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Mick Fleetwood

 
Artist: Mick Fleetwood
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Mick Fleetwood

Similar Artists:

Peter Green, Lindsey Buckingham

Followers:

Rabbits Against Magic, Mother Station, The Susans

Worked With:

Richard Dashut, John McVie, Mike Vernon, Jeremy Spencer, Christine McVie, Danny Kirwan, Stevie Nicks

Formal Connection With:

Fleetwood Mac
  • Born: June 24, 1942, London, England
  • Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Drums
  • Representative Albums: "The Visitor," "I'm Not Me," "Blue Again!"

Biography

Mick Fleetwood is best known for his tremendous success as the drummer of Fleetwood Mac, the wildly successful band he co-founded in 1967 with fellow John Mayall alumni Peter Green (guitar) and John McVie (bass). Although the turmoil of the band's meteoric rise to superstardom is well-known and documented in its own AllMusic entry, Fleetwood himself lost his marriage after it was discovered in 1973 that his wife was having an affair with Mac guitarist Bob Weston. Nevertheless, he continued playing with Fleetwood Mac for multiple decades while periodically issuing solo recordings.

After the supporting tour for 1979's Tusk, Fleetwood recorded his debut solo album, The Visitor, which was released in 1981 and displayed the drummer's interest in worldbeat. After the 1982 Mac album Mirage, Fleetwood cut a second solo record, 1983's I'm Not Me, which featured cameos from several Mac members. Fleetwood Mac subsequently went on hiatus until 1987, when Fleetwood's declaration of bankruptcy prompted the reunion LP Tango in the Night; even Lindsey Buckingham was persuaded to join in, albeit only in the studio. Even as the band's classic '70s lineup splintered, Fleetwood kept versions of the band going throughout the '90s, without enjoying much commercial success until the full-fledged reunion on 1997's The Dance. Meanwhile, he also continued working on outside projects such as the Zoo, which issued Shakin' the Cage during the early '90s. Something Big (attributed to the Mick Fleetwood Band), a joint project with songwriter Todd Smallwood, was released in 2004 on Fleetwood's own label, TallMan Records. As Fleetwood Mac prepared to tour again in early 2009, the drummer issued yet another album, this one culled from a live performance by the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band. Entitled Blue Again!, the two-disc set featured the blues-based songs of Fleetwood Mac's early career while also devoting time to original material, with former Fleetwood Mac vocalist Rick Vito assuming frontman duties. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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Mick Fleetwood

Background information
Birth name Michael John Kells Fleetwood
Born June 24, 1947 (1947-06-24) (age 62)
Redruth, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Genres Blues
Blues-Rock
Rock
Occupations Musician
Instruments Drums, Percussion
Years active 1964 - present
Labels Reprise Records
RCA Records
Sanctuary Records
Associated acts Fleetwood Mac
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
Mick Fleetwood's Zoo
The Zoo
Mick Fleetwood's Island Rumours Band
Website http://www.mickfleetwood.com

Michael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British-born musician best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac.

Aside from his work as a drummer, he also helped form the different incarnations of his band Fleetwood Mac, and is the sole member to stay with the band through its ever-changing lineup. In 1974, he met and invited Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to join Fleetwood Mac. Although Buckingham and Nicks deserve credit for contributing to much of Fleetwood Mac's later commercial success, Fleetwood's determination to keep the band together was essential to Fleetwood Mac's longevity as a band and their lasting international success.

Contents

Early life

Fleetwood was born in Redruth, Cornwall, UK, to John Joseph Kells and Bridget Maureen (née Brereton) Fleetwood.[1] His sister, the late Susan Fleetwood, was an actress. In early childhood he and his family followed his father, a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, to Egypt. After about six years they moved to Norway where his father was posted. He attended school there and acquired fluency in the Norwegian language.[2] According to his autobiography,[2] Fleetwood had an extremely difficult and trying time academically at the English boarding schools he attended, including Kings School, Sherborne Park, Glos. He performed poorly on exams which he attributes to his persistent inability to commit facts to memory. He dropped out of school aged 15, and, in 1963, moved to London to pursue a career as a drummer.[2]

Career

Keyboard player Peter Bardens gave Fleetwood his first gig in Bardens' band The Cheynes, thus seeding the young drummer's musical career. It would take him from The Cheynes to stints in the Bo Street Runners, Peter Bs, Shotgun Express (with Rod Stewart), and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. After being dismissed from the Bluesbreakers for repeated insobriety during gigs Mick Fleetwood was asked a few months later by singer and guitarist Peter Green to join him along with bassist John McVie in his new band Fleetwood Mac. Since then more than fifty albums have been released under the name Fleetwood Mac - by far the most popular being the two mega-platinum sets the group put out in the late seventies: Fleetwood Mac and Rumours.

Mick also led a number of side projects. 1981's The Visitor featured heavy African stylistics and a rerecording of "Rattlesnake Shake" with Peter Green. In 1983 he formed Mick Fleetwood's Zoo and recorded I'm Not Me. The album featured a minor hit with "I Want You Back" and a cover version of the Beach Boys' "Angel Come Home". A later version of the group featured Bekka Bramlett on vocals and recorded 1991's Shaking the Cage. Fleetwood released Something Big in 2004 with The Mick Fleetwood Band. That group's most recent album is Blue Again,[3] appearing in March 2009 with the group touring to support it, interspersed with the Unleashed tour of Fleetwood Mac.[4] This music explores the blues roots of the Peter Green era of Fleetwood Mac.

Fleetwood has a secondary career as a TV and film actor, usually in minor parts. His roles in this field have included a resistance leader in The Running Man and as a guest alien in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Manhunt". Fleetwood co-hosted the 1989 BRIT Awards, which contained numerous gaffes and flubbed lines. In the wake of this public mishap, the BRIT Awards were pre-recorded for the next 18 years until 2007; the awards are now again broadcast live to the British public.

Also in 2007 Mick Fleetwood was featured singing the song "God" along with Jack's Mannequin in the Pop album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, a collection of covers of John Lennon Songs.

Personal life

He is the author of Fleetwood - My Life and Adventures with Fleetwood Mac, his memoirs of his life, especially with Fleetwood Mac, published in 1991. Included in the book are his experiences with other musicians including Eric Clapton, members of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and a romance with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood also discusses his addiction to powdered cocaine and his personal bankruptcy in spite of earning millions from his drumming career.[2]

Recognised for his imposing height, he stands at 6'6" (197 cm).

In 1979, Mick Fleetwood was diagnosed with diabetes, after having suffered recurring bouts of hypoglycemia during several live shows.[5]

Having lived in the United States since the mid-70s,[2] Mick Fleetwood became a US citizen on 22 November 2006 in Los Angeles, California.

Drumming equipment

Drums: Drum Workshop Collector's Series Maple Drums in Natural Lacquer over Exotic Quilted Maple with 24k Gold hardware

Cymbals: (from left to right)

  • Zildjian 15" K Mastersound Hi-hat
  • Zildjian 20" A Custom Flat Top Ride
  • Zildjian 22" A Custom Ride
  • Zildjian 17" A Custom Crash
  • Zildjian 17" A Custom Crash
  • Zildjian 22" K Ride
  • Zildjian 22" K Constantinople Medium Ride
  • Zildjian 18" FX Oriental China Trash

Discography

With Fleetwood Mac

Year Album US UK Additional information
1968 Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac) 198 4 -
1968 Mr. Wonderful - 10 Fleetwood featured on the cover art
1969 Then Play On 192 6 Fleetwood was credited with the instrumental "Fighting For Madge"
1970 Kiln House 69 39 Fleetwood co-wrote "Jewel Eyed Judy"
1971 Future Games 91 - -
1972 Bare Trees 70 - -
1973 Penguin 49 - -
1973 Mystery to Me 68 - -
1974 Heroes Are Hard to Find 34 - Fleetwood featured on the cover art
1975 Fleetwood Mac 1 23 Fleetwood featured (with McVie) on the cover art
1977 Rumours 1 1 Fleetwood co-wrote "The Chain"
1979 Tusk 4 1 -
1980 Live 14 31 -
1982 Mirage 1 5 -
1987 Tango in the Night 7 1 -
1988 Greatest Hits 14 3 -
1990 Behind the Mask 18 1 -
1995 Time - 47 Fleetwood co-wrote "These Strange Times"
1997 The Dance 1 15 -
2003 Say You Will 3 6 -

Solo albums

Year Album US UK Additional information
1981 The Visitor 43 - Featured two Fleetwood Mac remakes - "Rattlesnake Shake" & "Walk A Thin Line"
1983 I'm Not Me - - Billed as "Mick Fleetwood's Zoo"
1992 Shakin' the Cage - - Billed as "The Zoo"
2004 Something Big - - Billed as "The Mick Fleetwood Band"
2009 Blue Again - - with "The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band"

References

  1. ^ Susan Fleetwood Biography (1944-1995)
  2. ^ a b c d e Fleetwood, Mick (1991). Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac. Avon Books. ISBN 978-0380716166. 
  3. ^ Blue Again press release San Francisco Business Times, February 12, 2009
  4. ^ NPR interview of Mick Fleetwood March 28, 2009
  5. ^ Mick Fleetwood

External links

v • d • e
Fleetwood Mac
Stevie Nicks · Lindsey Buckingham · John McVie · Mick Fleetwood
Christine McVie · Peter Green · Jeremy Spencer · Bob Brunning · Danny Kirwan · Bob Welch · Bob Weston · Dave Walker · Billy Burnette · Rick Vito · Dave Mason · Bekka Bramlett
Studio albums
Songs
Compilations
Live albums
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