Fleetwood Mac is an American-British group formed in 1967 in London by Peter Green, former member of the group John Mayall & Bluesbreaker. Which will be joined by Mick Fleetwood (ex-member of the Bluesbreakers), and initially by Jeremy Spencer and Bob Brunning. Then by Danny Kirwan. Then by John McVie (also a former member of the Bluesbreakers). Christine McVie, she did not arrive until 1970. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks did not arrive until well after, in 1974. It is also in tribute to his 2 ex-friends of the Bluesbrakers that Green gives Fleetwood Mac's name to the band he just created.
The band can boast of having sold more than 100 million records to date, making them one of the best-selling records of all time. Their album "Rumors" also holds 8th place in the world ranking of the best-selling albums, with more than 40 million copies sold !
The great adventure begins with the release of an eponymous debut album in 1968, an album that has enjoyed great success. But paradoxically, no title will be classified.
The Single "Black magic woman", released the same year and off album, will be the group's first ranked Single. Magic title which will allow Santana to record one of his biggest hits too, taking it back 2 years later. But it is above all the title "Albatross", also released in 1968, which will allow the group to acquire deserved first global recognition. 2 first flagship titles that will be found on the compilation "The pious bird of good omen" which will be released two years later in 1969.
Also in 1968 released the album "Mr wonderful". New esteemed success but once again, no classified excerpt title. Ditto in 1969, the album "Then play on" was only relatively successful. On the other hand, the titles "Man of the world" and "Oh well", released independently, know them the favors of the public. The group then goes, slowly but surely, from a blues tone to a more rock-like tone.
First major turning point for the group in 1970 with the premature departure of Green. A Green who is a bit too addicted to LSD and who gradually falls into schizophrenia. Kirwan and Spencer therefore take over the group on their own. Green's absence is evident in the musical quality of the compositions, and the album "Kiln house" which came out shortly after was met with mixed success.
The albums "Futures games", "Bare trees", "Penguin", "Mystery to me" released in 1971, 1972 and 1973 respectively will not do much better. Added to this is an impressive turn-over on the musicians side, which does not help.
Result of the races, the producer of the group dissolves the team (singers and musicians) and replaces it entirely ! We are then in 1974.
There followed trials, abuses and repeated failures. The 'fake' Fleetwood Mac is in turn dissolved and some of the original members are back in the race. Despite the return of the "historical", the release of the album "Heroes are hard to fin" is a semi-failure. Difficult for the group to find a dynamic worthy of the name.
It was the arrival of the late 1974 Buckingham-Nicks tamdem that would change everything. The 2 newcomers breathe new life into this dying group and the result is immediate. The eponymous album which was released in 1975 was a real success, notably thanks to the flagship titles "Rhiannon" and "Say you love me" which were released in 1976.
Paradoxical as it may seem, the group, in its new version, is already falling into excess, especially in the excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol. And it is precisely these drifts that will allow the genesis of their masterpiece album "Rumors". Album which will remain as their biggest commercial success. First with the Single "Go your own way" which was also released in 1976.
But also and above all with the flagship titles "Dreams", "Don’t stop" and "You make loving fun", which came out in 1977 and which will make a real worldwide hit. The notoriety of the group literally explodes.
1978 was a preparatory year for writing and releasing the upcoming event album "Tusk". Album which came out in 1979 and which was going to be almost as strong as its predecessor. Starting with the title "Tusk" and followed shortly by the sublime "Sarah" interpreted by a Stevie Nicks at the height of her art. The other Singles released during the 1980s, and still taken from the same album, unfortunately did not experience the same level of success.
Another year of transition in 1981. And another shattering comeback in 1982 with the album "Mirage". Once again, the major title will go to Stevie Nicks with the huge "Gypsy". "Hold me", "Love in store" and "Oh Diane" settling for the top spots despite impressive sales scores.
Several members of the group will try solo careers thereafter with more or less success. The most talented being Stevie Nicks who will release 2 famous albums. Unfortunately, everyone's addictions will catch up with them, stopping or severely handicapping their desires to be able to stand on their own two feet.
The group is therefore reforming five years after the release of "Mirage". The album "Tango in the night" therefore saw the light of day in 1987. And it's a real miracle that occurs with an album that will explode everything in its path. The sales scores are mind-boggling, almost equaling "Rumors". The Singles "Big love", "Seven wonders" and "Family man" will all become global hits but it is especially the title "Little lies" which will take down the timpani and become one of the biggest hits of all their discography, if not the biggest.
Still from the same album, the Single “Everywhere” was released in 1988, a Single which in turn recorded a world-wide success of the highest order. 7 tracks from the album in the end will have been classified, a near-record !
Paradoxical as it may seem, the colossal success of the album fails to fuel tensions between the various members of the group. So much so that Buckingham left the group shortly after.
Also in 1988 released the Single "As long as you follow", a new Single taken from the best-of which was released the same year. New global success for a group yet at the end of its life.
A new album “Behind the mask” was released in 1990, but only the Single “Save me” was successful, thereby amplifying the group's irreversible decline. Stevie Nicks left the band a year later in 1991.
With Buckingham-Nicks gone, the quality of titles released thereafter would never match the previous ones, dragging the group into inevitable decline.
Either way, Fleetwood Mac will stay as one of the major bands of the late 20th century and can boast of having spanned 4 decades while leaving at least 1 or 2 top-level titles in each. A rare feat !
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
60s Decade :
I believe my time ain't long 1967
Black magic woman 1968
Albatross 1968
Man of the world 1969
Oh well 1969
70s Decade :
The green Manalishi (With the two Prong crown) 1970
Dragonfly 1971
Sands of time 1971
Sentimental lady 1972
For your love 1973
Heroes are hard to find 1974
Over my head 1975
Rhiannon 1976
Say you love me 1976
Go your own way 1976
Dreams 1977
Don’t stop 1977
You make loving fun 1977
Tusk 1979
Sara 1979
80s Decade :
Think about me 1980
Sisters of the moon 1980
Fireflies 1981
Hold me 1982
Gypsy 1982
Love in store 1982
Oh Diane 1982
Can't go back 1983
Big love 1987
Seven wonders 1987
Little lies 1987
Family man 1987
Everywhere 1988
Isn't it midnight 1988
As long as you follow 1988
90s Decade :
Save me 1990
Skies the limit 1990
In the back of my mind 1990
Love is dangerous 1990
Love shines 1992
Paper doll 1992
I do 1995
Hollywood (Some other kind of town) 1995
Sonner or later 1995
Temporary one 1997
The chain 1997
Silver springs 1997
Landslide 1998
2000s Decade :
Peacekeeper 2003
Say you will 2003
Sad angel 2013
2010s Decade :
Miss fantasy 2013
Tracks :
1967... the beginning of the genesis of the adventure of a small group which will become in a few years one of the leading groups of this end of the 20th century...
1968 ... after a few short-lived tests, here comes the first classified hit. The first classified hit of a group that is far from imagining the enormous fate that awaits him
1968 ... an exceptional year 1968 with a 2nd title which gave them their 1st global mega hit. And only two years of existence ...
1969 ... we start again on almost the same bases with a mega hit to the key. All in finesse and softness, what more could you ask for !
1969 ... we go from one extreme to another. Here we are in the midst of psychedelic rock typical of the end of the decade. And it works too !
1970...the 1960s will have seen them hatch and grow in power, but it is the following decade that will raise them to a level of notoriety that they would never have imagined...
1971 ... back in Intimist mode with this pretty ballad. A ballad that begins a period of several years without any major hits. Definitely, from one extreme to another !
1971...after a very favorable end to the 1960s, the trend was to reverse somewhat at the start of the 1970s. But given what was to come on the horizon, there was no need to worry about them...
1972 ... no classified hits and yet it is not the quality that is lacking. A slump on the side of success that is quite incomprehensible but without consequence...
1973 ... and yet it's not for lack of trying. Each year sees the release of several titles but none can make the difference ...
1974...the year 1974 will not do much better. The group is on the spot and can't get the machine back on the road. An immobility that should not last very long...
1975 ... then here comes a new team, a shock team with potential and talent to spare. Everything will change !
1976 ... the sound, the legendary Fleetwood Mac style is now in place. They just have to unroll. Starting with this title which puts them directly back in the race. On the road to glory !
1976 ... a dazzling reboot with a second top hit in the wake. The dynamic is on and nothing, and no one, will be able to stop it
1976 ... the pass of 3. A decidedly exceptional year where everything succeeds for the group. It's an absolutely incredible wave of hits !
1977 ... a year 1977 which started again in an incredible way. They are surely signing here one of their most emblematic mega hits. An inspiration which is evidently confirmed as totally out of the ordinary !
1977 ... 1976 was an exceptional year. Well you take 1977, you take the same ones and the results are also going to be the same. That is to say bluffing !
1977 ... three mega hits for 1976 and 3 mega hits for 1977. What more could you ask for. The group literally walks on water and each title becomes a phenomenon in itself !
1979 ... surprisingly, nothing in 1978. It is better to come back to 1979 with 2 titles which will become 2 of their most enormous titles. Starting with this one ...
1979 ... undoubtedly one of their Masterpieces. A mind-blowing title, of an inspiration and a lyricism totally out of the ordinary and on which Stevie Nicks really does wonders ! MAS-TER-FUL !
1980...a passage to the 80s which will see them decelerate in a brutal and surprising way. Slight air hole or more worrying underlying trend, good question...
1980... the deceleration accelerates and sees the group return to a level of success corresponding to its beginnings. Beware danger as they say....
1981...business resumed at the beginning of 1981 but very slowly. Will the group be able to reinvent himself, the future will tell us...
1982... all the titles released at the beginning of the 80s will have had little success, if any. Which is not the case with this one! A year 1982 which restarts on the hats of wheel and which announces a new series of hallucinating hits !
1982 ... still one of their most iconic titles. The group finds a new inspiration of very high level and that changes everything, once again !
1982 ... this title there will not really know the same level of success as its predecessor, it is clear. Nothing to worry about at this stage anyway...
1982 ... an astonishing title, very 60s, completely out of step with its time. And yet, it works !
1983...small year 1983 with a minimalist level of success and above all a single title released during that year. Decidedly, the years go by but are hardly alike...
1987 ... 1976, 1977 and 1982 were exceptional vintages. We thought we had seen everything and especially heard everything from them. It was without counting on this year 1987 which will remain like an absolutely incredible vintage. Starting with this title !
1987 ... it's a succession of mega hits that make the group one of the best in the world in this sumptuous year
1987 ... their 2nd Masterpiece. They signed here their biggest hit of the decade and the 2nd biggest hit of their entire career. Crazy talent !
1987 ... and 1, and 2, and 3...and 4 mega hits. Certainly, this one will be the least prestigious of the 4 but when we see the level of this 'little' hit, we are largely satisfied with it !
1988 ... and we start again. An inspiration which does not weaken of an Iota and which continues to produce absolutely sumptuous titles. Listen to this !
1988 ... and it continues, and it continues, and it continues. A unique style, inimitable and which allows them to systematically stand out from the competition
1988 ... more than 10 years after their debut, the group is at the top of its possibilities, its form and its creativity. A longevity at this level reserved only for the greatest !
1990 ... they will have passed through the 1970s, then the 1980s and finally the 1990s, a mighty feat reserved exclusively for the best. And they keep producing big caliber, over and over again...
1990...you still have to remember that the band started their career in 1967 ! Only the best of their generation will have managed to last this long...
1990...we're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind them. But what the group still has to offer is far from devoid of interest...
1990...a BIG year 1990 with a plethora of titles and quality on all levels. Even if the group decelerates more and more, he is still one of the most effective...
1992...even if the level of success has nothing to do with what they have known in the past, they still manage to maintain a minimum level of success. It's already that...
1992...we knew that the group could not continue at such a level for decades, at least at the level of planetary mega hits. But what a prize list all the same !
1995...the deceleration accelerates with the disappearance of radars for almost 3 years. Here they are again in this year 1995 in a relative form given the very average level of success achieved by this title...
1995...relative success but still quality, isn't that the main thing ? The group continues its adventure quietly but surely...
1995...when you see the number of titles produced since their debut, the list is most impressive. And it's not over, far from it...
1997...even if the group loses more and more contact with the front of the leading pack, he remains present on the front of the stage. A saving presence that allows them to simply continue to exist...
1997...they revisit here one of their own titles previously released in 1977. A way to highlight titles that went unnoticed at the time...
1997...in the same vein. Another title dating from 1977 and which will not have had the lighting it should have had at that time...
1998...this time it's a title dating from 1975 that they decide to bring back into the light. A profitable spotlight since this title, like the previous ones, will experience a semblance of success at the end of the 90s...
2003...they begin here their 5th decade of career and surely do not intend to stop there again. A truly extraordinary adventure !
2003 ... a passage to the 2000s which will turn out to be stealthy to say the least since they will only produce 2 Singles during this decade. It all feels like the end...
2013...we thought the case was definitely over and here they are again 10 years later. They make it a point of honor to come back at least once a decade...
2013...we can only encourage them to do so because given their talent, we know that they are capable of recreating the event on any title...
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :