Fleetwood Mac

FLEETWOOD MAC. British-American rock band first formed in July 1967 in London. To date they have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best selling groups of all time. The most successful periods for the band were during the late 1960s British Blues boom (when they were led by guitarist Peter Green). At this time they achieved a UK Number One single with the classic instrumental "Albatross". Peter Green (left the group in May 1970), followed soon after (in February 1971) by fellow original member and renowned slide-guitar player Jeremy Spencer who joined a religious group called the "Children of God" (later to become known as "The Family International") of which he is still a follower. The second successful period was between 1975-1987, when they were more of a commercial pop-oriented act and featured Christine McVie / Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The groups second album (after the incorporation of Buckingham & Nicks) "Rumours" (1977) produced four US Top10 singles and remained at No1 on the American albums chart for 31 weeks, as well as reaching the top spot in various countries around the world. To date, Rumours has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the 8th biggest selling LP of all time. Fleetwood Mac also achieved modest success between 1971-1974, when the line-up included Bob Welch. Over the years there have been numerous lineup changes with the only original member still present in the band being drummer Mick Fleetwood. Although band founder Peter Green named the group by combining the surnames of two of his former bandmates (Fleetwood & McVie) from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, bassist John McVie did on play on their first single or at concerts in the early days, preferring at the time to stay with Mayall. Keyboardist Christine McVie (who joined the band in 1970 while married to John McVie) has appeared on every album except the debut album, either as a member or as a session musician. She left the band in 1998 but returned in 2014. In 1998, selected members of Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and received the Brit Award for their Outstanding Contribution to Music.