Fleetwood Mac

As Eric Clapton's replacement in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Peter Green was already a brilliant guitarist when he formed Fleetwood Mac in 1967 with Bluesbreakers drummer Mick Fleetwood and Jeremy Spencer, another Bluesbreaker John McVie joining soon afterwards. Initially playing hardcore blues, they added Danny Kirwan and struck it big in 1969 with Green's haunting instrumental smash, “Albatross”. With his mental state deteriorating, Green quit the following year, but the band added Chicken Shack keyboard player Christine Perfect - John McVie's wife - to open a rocky new chapter. After more changes including a short stint with guitarist/songwriter Bob Welch, American guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and his partner Stevie Nicks joined Mick Fleetwood and the McVies. Beginning with the release of their phenomenally successful self-titled debut album in 1975, this became their most commercially successful line-up. When both the McVie marriage and the Buckingham-Nicks relationship collapsed, the resultant conflicts inspired their legendary 1977 album Rumours, one of the biggest-selling albums of all time with 40 million sales. The followed that up with the experimental double album Tusk, which wasn’t as commercially successful. They returned to commercial success with the release of the Mirage album in 1982. The band members worked on various solo projects before returning with the successful Tango in the Night album in 1987. Buckingham quit Fleetwood Mac after the release of the album and the band replaced him with Billy Burnett and Rick Vito. They released Behind the Mask (1990) before Vito and Nicks left, replaced by Dave Mason (Traffic) and Bekka Bramlett. This line-up released the album Time in 1995 before the band took a hiatus. The Rumours-era line-up reunited and toured, releasing the live album The Dance in 1997. McVie quit the band and Buckingham, Nicks, Fleetwood, and John McVie recorded the 2003 studio release Say You Will. After another short hiatus, Christine McVie returned to the line-up and the band discussed recording a new studio album. Nicks was reluctant and Buckingham and Christine McVie recruited Fleetwood and John McVie to record an album, released the album under the title Buckingham McVie (2017). Talks of a Fleetwood Mac tour began featuring the full Rumours-era line-up again. However, Buckingham was kicked out of the group and replaced by vocalist/guitarist Neil Finn (Crowded House/Split Enz) and guitarist Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers). This updated version of Fleetwood Mac toured in 2018 and 2019. Former guitarist / vocalist Bob Welch committed suicide on June 7, 2012. Early guitarist / vocalist Danny Kirwan died on June 8, 2018. Original guitarist Peter Green, the man who formed and named the band back in 1967, died peacefully in his sleep on July 25, 2020. Christine McVie died after a short illness on November 30, 2022.

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