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Fleetwood Mac Biography | ||
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The quintet had an immediate hit when "Albatross", a moody instrumental
reminiscent of "Sleep Walk" by Santo And Johnny, topped the UK charts.
The single, which reached number 2 when it was reissued in 1973, was the
group's first million-seller. Fleetwood Mac then left Blue Horizon,
although the company subsequently issued Blues Jam At Chess, on which
the band jammed with several mentors, including Buddy Guy, Otis Spann
and Walter Horton. Following a brief interlude on Immediate Records,
which furnished the hypnotic "Man Of The World", the quintet made their
debut on Reprise Records with "Oh Well", their most ambitious single to
date, and the superb Then Play On. This crafted album unveiled Kirwan's
songwriting talents and his romantic leanings offset the more worldly
Green. Although pictured, Jeremy Spencer was notably absent from most of
the sessions, although his eccentric vision was showcased on a
self-titled solo album. Fleetwood Mac now enjoyed an international
reputation, but it was a mantle too great for its leader to bear. Peter
Green left the band in May 1970 as his parting single, the awesome "The
Green Manalishi (With The Two-Prong Crown)", became another Top 10 hit.
He was replaced by Christine Perfect, now married to John McVie, and
while his loss was an obvious blow, Kirwan's songwriting talent and
Spencer's sheer exuberance maintained a measure of continuity on a
fourth album, Kiln House. However, in 1971 the group was rocked for a
second time when Spencer disappeared midway through an American tour. It
transpired that he had joined a religious sect, the Children Of God and
while Green deputized for the remainder of the tour, a permanent
replacement was found in a Californian musician, Bob Welch (b. Robert
Welch, 31 July 1946, Los Angeles, California, USA).
Having survived their emotional anguish, the band was faced with the
problem of following up a phenomenon. Their response was Tusk, an
ambitious double set that showed a group unafraid to experiment,
although many critics damned the collection as self-indulgent. The title
track, a fascinating instrumental, was an international hit, although
its follow-up, "Sara", a composition recalling the style of Rumours, was
better received in the USA than the UK. An in-concert selection,
Fleetwood Mac: Live, was released as a stopgap in 1980 as rumours of a
complete break-up flourished. It was a further two years before a new
collection, Mirage, appeared, by which point several members were
pursuing independent ventures. Buckingham and Nicks, in particular,
viewed their own careers with equal importance and Mirage, a somewhat
self-conscious attempt at creating another Rumours, lacked the sparkle
of its illustrious predecessor. It nonetheless yielded three successful
singles in "Hold Me", "Gypsy" and Buckingham's irrepressible "Oh Diane". For information about Fleetwood Mac Concert Tickets please visit this site. |
The original
Fleetwood Mac was formed in July 1967 by Peter Green (b. Peter Allen
Greenbaum, 29 October 1946, Bethnal Green, London, England; guitar) and
Mick Fleetwood (b. 24 June 1947, Redruth, Cornwall, England; drums),
both of whom had recently left John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. They secured
a recording contract with Blue Horizon Records on the strength of
Green's reputation as a blues guitarist before the label's overtures
uncovered a second guitarist, Jeremy Spencer (b. 4 July 1948, Hartlepool,
Cleveland, England), in a semi-professional group, the Levi Set. A
temporary bass player, Bob Brunning, was recruited into the line-up,
until a further Mayall acolyte, John McVie (b. 26 November 1945, London,
England; bass), was finally persuaded to join the new unit. Peter
Green's Fleetwood Mac, as the group was initially billed, made its debut
on 12 August 1967 at Windsor's National Jazz And Blues Festival. Their
first album, Fleetwood Mac, released on Blue Horizon in February the
following year, reached the UK Top 5 and established a distinctive
balance between Green's introspective compositions and Spencer's debt to
Elmore James. A handful of excellent cover versions completed an album
that was seminal in the development of the British blues boom of the
late 60s. The group also enjoyed two minor hit singles with "Black Magic
Woman", a hypnotic Green composition later popularized by Santana, and a
delicate reading of "Need Your Love So Bad", first recorded by Little
Willie John. Fleetwood Mac's second album, Mr. Wonderful, was another
triumph, but while Spencer was content to repeat his established style,
Green, the group's leader, extended his compositional boundaries with
several haunting contributions, including the heartfelt "Love That
Burns". His guitar playing, clean and sparse but always telling, was
rarely better, while McVie and Fleetwood were already an instinctive
rhythm section. Mr. Wonderful also featured contributions from Christine
Perfect (b. 12 July 1943, Grenodd, Lancashire, England), pianist from
Chicken Shack, and a four-piece horn section, as the group began to
leave traditional blues behind. A third guitarist, Danny Kirwan (b. 13
May 1950, London, England), was added to the line-up in September 1968.