A selection of little-known facts about Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac is a famous rock band with hits like "Dreams", "Go Your Own Way", "Everywhere" and more! The band has seen many ups and downs: Fleetwood Mac updated the line-up and experimented with styles, which helped the group to maintain its popularity until the end of the 20th century ... Fleetwood Mac has a rich heritage that has survived to this day - their hit single "Dreams" is included in list of the 100 best songs according to Rolling Stone. We invite you to recall little-known facts about an outstanding rock band together!

One of the founders of the group left to join the cult

The first Fleetwood Mac lineup was very different from the "classic" lineup when the band was already known around the world... Many of the original band members left or were fired, however one of them left the band for a more unorthodox reason. Back in 1971, guitarist Jeremy Spencer left his hotel room shortly before a scheduled concert to visit a nearby bookstore. He did not return for several days and the band was forced to cancel their upcoming shows... When they eventually found Spencer, he revealed that he had met a young man named Apollos who begged him to join the Children of God cult. Spencer informed his stunned bandmates that he was leaving the band immediately! Fleetwood Mac were forced to bring in their old guitarist, Peter Green...

Guitarist Danny Kirwan left the band after a backstage incident that turned violent

Another early member of Fleetwood Mac, Danny Kirwan, also unusually left the group in the early 70s. In 1972, the band was preparing to take the stage during the tour in support of their new album Bare Trees, when Kirwan literally went crazy ... The guitarist was arguing with bandmate Bob Welch over the guitar, when he suddenly became furious: according to eyewitnesses, he hit his head on the wall before launching his precious Gibson Les Paul into the mirror and it rained glass in all directions... Kirwan then refused to go on stage, goading Welch to try playing two separate guitar parts alone... Mick Fleetwood fired Kirwan shortly after incident. In a 1976 BBC interview, Fleetwood said that he thought throwing Kirwan out was the best course of action:

“In fact, it was a torment for him to be on stage ... Almost everything drove him crazy ...”

Christine McVie thought the band's biggest hit, "Dreams", was boring

"Dreams" is one of Fleetwood Mac's most recognizable tunes! Time magazine placed this song on their list of the 100 greatest popular songs back in 2011, and in 2020 it even returned to the charts! While many Fleetwood Mac fans would consider this song their favorite in the band's repertoire, Christine McVie has long called it "boring". In 2005, the keyboardist said:

“When Stevie first played it for me on the piano, it was only three chords and one note… I thought, ‘This is really boring,’ but Lindsey’s genius came into play: he created three parts from the same chords, making each part sound perfect differently. He had the impression that there was a thread running through it all…”

Lindsey Buckingham performs both male and female backing vocals on "Big Love"

"Big Love" is one of Lindsey Buckingham's songs from the 1987 album Tango in the Night. Possibly one of the most underrated Fleetwood Mac tunes… Listeners probably remember the song most of all for its provocative vocal performance, which strangely sounds like the moans of a man and a woman at the same time. And this should not surprise you, considering that in fact, all the vocals are performed by Buckingham himself! For the recorded track, his vocals were edited to mimic gentle feminine tones...

Stevie Nicks hated Tango in the Night

Not surprisingly, Nicks felt uncomfortable recording the album with her two ex-boyfriends (she had a brief affair with Fleetwood after her relationship with Buckingham collapsed). Plus, she just got out of rehab, and what's worse, Tango in the Night was mostly recorded in Buckingham's bedroom... Speaking to The Miami Herald in 2017, Nicks recalled:

“Every time I went up to this bedroom, I felt as uncomfortable as possible ... I wanted to escape from there! It was a very strange feeling... It was a very beautiful bedroom set up like a vocal booth. But personally, I didn’t like being there…”

Buckingham refused to join the band without then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks.

When guitarist Bob Welch left the band in 1974, Mick Fleetwood knew exactly who he wanted in the line-up: after hearing Buckingham's brilliant work at Sound City Recording Studios in California, Fleetwood immediately called him and offered to join the band! Buckingham was glad to accept the offer, but he had one condition, which he refused to compromise. Since he was already part of another band with his girlfriend, Stevie Nicks, he explained to Fleetwood that he couldn't accept the job without bringing her along - they've been dating and making music together since they were in high school! Luckily, Fleetwood agreed as he was so impressed with their band's music.

Neither Mick Fleetwood nor John McVie came up with the band's name.

Most people know that the name "Fleetwood Mac" comes from the names of the two founding members of the band, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie. However, neither Fleetwood nor McVie suggested the title... When blues legend John Mayall gave guitarist Peter Green time to record for his birthday, Green invited his friends Fleetwood and McVie to record five songs with him. Green named the fifth song "Fleetwood Mac" as a tribute to his two fellow musicians. Shortly after this fateful recording, Green and Fleetwood began discussing forming their own band. The couple wanted McVie on board, but he didn't, and so Green tried to win him over by suggesting that the band be called Fleetwood Mac. McVie still refused, but changed his mind a few weeks later and agreed to join Fleetwood Mac.

The band reconvened to perform at Bill Clinton's inaugural ball

Nicks and Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac in 1987, ending the days the band had a classic lineup. However, in January 1993, the familiar line-up briefly reunited to perform at Bill Clinton's inaugural ball! The song "Don't Stop" served as Clinton's campaign song back in 1992, and the new president asked them to perform it live at the celebration...

“From what I understand, it’s pretty much a one-time thing,” Buckingham said in an interview at the time.