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Mick Fleetwood

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Mick Fleetwood

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.

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 wrote the drum parts for "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
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