Fleetwood Mac are a British and Americanrock band formed in London in 1967 by singer and guitaristPeter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of drummerMick Fleetwood and bassistJohn McVie, who have remained with the band throughout its many line-up changes. Fleetwood Mac have sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making them one of theworld's best-selling musical acts.
Primarily aBritish blues band in their early years, Fleetwood Mac achieved a UK number one single in 1968 with the instrumental "Albatross" 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). Green left the band in May 1970 and McVie's wife,Christine McVie, joined as an official member on vocals and keyboards two months later, having previously contributed to the band as a session musician. Other key members during the band's early years wereJeremy Spencer,Danny Kirwan, andBob Welch. By the end of 1974, these members had departed, which left the band without a guitarist and male singer. While Fleetwood was scouting studios in Los Angeles, he heard the Americanfolk rock duoBuckingham Nicks, consisting of guitarist and singerLindsey Buckingham and singerStevie Nicks. In December 1974, he asked Buckingham to join Fleetwood Mac, with Buckingham agreeing on the condition that Nicks could also join. The addition of Buckingham and Nicks gave the band a morepop rock sound, and their 1975 albumFleetwood Mac topped theBillboard 200 chart in the United States. Their next album,Rumours (1977), reached number one in multiple countries around the world and won theGrammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978.
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 byBilly Burnette andRick Vito, although Vito left in 1990 along with Nicks. A 1993 one-off performance for thefirst inauguration of President Bill Clinton reunited the classic 1974–1987 line-up for the first time in six years. A full-scale 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 ofRumours and the band's 30th anniversary. Christine McVie left in 1998 after the completion of The Dance Tour, but rejoined in 2014 for theirOn With the Show Tour. Fleetwood Mac released their final studio album,Say You Will, in 2003. In 2018, Buckingham was fired and replaced byMike Campbell, formerly ofTom Petty and the Heartbreakers, andNeil Finn ofSplit Enz andCrowded House. After Christine McVie's death in 2022, Nicks said in 2024 that the band would not continue without her.
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).[5]
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 guitaristJeremy Spencer and bassistBob Brunning. Brunning was in the band on the understanding that he would leave if McVie agreed to join.[5] The band made its debut on Sunday 13 August 1967 at theNational Jazz and Blues Festival (a forerunner ofthe Reading Festival), billed as "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac featuring Jeremy Spencer". Brunning played only a few gigs with Fleetwood Mac.[6] Within a few weeks of their first show, John McVie agreed to join the band as permanent bassist.[7][8]
Fleetwood Mac'sself-titled debut album was released by theBlue 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.[9] 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 bySantana) and "Need Your Love So Bad" were released, both going top-forty in the UK.[10]
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.[11] The sessions featured ahorn section as well as friend of the band,Christine Perfect ofChicken Shack, on keyboards.[12] Later that year, Chicken Shack would score a British hit with a cover of theEtta James classic "I'd Rather Go Blind", with Perfect on lead vocal. Perfect was voted female artist of the year byMelody Maker in 1969 and 1970.[13]
Shortly after the release ofMr. Wonderful, 18-year-old guitaristDanny 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).[14] 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 inMelody Maker. There were over 300 applicants, but when Green and Fleetwood ran auditions at the Nag's Head in Battersea (home of theMike Vernon'sBlue Horizon Club) the hard-to-please Green could not find anyone good enough. Instead, Fleetwood invited Kirwan to join Fleetwood Mac as a third guitarist.[4]
In November 1968, with Kirwan in the band, they released their first number-one single in Europe, "Albatross", an instrumental with lead guitar by both Green and Kirwan.[15][16] 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."[17] In January 1969, the compilation albumEnglish Rose was released in the US, while a similar compilation album,The Pious Bird of Good Omen, was released in the UK in August.
On tour in the United States in January 1969, the band recordedFleetwood Mac in Chicago (released in December as a double album) at the soon-to-closeChess Records Studio with some of the blues legends of Chicago, includingWillie Dixon,Buddy Guy andOtis Spann.[18] 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. In early 1969, the band left Blue Horizon and signed withImmediate Records, releasing 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", 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.[19]The Beatles wanted the band onApple Records,[20] but the band's managerClifford Davis decided to go withWarner Bros. Records (throughReprise Records, aFrank Sinatra-founded label), the label they have stayed with ever since.[21]
Under the wing of Reprise, Fleetwood Mac released their third studio album,Then Play On, in September 1969.[22] 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. The songwriting forThen Play On, which saw the band broaden their style away from straight blues, was handled mostly by Green and Kirwan. Spencer did not contribute any songs, but releaseda solo album in early 1970, which featured backing from Fleetwood, McVie and Kirwan.[23]
By 1969, Green was usingLSD. 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.[24] 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."[25] German author and filmmakerRainer Langhans stated in his autobiography that he and his then-girlfriend, modelUschi Obermaier, met Green in Munich and invited him to their Highfisch-Kommune, where the drinks were spiked with acid.[26][27] Langhans and Obermaier were planning to organise an open-air "Bavarian Woodstock", for which they wantedJimi Hendrix andthe 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.[26]
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.[28] 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 theBoston Tea Party in February 1970. Some recordings of the three Boston Tea Party gigs (5–7 February 1970) were eventually released in 1985 as theLive in Boston album. An expanded, three-volume edition ofLive in Boston was released in 1998.[29] "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.[30] In April 1970, Green decided to quit the band after the completion of their European tour.[31] His last show with Fleetwood Mac was on 20 May 1970.
Fleetwood Mac performing in Hannover, 18 March 1970
After Green's departure, the four remaining members—Fleetwood, McVie, Spencer and Kirwan—set about working on their next album. In September 1970, Fleetwood Mac released their fourth studio album,Kiln House, to generally positive reviews.[32] 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, now Christine McVie following her marriage to John McVie, had retired from the music business after one unsuccessful solo album, though she contributed (uncredited) toKiln House, singing backup vocals and playing keyboards. She also drew the album cover.[33] AfterKiln 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.[11] The first time she had played live with the band had been a guest appearance atBristol University, England, in May 1969, just as she was leaving Chicken Shack,[34] while her first gig as an official member of the band was on 1 August 1970 inNew Orleans, Louisiana.[35] In early 1971, the band released a non-album single, Danny Kirwan's "Dragonfly" 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, 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, theChildren of God.[36] 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 friendNigel Watson, who played thecongas (twenty-five years later Green and Watson collaborated again to form thePeter Green Splinter Group), 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.[37]
In the summer 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 (equivalent to £449,400 in 2023[38]) prior to theKiln House tour.[39] A friend of the band, Judy Wong, recommended her high school friendBob Welch, 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.[40]
In September 1971, the band released their fifth studio album,Future Games. 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 US. In Europe, CBS released Fleetwood Mac's firstGreatest Hits album in late 1971.
In 1972, six months after the release ofFuture Games, the band released their sixth studio album,Bare Trees. Mostly composed by Kirwan,Bare Trees featured the Welch-penned single "Sentimental Lady", which would be a much bigger hit for Welch five years later when he re-recorded it for his solo albumFrench 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 GibsonLes Paul Custom 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.[41] Fleetwood said later that the pressure had become too much for Kirwan, and he had suffered a breakdown.[42]
Following Kirwan's departure, the band recruited guitaristBob Weston and vocalistDave Walker, the latter formerly ofSavoy Brown andIdle Race.[43] Bob Weston was well known as a slide guitarist and had known the band from his touring period withLong 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, 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.[44]
The remaining five members carried on and recorded the band's eighth studio album,Mystery to Me. This album contained Welch's song "Hypnotized", which received strong radio airplay. WhileMystery to Me eventually received a Gold certification from theRIAA, 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 considerablealcohol abuse.[45]
In 1973, Weston had an affair with Fleetwood's wifeJenny Boyd, sister ofGeorge Harrison's first wifePattie Boyd. Fleetwood found out two weeks into a US tour. His devastation led to the band firing Weston and cancelling the remaining 26 dates of the tour.[46] The last date played wasLincoln, Nebraska, on 20 October 1973.[47] 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.[48]
1973–1974: 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.[48] Fleetwood Mac had "temporarily disbanded" in Nebraska and its members had gone their separate ways.[30][49] Davis was concerned that failing to complete the tour would destroy his reputation with bookers and promoters.[30][49] 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".[30][50] Davis claimed that he owned the name 'Fleetwood Mac' and the right to choose the band members.[51] He recruited members of the band Legs, which had recently issued one single under Davis's management,[52] to tour the US in early 1974[53] under the name "The New Fleetwood Mac"[30][54] and perform the rescheduled dates. This band—who former vocalist Dave Walker said were "very good"[55]—consisted ofElmer Gantry (Dave Terry, formerly ofVelvet Opera: vocals, guitar),Kirby Gregory (formerly ofCurved Air: guitar),Paul Martinez (formerly of theDownliners Sect: bass), John Wilkinson (also known as Dave Wilkinson:[56][page needed] keyboards) and Australian drummer Craig Collinge (formerly ofManfred Mann Chapter Three,The Librettos,Procession andThird World War).[57] The members of this group were told that Mick Fleetwood would join them on the tour to validate the use of the name.[58][30] Fleetwood said later that he had not agreed to be part of the tour.[59]
The "New Fleetwood Mac" tour began on 16 January 1974 at theSyria Mosque inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[60] and was initially successful. One of the band members said the first concert "went down a storm".[61] The promoter was dubious at first but said later that the crowd had loved the band and they were "actually really good".[60] 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. More dates were pulled, the keyboard player quit, and after a concert inEdmonton where bottles were thrown at the stage, the tour collapsed. The band dissolved and the remainder of the tour was cancelled.[61]
Thelawsuit that followed regarding who owned the rights to the name "Fleetwood Mac" put the real Fleetwood Mac on hiatus for almost a year. Their record company,Warner Bros. Records, when appealed to, said they did not know who owned it.[61] The dispute was eventually settled out of court, four years later, in what was described as "a reasonable settlement not unfair to either party".[62] 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.[30]: 101
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 ofStretch, whose 1975 UK hit single "Why Did You Do It?" was written about the touring debacle.[58] Gantry later collaborated with theAlan Parsons Project.[63] Martinez went on to play with theDeep Purple offshootPaice Ashton Lord, as well asRobert Plant's backing band.[64]
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 promoterBill 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.[65] Instead of hiring another manager, Fleetwood Mac, having re-formed, became the only major rock band managed by the artists themselves.[66]
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. 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 onHeroes 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."[67] 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), theHeroes album had reached a higher position on the American charts than any of the band's previous records.[68]
1974–1987: Addition of Buckingham and Nicks, and global success
In Bob Welch's words, following theHeroes are Hard to Find tour, "the buzz that theMystery to Me band had started to create...[was] gone. I [was] totally exhausted by writing, singing, touring, negotiating, moving, and frankly so [were] Mick, John and Chris. We wereall discouraged thatHeroes [hadn't] done 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."[69] Welch himself had grown tired of the constant struggles to keep Fleetwood Mac functioning and was openly considering leaving the band.[70]
Whilst Fleetwood was checking outSound 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 albumBuckingham Nicks (1973).[71] Fleetwood liked it and was introduced to the guitarist from the band,Lindsey Buckingham, who was at Sound City that day recording demos.[72][73] Fleetwood asked him to join Fleetwood Mac, and Buckingham agreed, on the condition that his music partner and girlfriend,Stevie Nicks, 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.[74][75][69]
In 1975, the new line-up released their first album together, the self-titledFleetwood Mac, 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", a live rendition of which became a hit twenty years later onThe 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.[76] 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.[77]
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 theGrammy Award for Album of the Year 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", 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 adiamond album by theRIAA) and a total of 40 million copies worldwide, bringing it to eighth on thelist 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 6608Hollywood Boulevard.[78][79]
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 albumTusk, was a 20-track double album released in 1979. It produced three hit singles: Buckingham's "Tusk" (US No. 8), which featured theUSC Trojan Marching Band; Christine McVie's "Think About Me" (US No. 20); and Nicks' six-and-a-half minute opus "Sara" (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 1988Greatest Hits, the 199225 Years – The Chain box set, 2002'sThe Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, and the 2004 remaster ofTusk. Original guitarist Peter Green also took part in the sessions ofTusk, although his playing on the Christine McVie track "Brown Eyes", is not credited on the album.[80] In an interview in 2019, Fleetwood describedTusk as his "personal favourite" and said, "Kudos to Lindsey ... for us not doing a replica ofRumours."[81]
Tusk sold four million copies worldwide. Fleetwood blamed the album's relative lack of commercial success on theRKO radio chain having played the album in its entirety prior to release, thereby allowing mass home taping.[82]
The band embarked on an 11-month tour to support and promoteTusk. 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 musicianBob Marley.[83] On this world tour, the band recorded music fortheir first live album, which was released at the end of 1980.[84]
The band's thirteenth studio album,Mirage, 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 ofTusk. Recorded atChâteau d'Hérouville in France and produced byRichard Dashut,Mirage was an attempt to recapture the huge success ofRumours. Its hits included Christine McVie's "Hold Me" and "Love in Store" (co-written byRobbie Patton and Jim Recor, respectively), Nicks' "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".
In contrast to theTusk 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 firstUS Festival, on 5 September 1982, for which the band was paid $500,000 (equivalent to $1,629,000 in 2024).Mirage was certified double platinum in the US.
FollowingMirage the band went on hiatus, which allowed members to pursue solo careers. Nicks released two more solo albums (1983'sThe Wild Heart and 1985'sRock a Little). Buckingham issuedGo Insane in 1984, the same year that Christine McVie made aneponymous 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 theBetty 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 allowingMirage to remain the band's last effort.[85]
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 sinceRumours, 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" ("Little Lies" being co-written with her new husband, Eddy Quintela),Sandy Stewart and Nicks' "Seven Wonders", and Buckingham's "Big Love". "Family Man" (Buckingham andRichard Dashut) 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.[76] After Buckingham's departure, Fleetwood Mac added two new guitarists to the band,Billy Burnette andRick Vito, again without auditions.[86]
Burnette was the son ofDorsey Burnette and nephew ofJohnny Burnette, both ofThe 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 onSaturday Night Live. Fleetwood and Christine McVie had played on hisTry Me album in 1985. Vito, a Peter Green admirer, had played with many artists fromBonnie Raitt to John Mayall, toRoger McGuinn inThunderbyrd 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 titledTango in the Night, which was filmed at San Francisco'sCow Palace arena in December 1987.
Capitalising on the success of theTango in the Night album, the band released aGreatest Hits album in 1988. It featured singles from the 1975–1988 era and included two new compositions, "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. TheGreatest 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. 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 moreadult contemporary style with producerGreg Ladanyi. The album yielded only one Top 40 hit, Christine McVie's "Save Me".Behind the Mask only achievedGold album status in the US, peaking at No. 18 on theBillboard 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). ButRolling Stone magazine said that Vito and Burnette were "the best thing to ever happen to Fleetwood Mac".[87] 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, entitled25 Years – The Chain (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", a Nicks composition that was recorded during theRumours 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 compilationTimeSpace, but Fleetwood had refused as he had planned to include it in this collection as a rarity.[citation needed] 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.[88] The box set also included a new Nicks/Vito composition, "Paper Doll", which was released in the US as a single and produced by Buckingham and Richard Dashut.[89] There were also two new Christine McVie compositions, "Heart of Stone" and"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, titledMy 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 PresidentBill Clinton for his firstInaugural 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.[90]
Inspired by the new interest in the band, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, and Billy Burnette recorded another album as Fleetwood Mac, withBekka Bramlett, who had worked a year earlier with Fleetwood's Zoo, joining the band. Solo singer-songwriter/guitarist and originalTraffic memberDave Mason, who had worked with Bekka's parentsDelaney & 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 forCrosby, Stills & Nash, and in 1995 as part of a package withREO Speedwagon andPat Benatar.[91] 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.[5]
On 10 October 1995, Fleetwood Mac released their sixteenth studio 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 theBillboard 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 acountry music duo,Bekka & Billy.[5][92]
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 inLouisville, Kentucky, prior to theKentucky Derby, withSteve Winwood filling in for Buckingham. A week later, theTwister film soundtrack was released, which featured the Nicks-Buckingham duet "Twisted", with Fleetwood on drums. This eventually led to a full reunion of theRumours line-up, which officially reformed in March 1997.[93]
The regrouped Fleetwood Mac performed a live concert on a soundstage atWarner Bros.Burbank, California, on 22 May 1997. Buckingham said in an interview withMojo magazine regarding the five of them coming together again that their "chemistry was very present".[94] The concert was recorded and filmed, and from this performance came the 1997 live album and videoThe Dance, which brought the band back to the top of the US album charts for the first time in ten years. In addition to live performances of their most notable songs, the album also featured new songs including "Bleed to Love Her" and "Temporary One".[94] The album was certified five million units by theRIAA.[95] An arena tour followed theMTV premiere ofThe Dance video and kept the reunited Fleetwood Mac on the road throughout much of 1997, the 20th anniversary ofRumours. 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.
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham on theSay You Will Tour, 2003
In 1998 Fleetwood Mac were inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[96] Members inducted were the 1968–1970 band—Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, and Danny Kirwan—andRumours-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. TheRumours-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" withSantana, who were inducted the same night. Neither Jeremy Spencer nor Danny Kirwan attended. Fleetwood Mac also received the "Outstanding Contribution to Music" award at theBrit Awards (British Phonographic Industry Awards) the same year.[97] Shortly after this, Christine McVie officially left the band.
2002 saw the release ofThe Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, 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 theBillboard 200 chart (No. 6 in the UK) and yielded chart hits with "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,[98] in April 2006 bassist John McVie, during a question-and-answer session on thePenguin Fleetwood Mac fan website, said of the reunion idea:
If we could get Peter and Jeremy to do it, I'd probably, maybe, do it. I know Mick would do it in a flash. Unfortunately, I don't think there's much chance of Danny doing it. Bless his heart.[99]
In interviews given in November 2006 to support his solo albumUnder 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 newspaperThe Daily Telegraph in September 2007, she stated that she was unwilling to carry on with the band unless Christine McVie returned.[100]
2008–2013: Touring activity
In March 2008, it was mooted thatSheryl 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.[101] Later, Buckingham said that the potential collaboration with Crow had "lost its momentum"[102] and the idea was abandoned.
Fleetwood Mac in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 2009
In March 2009, Fleetwood Mac started their "Unleashed" tour, again without Christine McVie. It was a greatest hits show, although album tracks such as "Storms" and "I Know I'm Not Wrong" were also played. During their show on 20 June 2009 inNew Orleans, Louisiana, Stevie Nicks premiered part of a new song that she had written aboutHurricane Katrina.[103] The song was later released as "New Orleans" on Nicks's 2011 albumIn 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'sThe Very Best of Fleetwood Mac 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 onBBC One, featuring recent interviews with all four current band members.[104] 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 theirUnleashed tour at London'sWembley 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" to her. On 19 December 2009, Fleetwood Mac played the second-to-last show of theirUnleashed tour to a sell-out crowd in New Zealand, at what was intended to be a one-off event at theTSB 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[105] 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 inScottsdale, Arizona for TPG (Texas Pacific Group).
On 3 May 2011, theFox Network broadcast an episode ofGlee entitled "Rumours" that featured six songs from the band's 1977 album.[106] The show sparked renewed interest in the band and its most commercially successful album, andRumours re-entered theBillboard 200 chart at No.11 in the same week that Nicks's solo albumIn Your Dreams debuted at No.6. (She was quoted byBillboard saying that her new album was "my own littleRumours."[107]) The two recordings sold about 30,000 and 52,000 units respectively. Music downloads accounted for 91 per cent of theRumours sales. The spike in sales forRumours represented an increase of 1,951%. It was the highest chart entry by a previously issued album sinceThe Rolling Stones' reissue ofExile On Main St. re-entered the chart at No. 2 on 5 June 2010.[108] In an interview in July 2012 Nicks confirmed that the band would reunite for a tour in 2013.[109]
Original Fleetwood Mac bassistBob Brunning died on 18 October 2011 at the age of 68.[110] Former guitarist and singerBob Weston was found dead on 3 January 2012 at the age of 64.[111] Former singer and guitaristBob Welch was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 7 June 2012 at the age of 66.[112] 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.[113]
The band's 2013 tour, which took place in 34 cities, started on 4 April inColumbus, 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 sinceMirage. "Without You" was rerecorded from the Buckingham-Nicks era.[114] The band released their first new studio material in ten years,Extended Play, on 30 April 2013.[115] 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".[116] "[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?"[117]
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."[118] Also in October 2013, Stevie Nicks appeared inAmerican Horror Story: Coven with Fleetwood Mac's song "Seven Wonders" playing in the background.[119] In November 2013, Christine McVie expressed interest in a return to Fleetwood Mac, and also affirmed that John McVie's prognosis was "really good".[120]
2014–present: Buckingham's departure and the death of Christine McVie
Fleetwood Mac performing in Sacramento, California in 2014
On 11 January 2014, Mick Fleetwood confirmed that Christine McVie would be rejoining Fleetwood Mac.[121]On with the Show, a 33-city North American tour, opened inMinneapolis, Minnesota, on 30 September 2014.[122] 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.[123]
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 be low priority for a few years.[124] 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.[125]
In August 2016, Fleetwood said that the band had recorded a large amount of music, but virtually none of it featured Nicks. Buckingham and Christine McVie, however, had contributed many songs to the new project.[126] Nicks explained her reluctance to record another album with Fleetwood Mac, explaining that she didn't want to spend a year recording an album with her arguing bandmates and then have to tour with them.[127]
On 9 June 2017, Buckingham and Christine McVie released a new album, titledLindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie, which included contributions from Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.[128] 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.[129][130] Fleetwood Mac also planned to embark on another tour in 2018.[131] The band headlined the second night of the Classic West concert on 16 July 2017 atDodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and the second night of the Classic East concert at New York City'sCiti Field on 30 July 2017.
In January 2018, Fleetwood Mac received theMusiCares Person of the Year award and reunited to perform several songs at theGrammy-hosted gala honouring them.[132] 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 helpedRumours to go from No. 21 to No. 13 on the Top Rock Albums chart.[133]
Neil Finn (left) andMike Campbell (right) performing with Fleetwood Mac in 2018. Both joined the band following Lindsey Buckingham's departure that same year.
In April 2018, Buckingham departed from the group a second time, having reportedly been dismissed.[134][135] The reason was said to have been a disagreement about the nature of the tour,[136] and in particular the question of whether newer or less well-known material would be included, as Buckingham wanted.[137] Fleetwood stated onCBS 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 disagreement. 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 would continue to be respected.[138][139]
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.[140] He later reached a settlement with the band but did not reveal the specific terms that were agreed upon.[141] 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, stating that it wasn't the specific song choice that was the issue, but how it reduced the impact of the band's entrance. Azoff subsequently told him that Nicks had given the rest of the band an ultimatum: either Buckingham went or she would.[142]
On 8 June 2018, former Fleetwood Mac guitaristDanny Kirwan died at the age of 68 in a hostel for homeless alcoholics in London, after contractingpneumonia earlier in the year.[30][145][146]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."[147] One of Kirwan's songs, "Tell Me All the Things You Do" fromKiln House, was included in the set of the "An Evening with Fleetwood Mac" tour.[148]
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 shelterAuckland City Mission.[149]
Founding member Peter Green died on 25 July 2020 at the age of 73.[150]
In October 2020,Rumours again entered theBillboard top 10. The album received 30.6 million streams on streaming platforms the week of 15 October, which was in part due to aviral video featuring the song "Dreams".[151][152]
On 30 November 2022,Christine McVie died at the age of 79.[153] In February 2023, when asked about further activity from the band, Fleetwood expressed his belief that the band was "done" and said the other surviving members were keeping themselves busy with other musical pursuits.[154] In an October 2023 interview, Nicks stated that she saw no reason to continue the band after McVie's death,[155] which she reiterated in interviews withMojo andRolling Stone the following year.[156][157] In an interview withMojo in September 2024, Fleetwood stated that he was open to re-assembling the band.[158]
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Silver, MurrayWhen 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.
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