Fleetwood Mac
(1967-present)

Aged 57

Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their eponymous debut album. Danny Kirwan joined as a third guitarist in 1968. Keyboardist and vocalist Christine Perfect, who contributed as a session musician from the second album, married McVie and joined in 1970. Primarily a British blues band at first, Fleetwood Mac achieved a UK number one with "Albatross", and had other hits such as the singles "Oh Well", "Man of the World", and the "The Green Manalishi". All three guitarists left in succession during the early 1970s, replaced by guitarists Bob Welch and Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker. By 1974, Welch, Weston and Walker had all either departed or been dismissed, leaving the band without a male lead vocalist or a guitarist. In late 1974, while Fleetwood was scouting studios in Los Angeles, he heard the American folk-rock duo Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. He asked Buckingham to be their new lead guitarist and Buckingham agreed on the condition that Nicks could also join. The addition of Buckingham and Nicks gave the band a more pop rock sound and their 1975 album Fleetwood Mac reached No. 1 in the United States. Rumours (1977) produced four U.S. Top 10 singles and remained at number one on the American albums chart for 31 weeks. It also reached the top spot in countries around the world and won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978. Rumours has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in history. Although each member of the band went through a breakup (John and Christine McVie, Buckingham and Nicks, and Fleetwood and his wife Jenny) while recording the album, they continued to write and record together. The lineup remained stable through three more studio albums, but by the late 1980s began to disintegrate. After Buckingham and Nicks left, they were replaced by a number of other guitarists and vocalists. A 1993 one-off performance for the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton reunited Fleetwood, Nicks and Buckingham, and John and Christine McVie for the first time in six years. A full reunion occurred four years later, and Fleetwood Mac released their fourth U.S. No. 1 album, The Dance (1997), a live compilation of their hits, also marking the 20th anniversary of Rumours. Christine McVie left in 1998, but continued to work with the band in a session capacity. They continued as a four-piece, releasing their most recent studio album, Say You Will, in 2003. Christine McVie rejoined in 2014. In 2018, Buckingham was fired and replaced by Mike Campbell, formerly of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House. Christine McVie died in 2022. Fleetwood Mac have sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling bands. In 1979, the group were honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1998 the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2018, the band received the MusiCares Person of the Year award from The Recording Academy in recognition of their artistic achievement in the music industry and dedication to philanthropy.

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