Fleetwood Mac

Who Are They?

Fleetwood Mac are a British-American band formed in London in 1967. More than almost any other major group, they are really two bands sharing one name: the fierce British blues outfit led by guitarist Peter Green, and, a lineup revolution later, the gleaming California pop-rock machine built around Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

The constant through every era is the rhythm section that gives the band its name: drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie. Around that anchor, singers and songwriters came and went, and the music swung from raw Chicago-style blues to some of the most meticulously crafted pop ever recorded.

Rumours (1977), written and recorded while the band members were splitting up with each other, became one of the best-selling albums in history and the obvious place to begin. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

The Story

Their history is one of rock's great reinventions: a blues band that lost its leaders, remade itself with two Californians, and turned its own romantic wreckage into pop gold.

1. 1967

   A blues band named after its rhythm section

   Guitarist Peter Green left John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and formed a new band with drummer Mick Fleetwood and, soon after, bassist John McVie. Green named it "Fleetwood Mac" after the two, a tribute that outlasted his own time in the group.

2. 1968–1969

   British blues stars

   With Green, Jeremy Spencer, and later Danny Kirwan on guitars, the band became one of Britain's biggest blues acts. The instrumental "Albatross" hit number one in the UK, and Then Play On showed Green pushing beyond pure blues into something moodier and more expansive.

3. 1970–1974

   The leaders vanish

   Peter Green, struggling with his mental health and heavy LSD use, left in 1970. Spencer walked out mid-tour to join a religious group, and Kirwan was later dismissed. Keyboardist and singer Christine McVie, John's wife, joined and steadied the band through a wilderness of shifting lineups.

4. 1974

   Enter Buckingham and Nicks

   Needing a guitarist after another departure, Mick Fleetwood was played a track by an unknown California duo, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. He wanted the guitarist; Buckingham insisted they came as a pair. The band said yes, and everything changed.

5. 1975

   Fleetwood Mac (the white album)

   The new five-piece self-titled album, driven by "Rhiannon," "Landslide," and "Say You Love Me," slowly climbed to number one in the US. Overnight, a struggling British blues band had become a Californian pop-rock sensation.

6. 1977

   Rumours

   As they recorded, both couples were breaking up: John and Christine McVie divorcing, Buckingham and Nicks splitting, Fleetwood's marriage collapsing. They poured all of it into the songs. Rumours became one of the best-selling albums ever and won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

7. 1979

   Tusk

   Instead of repeating Rumours, Buckingham steered the band into the sprawling, experimental double album Tusk, recorded at enormous cost. Commercially it disappointed by comparison, but it is now hailed as one of their boldest, most influential works.

8. 1982–1987

   Mirage and Tango in the Night

   Mirage (1982) returned to polished pop with "Gypsy." After solo detours, the band reunited for Tango in the Night (1987), a huge hit powered by "Little Lies" and "Everywhere," and the last classic-lineup studio album for years.

9. 1987–1997

   Departures and a reunion

   Lindsey Buckingham left after Tango, and Stevie Nicks departed for a time too. The classic five reunited in 1997 for the live album and tour The Dance, one of the best-selling live records of the decade.

10. 2018–2022

    Later years and farewells

    Buckingham was dismissed in 2018 and replaced on tour by Mike Campbell and Neil Finn. In 2022 Christine McVie died, effectively closing the book on the classic band. Their catalogue, and their myth, only keeps growing.

Start Here

Fleetwood Mac's genius is the songs, four singers trading off, harmonies stacked high, heartbreak turned into hooks. These four official videos are the fastest way in. Watch in order.

The Albums 6 to start with

Fleetwood Mac's catalogue splits cleanly into two worlds. The blue-topped cards are the essential pop-era entry points; the purple marks the Peter Green blues era that started it all.

The Playlists

Two YouTube Music playlists: a First Listen of the signature songs to bring you in, and a Deep Cuts set for when you're ready to sink in, including a taste of the Peter Green blues era. (Ideally, though, hear Rumours whole.) Hit the button on either card to play it.

The Band

Dozens of musicians have passed through Fleetwood Mac, but a handful define the story: the rhythm section that never left, the blues genius who started it, and the three singer-songwriters of the golden era.

• Mick FleetwoodDrumsCo-founder and namesake; the towering drummer and de facto leader who held the band together through every era
• John McVieBassCo-founder and the other half of the name; the steady, melodic bass at the band's foundation
• Peter GreenGuitar, 1967–70The original leader and one of Britain's greatest blues guitarists; wrote "Albatross" and "Black Magic Woman" (d. 2020)
• Christine McVieKeyboards / VocalsJoined in 1970; the warm, melodic heart of the pop era, wrote "Songbird," "Everywhere," "Don't Stop" (d. 2022)
• Lindsey BuckinghamGuitar / VocalsJoined 1974; the studio visionary and fingerstyle guitarist who shaped the band's biggest and boldest records
• Stevie NicksVocalsJoined 1974; the mystical voice and songwriter behind "Rhiannon," "Dreams," and "Landslide," and a superstar in her own right

Influences

Fleetwood Mac grew out of two soils: the Chicago and Delta blues that fed the Peter Green era, and the sunlit California songwriting that shaped the Buckingham/Nicks records. Here is where it started.

Interviews

The two eras of Fleetwood Mac speak for themselves here: Stevie Nicks on being a woman fronting a rock band, and Mick Fleetwood on the blues genius who started it all.

Going Deeper

Once Rumours has you, there are two whole bands and a tangle of solo careers waiting on the other side.

• The blues era — go back to the Peter Green records: Then Play On, plus singles like "Albatross," "Black Magic Woman," and "Oh Well." A different, fiercer band entirely.
• The Dance — the 1997 reunion live album and film, with the classic five back together and the definitive live "Silver Springs."
• Solo worlds — Stevie Nicks' huge solo career (Bella Donna), Lindsey Buckingham's inventive solo records, and Christine McVie's warm songwriting all reward exploration.
• Tusk, revisited — give the sprawling double album a proper front-to-back listen. Once Rumours makes sense, Tusk is where the real obsessives live.

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