Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac is a British-American rock band whose only original member present in the band is its drummer, Mick Fleetwood. Despite band founder Peter Green naming the group by combining the surnames of two of his former bandmates (Fleetwood, McVie) from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, bassist John McVie played neither on their first single nor at their first concerts. The 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 achieved a UK number one with "Albatross"; and from 1975 to 1987, with more pop-orientation, featuring Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood Mac's second album after the incorporation of Nicks and Buckingham, 1977's Rumours, produced four U.S. Top 10 singles and remained at No.1 on the American albums chart for 31 weeks. To date the album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the eighth highest selling album of all time. They have released 17 studio albums, 12 compilation albums, 69 singles, and 12 music videos.

The band enjoyed more modest success in the intervening period between 1971 and 1974, with the line-up including Bob Welch, and also during the 1990s which saw more personnel changes before the return of Nicks and Buckingham in 1997, and more recently, the departure of Christine McVie.

Fleetwood Mac's first album, Fleetwood Mac, was released in February 1968. The album was successful in the UK, hitting no.4, though it did not have any singles on it. The band soon released two singles "Black Magic Woman" and "Need Your Love So Bad". The band's second album, Mr. Wonderful, was released in August 1968.

The band released their first number one single in Europe, "Albatross" and they released their second American album, English Rose. The band signed with the Immediate Records label and released "Man of the World", another British and European hit single. For the B-side Spencer fronted Fleetwood Mac as "Earl Vince and the Valiants" and recorded "Someone's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite".

Their first album for Reprise, released in September 1969, was the well-regarded Then Play On. The American release of this album contains the song "Oh Well".

In September 1970, Fleetwood Mac released Kiln House. Kirwan's songs moved the band in the direction of 70s rock. In September 1971, the band released Future Games followed by the well-received album Bare Trees. Bare Trees featured Welch's "Sentimental Lady", which would be a much bigger hit for him five years later when he re-recorded it for his solo album French Kiss, backed with Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, and Lindsey Buckingham. 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.

Fleetwood Mac released Penguin, which was released in January 1973 followed by 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. The band were justifiably proud of the new album and were poised to make it a hit. Heroes Are Hard to Find was released in September 1974.

In 1975, the line-up released the eponymous Fleetwood Mac. The album proved to be a breakthrough for the band and became a huge hit, reaching No.1 in the US and selling over 5 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" and "Landslide". But in 1976, with the success of the band also came the end of John and Christine McVie's marriage, as well as Buckingham and Nicks' long term romantic relationship. The pressure put on Fleetwood Mac to release a successful follow-up album, combined with their new-found wealth, led to creative and personal tensions, fuelled by high consumption of drugs and alcohol.

The album the band members released in 1977 was Rumours, in which they laid bare the emotional turmoil experienced at that time. Critically acclaimed, it was the recipient of the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for 1977. Hit singles included Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way", Nicks's U.S. No.1 "Dreams" ( sample (help·info)), and Christine McVie's "Don't Stop" and "You Make Loving Fun". Buckingham's "Second Hand News", Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman" and "The Chain" also received significant radio airplay. By 2003, Rumours had sold over 19 million copies in the U.S. alone and a total of 40 million copies worldwide, maintaining its status as one of the biggest-selling albums of all time.

The quirky 20-track double album, Tusk, was released in 1979. It spawned three hit singles; Lindsey Buckingham's "Tusk" (U.S. #8), which featured the USC Trojan Marching Band; Christine McVie's "Think About Me" (U.S. #20); and Stevie Nicks' 6½ minute opus "Sara". Tusk remains one of Fleetwood Mac's most ambitious albums to date, although selling only four million copies worldwide. The band embarked on a huge 18-month tour to support and promote Tusk. 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.

The next album, 1982's Mirage, following 1981 solo turns by Nicks and Buckingham, was a return to the more conventional. Its hits included Christine McVie's "Hold Me" and "Love In Store", Stevie Nicks's "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". 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, Lindsey Buckingham issued Go Insane in 1984, the same year that Christine McVie made an eponymous album. All three met with success and 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.

The Rumours line-up of Fleetwood Mac recorded one more album for the time being, Tango in the Night, in 1987. 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", Sandy Stewart and Stevie Nicks's "Seven Wonders", and Lindsey Buckingham's "Big Love". "Family Man" and "Isn't It Midnight" were also released as singles, with lesser success. 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 No.43 in the US and No.66 in the UK. It did, however, reach No.1 on the US Adult Contemporary charts. The Greatest Hits album, which peaked at No.3 in the UK and No.14 in the US.

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 and ended up with a more adult contemporary style. 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 No.18 on the Billboard album chart, though it entered the UK Albums Chart at #1.

In 1991, both Nicks and Rick Vito announced they were leaving Fleetwood Mac altogether. In 1992, Fleetwood himself arranged a 4-disc box set spanning highlights from the band's 25 year history, titled 25 Years – The Chain. 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.

After reuniting at the request of U.S. President Bill Clinton for his first Inaugural Ball in 1993, the band 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.

The Twister film soundtrack featured the Stevie Nicks-Lindsey Buckingham duet, "Twisted", with Mick Fleetwood on drums. This eventually led to a full Rumours line-up reunion when the band officially reformed in March 1997. The regrouped Mac performed a live concert recorded on a Warner Bros. Burbank, California soundstage and from this performance came the 1997 live album The Dance. The album was certified a 5 million seller by the RIAA.

In 1998, Fleetwood Mac (Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan) were 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 BRIT Awards the same year.

In 1998, Christine McVie left the band and returned to the UK to retire from touring. Her departure left Buckingham and Nicks to sing all the lead vocals for the band's 2003 album, Say You Will, although Christine did contribute some backing vocals and keyboards. The album debuted at No.3 on the Billboard 200 chart and yielded chart hits with "Peacekeeper" and the title track, and a successful world arena tour which lasted through 2004.

In late 2008, Fleetwood Mac announced that the band would tour in 2009, beginning in March. In October 2009, the band began a tour of Europe which carried on into early November, followed by a tour of Australia and New Zealand in December. In May 2011, Stevie Nicks announced that Fleetwood Mac would go out on tour again in 2012 and talked of a possible new album.

Music Videos

 * As Long as You Follow
 * Big Love
 * Dragonfly
 * Everywhere
 * Go Your Own Way
 * Gold Dust Woman
 * Gypsy
 * Hold Me
 * In The Back of My Mind
 * Isn't It midnight?
 * Landslide
 * Little Lies
 * Love Shines
 * Man of the World
 * Oh Diane
 * Paper Doll
 * Sara
 * Save Me
 * Seven Wonders
 * Silver Springs
 * Sisters of the Moon
 * The Chain
 * The Sky is the Limit
 * Tusk