Fleetwood Mac is a band of two halves, both presided over by the towering figure of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie after whom the band was named. The early band until the mid '70s was a blues and rock band, the latter, a pop band, both enjoying significant success in spite of numerous line-up changes and controversies. In their many forms, Fleetwood Mac released more than 15 studio albums, ten compilations albums, had many Top 10 hits and participated in numerous sold-out world tours.
Fleetwood Mac formed in 1967 when British blues guitarist Peter Green decided to start his own band with Mick Fleetwood after they both left, for different reasons, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Fleetwood Mac's self-titled debut album (1968) was a straight-up blues album, very different than the sound they would later become famous for. The laid back, harmony driven guitar work of Danny Kirwan would begin to steer the band's sound away from stripped-back blues. Kirwan was only with the band for a short time, joining Fleetwood Mac in 1968 and leaving in 1972. During this time founding member Green began to suffer from schizophrenia; he eventually left the band and spent time in several psychiatric institutions. This left Kirwan to shoulder most of the songwriting responsibilities. The stress eventually took its toll, and Kirwan left the band.
In 1970 Christine McVie joined husband John in Fleetwood Mac, and when Lindsey Buckingham and his then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks joined in 1975 the band began to see gargantuan international success. The new line-up released a second self-titled album Fleetwood Mac (1975) (also called the White Album), which produced several Top 40 hits including "Over My Head", "Landslide" and "Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)". Fleetwood Mac's seminal album Rumours was released in 1977 and spun some of the band's best known singles, including "Dreams", "Gold Dust Woman", "Don't Stop" and "The Chain". Rumours was ranked No. 25 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time -- and is also the 12th highest selling album of all time, with more than 30 million copies sold since its release.
In 1979 Lindsey Buckingham took the reins for the band's third album since the Buckingham-Nicks duo came on board (the twelfth studio album for Fleetwood Mac as a band). As a result of Buckingham's desire to introduce the new sounds of punk and new wave to the band's sound, Tusk (1979) was much less mainstream in sound and production. However it did spawn a couple of Top 10 hits, most notably the title track "Tusk". After touring Tusk and following a short break, the band were back with a new studio album, Mirage (1982). The album peaked at No.5 on the charts in the US, spinning several hits including "Hold Me" and "Gypsy". After an 18-city tour Fleetwood Mac went on hiatus to allow members to pursue solo careers.
Nicks, Buckingham, and Christine McVie all released successful solo albums and toured singly during the band's five year hiatus, before returning to the studio to record 1987's Tango in the Night. This album would be the last with the current line-up and although it wasn't as successful as Rumours, Tango... did produce several hit songs ("Everywhere", "Little Lies" and "Seven Wonders"), and reached No.1 in the charts (hitting No.1 on three separate occasions in the UK during 87 and 88). Buckingham left after Tango... as he refused to go on tour to promote the album. Fleetwood Mac released Behind the Mask in 1990, but the album did not do well in the charts. After ...Mask, both Nicks and Christine McVie left the band to concentrate on their solo careers, leaving only Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. Although Fleetwood Mac would release three more studio albums with different vocalists, songwriters and creative minds involved, they never came close to achieving their previous success. For many, the line-up of Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood is who they associate with the band Fleetwood Mac.
