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Actor

1947-06-24 · Redruth, Cornwall, England, UK · Male

12 series in the catalog

Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician and actor. He is the drummer, co-founder and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. His surname was merged with that of the group's bassist John "Mac" McVie (they were the only two members to appear on every studio album during the band's run) to form the name of the band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Fleetwood Mac in 1998.

Born in Redruth, Cornwall, Fleetwood lived in Egypt and Norway for much of his childhood. Choosing to follow his musical interests, Fleetwood travelled to London at the age of 15, eventually forming the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and Bob Brunning. After several album releases and line-up changes, the group moved to the United States in 1974. Fleetwood then invited Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to join. Buckingham and Nicks contributed to much of Fleetwood Mac's later commercial success, including the celebrated album Rumours, while Fleetwood's own determination to keep the band together was essential to the band's longevity. Fleetwood has also enjoyed a solo career, published written works, and flirted briefly with acting.

Early life

Michael John Kells Fleetwood was born in Redruth, Cornwall, second child of John Joseph Kells Fleetwood and Bridget Maureen (née Brereton) Fleetwood. His elder sister was actress Susan Fleetwood. In early childhood, Fleetwood and his family followed his father, a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, to Egypt. Six years later, they moved to Norway where his father was deployed by NATO. He attended school there and became fluent in Norwegian.

Biographer Cath Carroll describes the young Fleetwood as "a dreamer, an empathetic youth" who, though intelligent, did not excel academically. According to his own autobiography, Fleetwood had an extremely difficult and trying time academically at the English boarding schools he attended, including King's School at Sherborne House in Gloucestershire and Wynstones School in Gloucestershire. He performed poorly in exams, which he attributed to his inability to memorise facts. He nevertheless enjoyed acting during school, often in drag, and was a competent fencer. At 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall, he was an imposing figure and sported a beard and long hair for much of his life. "Mick was very aristocratic," recalls Ken Caillat, a sound engineer on Rumours. "The way he formed sentences was impeccable. When he spoke, everyone stopped and listened. He was quiet and wise, and he had a great sense of humour. He loved to laugh, but he was also a straight shooter."

Abandoning academic pursuits, Fleetwood took up the drums after his parents, recognising that he might find a future in music, bought him a "Gigster" drum kit when he was thirteen. His family encouraged his artistic side, as his father composed poetry and was an amateur drummer himself. Fleetwood was inspired—as he said at the Brits Awards ceremony in 1989—by Cliff Richard, Tony Meehan (drummer of the Shadows), and The Everly Brothers. With his parents' support, he dropped out of school at 15 and, in 1963, moved to London to pursue a career as a drummer. At first, he stayed with his younger sister Sally in Notting Hill. After a brief stint working at Liberty in London, he found his first opportunity in music.

Early efforts in London

Keyboard player Peter Bardens lived only a few doors away from Fleetwood's first home in London, and upon hearing of the proximity of an available drummer, Bardens gave Fleetwood his first gig in Bardens' band the Cheynes in July 1963, thus seeding the young drummer's musical career. It would take him from the Cheynes—with whom he supported early gigs by the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds—to stints in the Bo Street Runners, where he replaced original drummer Nigel Hutchinson, who had enjoyed brief television fame on Ready Steady Go!. However, by April 1965, when Fleetwood joined the band, it was fading into obscurity. By February 1966, Bardens, who had left the group, called on Fleetwood to join his new band, the Peter Bs, which soon expanded to become Shotgun Express (with Rod Stewart). Peter Green, who was a guitarist in the Peter Bs, left to join John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, followed by Fleetwood in April 1967. Mayall’s new band already featured John McVie.

Green became a supportive bandmate who helped Fleetwood in his early experimentation with the drum kit. Fleetwood was, however, dismissed from the Bluesbreakers for repeated insobriety during gigs. Both Fleetwood and McVie were heavy drinkers, and their combined efforts were too much for Mayall and the band to cope with. Green, feeling trapped within the Bluesbreakers, also left in June 1967. Recalling "his favourite rhythm section, 'Fleetwood Mac'"—Mick Fleetwood and John McVie—Green elected to invite both to join him in his new band, Fleetwood Mac. Though McVie hesitated briefly due to financial reasons, both joined Green by the summer of 1967 with a record contract on the horizon.

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac

The initial incarnation of Fleetwood Mac performed its first gig in August 1967 at the seventh annual Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival, playing a Chicago-style blues. McVie, initially hesitant to commit, was later prompted to leave the Bluesbreakers and join Fleetwood Mac full-time when the former adopted a horns section with which he disagreed. He replaced the initial bassist, Bob Brunning. McVie, Fleetwood, Green and guitarist Jeremy Spencer thus formed the first fixed line-up of Fleetwood Mac.

The band's first album, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, was released in 1968, and the band toured the United States for the first time, though Green was reluctant to do so for fear of gun crime. Upon their return, they recorded a second album, Mr. Wonderful, under simply "Fleetwood Mac" with Green's name dropped. A guest musician on the album, Christine Perfect, became close with the group. She and McVie married in 1968. A third guitarist, Danny Kirwan, was also added to the line-up. Despite the success of their third album, Then Play On, and a string of hit singles including "Albatross" and "Man of the World", Green himself drifted away from the band, struggling both creatively and with increasing use of LSD.

1970–1973

Fleetwood remained a consistent presence in the ever-changing line-up of the group following the departure of Green in May 1970, when Spencer and Kirwan assumed more central roles in the group's song-writing. In September 1970 the release of Kiln House saw a line-up of Spencer, Kirwan, John McVie and Fleetwood, with Christine McVie providing keyboards and backing vocals. Fleetwood, "a social creature who prized community and communication", was particularly taken with the group's new living arrangements: they moved into a large Victoria-era mansion near Headley, Hampshire.

By early 1971, with Christine McVie becoming an official member of the band, Fleetwood and the group boarded a plane to San Francisco. Spencer, fearful following the recent 1971 San Fernando earthquake, reluctantly boarded the plane. He left the hotel abruptly one afternoon and disappeared. He was found several days later to have joined Family International, then known as Children of God, a religious group. Once more, Fleetwood attempted to mediate; however, Spencer would not return. Bob Welch became their next member. Their next album, Future Games, was released later that year. Bare Trees came a year later, in 1972. During the subsequent tours to promote the latter, Kirwan's self-destructive personality and problems with alcohol culminated in a refusal to go on stage before one concert; Fleetwood himself made the decision to fire the band member. Furthermore, there were early signs of strife in the marriage of John and Christine McVie. Fleetwood stepped in to mediate between the two members, talking Christine out of a decision to leave the group. The band added guitarist Bob Weston and…