mac' as a way to entice McVie. However, McVie decided that his pay with
the Bluesbreakers was just too good to give up. In the meantime, Peter
Green and Mick Fleetwood teamed up with talented slide player Jeremy
Spencer and bassist Bob Brunning, who was in the band on
the understanding that if and when McVie agreed to join, he would
leave. This version of the band made its debut on August 13, 1967 at
the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival. Within weeks of this show, John
McVie agreed to become the bassist for the band.
Fleetwood Mac's first album, Fleetwood Mac,
was a no frills blues album and was released on the Blue Horizon label
in February 1968. In fact, there were no other players on the album
(except for the song "Long Grey Mare," which was recorded when Bob
Brunning was in the band). The album was hugely successful in the U.K.,
though it did not have any singles on it. To alleviate that, the band
released two singles "Black Magic Woman" (later a big
hit for Santana) and "Need Your Love So Bad."
The band's second album, Mr.
Wonderful, was released in August 1968. Like
the first album, it was an all-blues album, but this time they had a
few more frills. For example, they had it produced to sound as if it
were twenty years older than it really was. They also added horns
and featured a friend of the band's on keyboards, Christine
Perfect of Chicken Shack.
Danny Kirwan
Shortly after the release of their second album, Fleetwood Mac
added a third guitarist, Danny Kirwan, to their
line-up. Kirwan brought a more easy going, harmony-rich sound that was
reminiscent of other bands playing in California at the time. With
Kirwan, the band released its first number one single in Europe, "Albatross." Around this
time, the band released its second American album, English
Rose, which contained half of Mr.
Wonderful, a few new songs from their new guitarist, and its
third European album called The Pious Bird Of Good
Omen, which was a collection of singles,
b-sides, and a selection of some work the band did with Eddie Boyd.
When the band went to the United States in January 1969, they
recorded many songs at the soon to close Chess
Records Studio, with some of the musical "legends" of Chicago,
including Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy,
and Otis
Spann. These would prove, however, to be Fleetwood Mac's last all-blues
recordings. Along with their change of style, the band was also going
through some label changes. Up until this point, they had been on Blue
Horizon. With Kirwan in the band, however, the musical possibilities
were too great for them to stay on a blues-only label. The band
moonlighted with the Immediate label and released "Man Of The World",
another European hit single. Even though the Beatles wanted
the band on Apple Records, the band's manager Clifford Davis decided to
go with Warner Bros. Records, the label
they have stayed with ever since. Their first album for Warners,
released in September of 1969, was the well-regarded Then
Play On. The American release of this album
contains the song "Oh Well", featured consistently in live performances
until 1997. Then Play On, which was the band's
first rock album, featured only the songs of Danny and Peter. Jeremy
Spencer, meanwhile, recorded a solo album (he was backed by
the rest of the band) that consisted of many 1950s-style rock and roll
songs.
Departure of Green
Fleetwood Mac were arguably the most popular band in Europe at
the time. However, Peter Green, the frontman of the band, was not in
good health. He had been spiked with LSD in Munich, which began the onset of his schizophrenia.
In Munich, Green penned what would be his last hit with Fleetwood Mac, "The
Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown)" (which was later recorded
by Judas
Priest). Green's mental stability deteriorated, and he wanted to give
all of the band's money to charity. The rest of the band did not concur.
Green decided to leave the band. His last show with Fleetwood
Mac was on May 20, 1970. During that show, the band went past their
allotted time, and the power was shut off. Mick Fleetwood kept
drumming. The band, somewhat reluctantly, kept on without Peter Green
and despite press reports suggesting Danny Kirwan would assume
leadership, the media-savvy Fleetwood took over as business manager of
the band.
Transitional era (1970-1975)
Christine McVie
Danny and Jeremy were left with the task of having to fill up
Peter's space in their shows and on their recordings. In September
1970, Fleetwood Mac released Kiln House.
Danny's songs moved the band in the direction of 70s rock. Meanwhile,
Jeremy's contributions focused on recreating the country-tinged "Sun
Sound" of the late 1950s. John's wife, Christine, who had retired from
the music business after one unsuccessful solo album made many
contributions to "Kiln House," singing backup vocals, playing
keyboards, and even drawing the album cover. Since the band was
sounding too "thin" at its tour rehearsals, they decided to ask
Christine McVie to join the band. They also released a single at that
time; "Dragonfly" b/w "The Purple Dancer" in the U.K. and certain
European countries. The single was not a success and the B-side has
never been reissued on an album or a CD, making it one of their most
obscure songs.
Christine was best known as the former keyboardist for Chicken
Shack. She had had success with the Etta James classic, "I'd Rather Go
Blind", and was twice voted female artist of the year in England. Christine
McVie played her first gig as an official member on August 6,
1970 in New
Orleans. CBS
Records, which now owned Blue Horizon, released an album of previously
unreleased material from the original Fleetwood Mac called The
Original Fleetwood Mac. The album was relatively successful,
and the band seemed to be gaining popularity again.
While on 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. Liable for the
remaining shows on the tour they convinced Peter Green to help finish
the tour. He brought along his friend, Nigel Watson, who played the congas
(twenty-five years later Green and Watson would collaborate again to
form the Peter Green Splinter Group).
The band replaced Jeremy’s portion of the set with 90 minute
instrumental improvisations of "Black Magic Woman". Green,
however, would only be with Fleetwood Mac temporarily, so the band
decided to search for a new guitarist.
Bob Welch
In the summer of 1971, the band held auditions for a guitarist
in their large country home, "Benifold", which they bought prior to the
Kiln House tour. A friend of the band named Judy
Wong recommended her high school friend, Bob
Welch, who was living in Paris at the time. The band had a few meetings
with Welch and decided to hire him, without actually playing with him
or listening to any of his recordings.
In September 1971, the band released Future
Games. This album was radically different from
anything the band had done up to that point. There were many new fans
in America who were becoming more and more interested in the band. In
Europe, CBS released Fleetwood Mac's first Greatest
Hits package, which was predominantly comprised of songs by Peter
Green, though there was one song by Jeremy and one by Danny.
In 1972, six months after the release of Future Games,
the band released the well-received album Bare Trees.
Bare Trees featured Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady",
which would be a much bigger hit for him five years later when he
re-recorded it, backed with Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, and
Lindsey Buckingham, for a solo album. It also featured "Spare Me a
Little of Your Love," a bright Christine McVie tune that would become 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 were
more problematic. Danny Kirwan developed an alocohol dependency and
became alienated from Welch and the McVies. It wasn't until he smashed
his Les Paul Custom guitar, refused to go on stage one night, and
criticised the band afterwards that Fleetwood finally decided that he
had no choice but to fire Kirwan.
Tension in the band
The next two and a half years proved to be the most
challenging for the band. In the three albums they would release in
this period, they would constantly change line-ups. In September of
1972, the band added guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist Dave
Walker, formerly of Savoy Brown. Fleetwood Mac
also hired Savoy Brown's road manager, John Courage. Mick, John,
Christine, Welch, Weston, and Walker recorded Penguin,
which was released in January, 1973. After the tour, the band fired
Walker because his vocal style and attitude did not fit in with the
rest of the band.
The remaining five carried on and recorded Mystery
To Me six months later. This album contained
the song "Hypnotized", which got a lot of airplay on the radio and
became one of the band’s most recognisable songs to date. While the
album was a hit, things were not well within the band. The McVies'
marriage at this time was under a lot of stress, which was aggravated
by constantly working with each other, and John McVie's considerable
alcohol abuse. During the tour, Weston had an affair with Fleetwood's
wife, Jenny Boyd Fleetwood (whose sister, Pattie
Boyd, was the subject of Eric Clapton’s classic "Layla"). Fleetwood
soon fired Weston and the tour was cancelled.
"Fake" Mac
In what would be one of the more bizarre events in rock
history, the band's manager, Clifford Davis, claimed that he owned the
name Fleetwood Mac and put out a "fake Mac". Nobody in the "fake Mac"
was ever officially in the real band, although some of them later acted
as Danny Kirwan's studio band. Fans were told that Bob Welch and John
McVie had quit the group, and that Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie
would be joining the band at a later date, after getting some rest.
Fleetwood Mac's road manager, John Courage, worked one show before he
realised that the line being used was a lie. Courage ended up hiding
the real Fleetwood Mac's equipment, which helped shorten the tour by
the fake band. But the lawsuit that followed put the real Fleetwood Mac
out of commission for almost a year. The issue was who actually owned
the name "Fleetwood Mac". While it would seem obvious that the band was
named after Fleetwood and McVie, they had signed contracts (while they
were in "altered states") that showed the band forfeited the rights to
the name.
During this period, Welch stayed in Los Angeles and connected
with entertainment attorneys. Welch quickly realized that the band was
unknown to Warner Bros., and that if they wanted to change that, they
would have to change their base of operation to Los Angeles. The rest
of the band agreed immediately. Rock promoter Bill Graham wrote a letter to
Warner Bros. to convince them that the "real" Fleetwood Mac were in
fact Fleetwood, McVie, McVie, and Welch. While this did not end the
legal battle, the band was able to record as Fleetwood Mac again.
Instead of getting another manager, Fleetwood Mac decided to manage
themselves.
Departure of Welch
After Warner Bros. made a record deal with them, the quartet
released Heroes Are Hard To Find
in September 1974. For the first time in its history, the band only had
one guitarist. On the road, they added a second keyboardist. The first
was Bobby Hunt, who had been in the band Head West with Bob Welch back
in 1970. The second was Doug Graves, who was an engineer on Heroes
Are Hard To Find. Neither lasted too long.
This tour proved to be the last one for Bob Welch. The
constant touring and fighting in the band had taken its toll on Welch.
He felt that he had hit the end of his creative road with the band.
While his tenure wasn't a commercial success, Bob Welch provided
musical and professional direction to the group, helped the band
through three major crises, and left it in a situation where it had a
record contract, a direct line to the record company, connections to
industry insiders, no pressure from the record company, and a
management situation that would help foster creativity. Thus, many feel
that Bob Welch had laid the foundations for Fleetwood Mac's future.
Mainstream Success (1975-1987)
Buckingham Nicks
After Welch announced that he was leaving the band, Fleetwood
began searching for a possible replacement. While Fleetwood was
scouting Van
Nuys, California, the house engineer for California's Sound City
Studios, Keith Olsen, played him a track titled "Frozen Love" (from Buckingham
Nicks, Polydor PD 5058, September 1973), which
he had mixed there for an American band, Buckingham Nicks. Fleetwood
liked it, was introduced to the guitarist from the band, Lindsey
Buckingham, and Fleetwood soon asked him to join. Buckingham agreed, on
the condition that his musical partner and girlfriend, Stephanie
Nicks (better known as Stevie Nicks), also become part of the band;
Fleetwood agreed to this.
Fleetwood Mac (white
album)
In 1975, the new line-up released the self-titled Fleetwood Mac,
which has since informally become known as their "white album" due to
its cover. (This is not to be confused with The Beatles' White
Album.) The album proved to be a breakthrough for the band and became a
huge hit (reaching #1 in the US). Among the hit singles from this album
were Christine McVie's "Over My Head" and "Say You Love Me", and Stevie Nicks' "Rhiannon" and "Landslide"
(actually a hit twenty years later on "The Dance" album) (sample (help·
Rumours
The album the band members released in 1977 was Rumours,
in which the band members laid bare the emotional turmoil experienced
at that time. Produced largely by Buckingham, it became the
best-selling album of the year, spending over 6 months at the top of
the U.S. chart, and was the recipient of the Grammy Award for
Album Of The Year for 1977. Hit singles included Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way", Nicks' "Dreams" (sample
(
Tusk
Buckingham was able to convince Fleetwood to
allow his work on their next album to be more experimental and to work
on tracks at home, then bring them to the band in the studio. His
expanded creative role for the next album was influenced by an
appreciation for new wave music.
The result of this was the quirky double album, Tusk,
released in 1979. It spawned three hit singles; Lindsey Buckingham's
"Tusk", which featured the USC marching band; Christine McVie's
"Think About Me"; and Stevie Nicks' seven minute opus "Sara". The
latter was cut to 4½ minutes for both the hit single and the first
CD-release of the album, but the unedited version has since been
restored on the 1988 "Greatest Hits" compilation and the 2004 reissue
of "Tusk". Somewhat surprisingly, original guitarist Green also took
part in the sessions, but his playing for the Christine McVie track
"Brown Eyes" is not credited on the album.
Tusk remains one of Fleetwood
Mac's most ambitious albums to date, although only selling four million
copies worldwide. This, in comparison to the huge sales of Rumours,
inclined the label to deem the project a failure, laying the blame
squarely with Buckingham himself. Fleetwood, however, blames the
album's relative failure on account of a major U.S. radio station
playing all 20 tracks in their entirety prior to release thus allowing
for home taping. Additionally, Tusk was a double
album, which increased its retail price tag in stores compared to that
of a single album.
The band embarked on a huge 18-month tour to
support and promote Tusk. They traveled extensively
across the world, including the USA, Australia, New
Zealand, Japan,
France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands,
and the United Kingdom. It was on this world tour that the band
recorded music for the Fleetwood Mac Live
album, which was released at the end of 1980.
Mirage
The next album, 1982's Mirage,
following 1981 solo turns by Nicks (Bella
Donna) and Buckingham (Law
and Order), was a return to the more
conventional. Buckingham had been chided by critics, fellow bandmembers
and music business managers for the limited commercial success enjoyed
by Tusk. Recorded at a chateau in France, Mirage
was an attempt to recapture the huge success of Rumours.
Its hits included; Christine McVie's "Hold Me" and "Love In Store"
(each song being co-written by Robbie Patton and Jim Recor
respectively), Stevie Nicks' "Gypsy", and Lindsey Buckingham's "Oh Diane", which made
the Top 10 in the UK. A minor hit was also scored by Buckingham's "Eyes
Of The World".
Unlike the Tusk Tour, the
band only embarked on a short tour of 18 American cities, the Los
Angeles show being recorded and released on video. It also headlined
the first US Festival for which the band was paid $500,000. Mirage was
Certified double platinum in the U.S.
Following Mirage, the band
went on hiatus, which allowed members to pursue solo careers. Stevie
Nicks released two more solo albums (1983's The
Wild Heart and 1985's Rock A Little), Lindsey Buckingham
issued Go Insane
in 1984, the same year that Christine McVie made a self-titled album
(yielding the Top 10 hit "Got A Hold On Me" and the Top 40 hit "Love
Will Show Us How"). All three met with success but it was Nicks who
became the most popular. However, also during this period, Mick
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 attributed to the lifestyle of excess
afforded to them by their worldwide success. It was rumoured that
Fleetwood Mac had finally broken up, however Buckingham commented that
he was unhappy to allow Mirage to remain as the
band's last effort.
Tango In The Night
The Rumours line-up of
Fleetwood Mac recorded one more album for the time being, Tango In The Night,
in 1987. Initially, like various other Fleetwood Mac albums, the
material started off as a Buckingham solo album before becoming a 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 over the following
year. The album sold three million copies in the USA and contained four
hits; Christine McVie's "Little Lies" and "Everywhere" (the former
being co-written with McVie's new husband Eddy Quintela), Sandy Stewart
and Stevie Nicks' "Seven Wonders", and Lindsey Buckingham's "Big Love".
"Family Man" and "Isn't It Midnight" were also released as singles,
with lesser success. The band intended to tour as usual to support the
album but Buckingham refused. According to Fleetwood, Buckingham
withdrew from Fleetwood Mac following a heated, angry exchange in
August 1987. Nicks and Christine McVie have also confirmed the infamous
incident taking place during various interviews, including when the
band were interviewed for the British music programme Rock
Steady screened in March 1990. McVie herself described the
incident, which took place in her house, as "ugly". However, years
later on a 2001 VH-1 Behind The Music documentary
on Lindsey Buckingham, both Fleetwood and Buckingham played down the
incident.
Following Buckingham's departure, Fleetwood Mac
added two new guitarists to the band, Billy
Burnette and Rick
Vito. Billy was mainly added for his singing and songwriting skills and
Rick for his lead guitar abilities.
Burnette is the son of Dorsey
Burnette and nephew of Johnny Burnette, both of The Rock and Roll Trio. He
had already worked with Mick Fleetwood in Zoo, with Christine McVie as
part of her solo band, did some session work with Stevie Nicks and even
backed up Lindsey Buckingham on Saturday
Night Live. Furthermore, Fleetwood and Christine McVie played on his Try
Me album in 1985.
Vito, a Peter Green admirer, played with many
artists from Bonnie Raitt to John Mayall, and even
worked with John McVie on two Mayall albums.
The 1987-88 "Shake The Cage" tour was the first
outing for this line-up, and was successful enough to warrant the
release of a concert video (simply titled "Tango In The Night"), filmed
at San Francisco's Cow Palace arena in December 1987.
Capitalising on the success of Tango in
the Night, the band continued with a "Greatest Hits" album in
1988. It featured singles from the 1975-88 era, and included two new
compositions: "No Questions Asked" written by Nicks, and "As Long As
You Follow" written by McVie and Quintela, which was released as a
single in 1988 but only made #43 in the US and #66 in the UK. It did,
however, reached #1 on the US Adult Contemporary charts. The "Greatest
Hits" album, which peaked at #3 in the UK and #14 in the US (though has
since sold over 8 million copies there), was dedicated to Buckingham by
the band, with whom they had now reconciled.
Broken Chain (1987-1997)
Behind The Mask
Following the Greatest Hits collection, Fleetwood
Mac recorded Behind The Mask.
With this album, the band veered away from the stylised sound that
Buckingham had evolved during his tenure in the band (also evident in
his solo works), and ended up with a more adult
contemporary style from producer Greg Ladanyi. However, the album
yielded only one Top 40 hit, McVie's "Save Me". Behind The
Mask only achieved gold album status in the US, peaking at
#18 on the Billboard album chart, though it entered the UK album chart
at #1. It received mixed reviews, and was seen by some music critics as
a low point for the band in the absence of Lindsey Buckingham (who had
actually made a guest appearance by playing on the
title track). However, Rolling Stone magazine said
that Vito and Burnette were "the best thing to ever happen to Fleetwood
Mac" and the British "Q" Magazine also praised the album in their
review. The subsequent "Behind The Mask" tour saw the band play sold
out shows at London's Wembley Arena, and on the final show in Los
Angeles, the band were joined onstage by Buckingham. The two women of
the band, McVie and Nicks, had decided that the tour would be their
last (McVie's father died during the tour) though both stated that they
would still record with the band. However, in 1991, both Nicks and Rick
Vito announced they were leaving Fleetwood Mac altogether.
The Chain: 25 Year
Anniversary
In 1992, Fleetwood himself arranged a 4-disc box
set spanning highlights from the band's 25 year history, entitled "25
Years - The Chain" (an edited 2-disc set was also available). A notable
inclusion in the box set was "Silver Springs", a Stevie
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 instead. Nicks had requested use of the track for her 1991
"Best Of" compilation "TimeSpace", but Fleetwood had apparently refused
her request as he had planned to include it in this collection as
something of a rarity. The disagreement between Nicks and Fleetwood
garnered press coverage, and is believed to be the main catalyst for
Nicks leaving the band in 1991. The box set, however, also included a
brand new Stevie Nicks/Rick Vito composition, "Paper Doll", which was
released in the US as a single. As both members had left the band by
this point, the track was presumably a leftover from the Behind The Mask
sessions. There was also a new Christine McVie composition, "Love
Shines", which was released as a single in the UK and certain other
territories. Fleetwood also released a deluxe hardcover companion book
to coincide with the release of the box set, entitled "My 25 Years In
Fleetwood Mac". The volume featured many rare photographs and notes
(written by Fleetwood himself) detailing the band's 25 year history.
Some months after this, the
Buckingham/Nicks/McVie/McVie/Fleetwood lineup reunited at the request
of U.S. President Bill Clinton for his first Inaugural
Ball in 1993. Clinton had made Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" his
campaign theme song. His subsequent request to perform it at the
Inauguration Ball was met with enthusiasm by the band, however this
lineup had no intention to reunite again.
Time
Inspired by the new interest in the band, Mick
Fleetwood, John McVie, and Christine McVie recorded another album as
Fleetwood Mac, with Billy Burnette taking on lead guitar duties.
However, just as they made the decision to continue, Billy Burnette
announced in March 1993, that he was leaving the band to pursue a
country album and an acting career. Bekka
Bramlett, who had worked a year earlier with Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, was
recruited. Traffic/solo singer/songwriter/guitarist Dave
Mason, who had worked with Bekka's parents Delaney
& Bonnie twenty five years earlier, was subsequently added. By
March 1994, Billy Burnette, himself a good friend and co-songwriter
with Delaney Bramlett, returned with Fleetwood's blessing.
The band, minus Christine McVie, toured in 1994,
opening for Crosby, Stills, &
Nash, and in 1995 as part of a package with REO
Speedwagon and Pat Benatar. The tour saw the band
perform classic Fleetwood Mac songs from the initial 1967-1974 era. In
1995, at a concert in Tokyo, the band was greeted by former member Jeremy
Spencer, who performed a few songs with them.
On October 10, 1995, Fleetwood Mac released the
unsuccessful Time
album. Although hitting the UK Top 60 for one week the album failed
completely in the US. Shortly after the album's release, Christine
McVie informed the band that the album was her last. Bramlett and
Burnette subsequently formed a country music duo.
Re-Connected Chain (1997-present)
The Dance
The second reunion in the 1990s also came as a
surprise to critics. Just weeks after disbanding Fleetwood Mac, Mick
Fleetwood announced that he was working with Lindsey Buckingham again.
John McVie was soon added to the sessions, and later Christine McVie.
Stevie Nicks also enlisted Lindsey Buckingham to produce a song for a
soundtrack.
In May 1996, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie,
Christine McVie, and Stevie Nicks made an appearance at a private party
in Louisville, Kentucky prior to
the Kentucky
Derby (with Steve Winwood filling in for
Lindsey Buckingham). A week later, the Twister
film soundtrack was released, which featured the Stevie Nicks-Lindsey
Buckingham duet, "Twisted", with Mick Fleetwood on drums. This
eventually led to a full Rumours line-up reunion in
the form of a live concert recorded on a Warner
Bros. Burbank, California soundstage,
which resulted in the 1997 live album The
Dance, returning Fleetwood Mac to the top of
the US album charts for the first time in 15 years. The album returned
Fleetwood Mac to their superstar commercial status that they had not
enjoyed since their Rumours album. The album was certified a 5
million seller by the RIAA.
A successful arena tour followed the MTV premiere of The Dance,
which kept the reunited Mac on the road throughout much of 1997, the
20th anniversary of their Rumours album. However,
this would be the final foray of the classic 1970s lineup with
Christine McVie.
In 1998, Fleetwood Mac (Mick Fleetwood, John
McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Peter Green,
Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan) was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame and performed at the Grammy Awards program that year. They were
also the recipients of the "Outstanding Contribution to Music" award at
the Brits
(British Phonographic Industry Awards) the same year.
Say You Will
In 1998, Christine McVie left the band and
returned to the UK to retire from touring (though not from the music
business entirely as she created a new album, In The Meantime,
in 2004). This left Buckingham and Nicks to sing the vocals for the
band's 2003 album, Say You Will.
The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 chart (#6 in the UK) and
yielded AC chart hits with "Peacekeeper" and the title track, and a
successful world arena tour lasted through
2004. Drummer Mick Fleetwood and bass guitarist John McVie remain the
only original members still with the band.
In interviews given in November 2006 to support
his Under
the Skin solo album, Buckingham stated that plans for the band to
reunite once more for a 2008 tour were still in the cards. Recording
plans, however, have been put on hold for the foreseeable future.
Discography
-
Main
article: Fleetwood Mac discography
Personnel
Fleetwood Mac personnel
| (1967) |
(After McVie refused to join the band, they decided to
go on with Brunning, with the understanding if McVie changed his mind,
Brunning was out.)
|
| (1967-1968) |
|
| (1969-1970) |
|
| (1970) |
|
| (1970-1971) |
(Peter Green
filled-in on guitars for the remainder of the tour after Spencer
abruptly quit the band.)
|
| (1971-1972) |
|
| (1972-1973) |
- Dave Walker - vocals
- Bob Weston - guitar
- Bob Welch - vocals, guitar
- Christine McVie - keyboard,
vocals
- John McVie - bass
- Mick Fleetwood - drums
|
| (1973-1974) |
|
| (1974) |
|
| (1975-1987) |
- Lindsey Buckingham - guitar, vocals
- Stevie Nicks - vocals
- Christine McVie - keyboard,
vocals
- John McVie - bass
- Mick Fleetwood - drums
|
| (1987-1992) |
- Rick Vito - guitar, vocals
- Billy Burnette - guitar, vocals
- Stevie Nicks - vocals
- Christine McVie - keyboard,
vocals
- John McVie - bass
- Mick Fleetwood - drums
|
| (1993-1996) |
|
| (1997-1998) |
- Stevie Nicks - vocals
- Lindsey Buckingham - guitar, vocals
- Christine McVie - keyboard,
vocals
- John McVie - bass
- Mick Fleetwood - drums
|
| (1998-present) |
- Stevie Nicks - vocals
- Lindsey Buckingham - guitar, vocals
- John McVie - bass
- Mick Fleetwood - drums, cajon
|
See also
- Best selling
music artists
- List of
bands from England
External links
Official sites
Popular fan sites
Fan forums
Email lists
Tribute Events
| v • d • e Fleetwood
Mac |
| Current members:
John
McVie - Mick Fleetwood - Stevie
Nicks - Lindsey Buckingham |
| Former members:
Christine McVie - Peter Green - Jeremy
Spencer - Bob Brunning - Danny
Kirwan - Bob Welch - Bob Weston - Dave
Walker - Billy Burnette - Rick Vito - Dave
Mason - Bekka Bramlett |
| Discography |
|
Studio albums: Fleetwood Mac
(1968) - Mr. Wonderful
(1968) - English Rose
(1968) - Then Play On
(1969) - Kiln House (1970)
- Future Games
(1971) - Bare Trees (1972)
- Penguin
(1973) - Mystery to Me
(1973) - Heroes Are Hard to Find
(1974) - Fleetwood Mac
(1975) - Rumours
(1977) - Tusk (1979) - Mirage
(1982) - Tango in the Night
(1987) - Behind the Mask
(1990) - Time
(1995) - Say You Will
(2003)
|
|
Key Singles/Songs: "Black
Magic Woman" - "Albatross" - "The
Green Manalishi" - "Rhiannon" - "Landslide"
- "Go Your Own Way" - "Dreams" - "Don't Stop" - "The Chain" -
"You Make Loving Fun" - "Gold
Dust Woman" - "Tusk" - "Gypsy" - "Big Love" -
|
|
Compilations and box sets: The Pious Bird of Good
Omen (1969) - Black Magic Woman
(1971) - The Original Fleetwood Mac
(1971) - Greatest
Hits (1971) - Greatest
Hits (1988) - 25
Years - The Chain (1992) - The
Vaudeville Years (1998) - The Complete Blue
Horizon Sessions (1999) - Original
Fleetwood Mac: The Blues Years (2000) Show-Biz
Blues (2001) - The Best Of
Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (2002) - Jumping
at Shadows: The Blues Years (2002) - The Very Best of
Fleetwood Mac (2002) - Men
of the World: The Early Years (2005)
|
|
Live albums: Fleetwood
Mac in Chicago (1969) - Live
(1980) - Live at the Marquee, 1967
(1992) - Live at the BBC
(1995) - The Dance
(1997) - Masters: Live London '68
(1998) - Live in Boston
(1998) - Shine '69 (1999) -
Live in Boston
(2004)
|
| Related
articles |
|
Say You Will Tour
|
