2003 DotMusic Interview about Fleetwood Mac's Early Years

[WalkAThinLine.]

While I was looking around for Say You Will reviews, I stumbled across a website called DotMusic, which to my understanding is now defunct. Using the Wayback Machine, I found some various articles related to the band on that website, so I would like to share some of them with you.

This is a two part interview with Sean Egan. I will attach the text from both articles and the links below. Some information related to the Rumours era lineup is also included here too.

Edit: The interview is from 2001

Part 1
One of the biggest bands in music history, Fleetwood Mac evolved from blues purists to making one of the biggest-selling albums of all time with 1977's pop-rock masterpiece, 'Rumours'. Throughout all the stylistic and line-up changes, one man has remained constant: drummer Mick Fleetwood. As well as lending his name to the band, he's also provided their rock solid foundation for over three decades. Dotmusic met up with Mick to discuss the history of the band, from their beginnings in London in 1967 through the stadium-filling highs of the late 70s and 80s to the present day.

In Part 1 of our interview, Mick looks back at the band's genesis up to founder member Peter Green's sudden departure in 1970.

Dotmusic: How is that Fleetwood Mac came to be named after yourself and bassist John 'Mac' McVie?

Fleetwood: "It came about when all three of us were in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. John Mayall gave Peter Green a birthday present, and that was some studio time at Decca Records up in Hampstead. Peter played an instrumental and me and John were playing on it as we were part of that session and (producer) Gus Dudgeon said, 'What's this one called?' Peter said, 'Well, 'Fleetwood Mac', 'cos John and Mick are playing on it'.

"We had no idea we were forming a band and when that happened a few months after that session, Peter called the band Fleetwood Mac. Me and Pete started the band and then John joined after the fact. We always knew that we could get him in the band. We wanted John to play bass and he knew it. He was a security-minded type of guy so he waited for us to show him that it was a real gig and when it was, he jumped boat."

Dotmusic: You were playing rhythm & blues in the late Sixties at a time when it was perceived as a bit dated. Didn't that worry you?

Fleetwood: "We weren't that type of a band. We weren't looking to do anything other than play the music we loved. That wasn't even a thought. The reality is that had no credence at all because we became very popular playing fundamentally straight-on blues music.

"We were a blues band more than anything - Elmore James and early BB King-type shuffles. In fact, it was fairly extraordinary to see the first Fleetwood Mac album - the greater portion of that album was Elmore James songs - up there with The Marmalade and bands like that. It's hilarious. We were doing what we wanted to do and luckily having it be very successful."

1968's 'Fleetwood Mac' album
Dotmusic: That first album with the dustbin on the cover ('Fleetwood Mac') was one of the biggest-selling albums of 1968. Did that surprise you?

Fleetwood: "Are you kidding? I couldn't believe it. Especially because we didn't pay any heed to commercialism at all. We didn't even know what that was. Which is very much like early Rolling Stones, it translated into a whole underground thing that became very un-underground, so it was a weird transition.

"One that, I might add, some of our fans had a hard time with 'cos they felt that they owned us, 'cos no-one knew about us. When they see you on 'Top Of The Pops', they're going like 'You've sold out!' But it was the same music that they came to listen to in the pubs, so it didn't make much sense."

Dotmusic: You recorded 'Fleetwood Mac In Chicago' around about this point with people like Willie Dixon and Otis Span. Often meeting your heroes can be disappointing, how did they match up to their reputations?

Fleetwood: "It was fantastic. Great sessions and happily all those recordings are still available. It does hold up. We were totally blown away and the nice thing was that, I have to say without blowing the horn too loud, we were a darn good band. I don't quite know where it all came from because the reality was that we were playing black man's music really well.

"So much so that when we went to Chicago, Peter Green especially, was totally taken under the wing of Willie Dixon and they (the rest of the band) had their minds blown because to them it was the real thing. They were going, 'How did it happen?' Well it happened by a bunch of English lads having a dream about playing those guys' music. There's no doubt that it was a real blessed bunch of musicians. But there was also a real energy, especially from our lead people who at that point were Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. They were truly phenomenal exponents at reproducing, very genuinely, the blues."

Dotmusic: You had a hit with 'Black Magic Woman', which was then a hit all over again when Santana recorded it. What did you think of Santana's version?

Fleetwood: "I thought it was good. Pete was stoked. We knew that it was gonna happen. Carlos is a major, major, major fan of Peter Green. When he came to England, he purposefully sought out Fleetwood Mac and thus Peter Green and it was after that that he cut that track. It's done very well for Pete."

Dotmusic: Then we have 'Albatross'. Nowadays we accept that a gentle instrumental could become a hit but back then it must have seemed daring?

Fleetwood: "It's somewhat groundbreaking. 'Albatross' is probably the only instrumental that really meant a **** from the gap from The Shadows until 'Albatross' hit the charts. It's something that Pete did and we loved it. Again, it was slightly strange for a lot of people who followed Fleetwood Mac but that was the natural progression the band and the writing took and we put it out as a single. We had no idea that it was gonna be a number one single and almost an anthem."

Dotmusic: The Beatles seemed to take inspiration from 'Albatross' for 'Sun King' on 'Abbey Road'.

Fleetwood: "Major compliment. We were in-between coming from somewhere and the whole band was in the van and we actually heard John Lennon very graciously admit to that on the BBC. They were going track by track and he said, 'Oh yeah, this is where we do our Fleetwood Mac thing'."

Dotmusic: Is there a case for saying that the 'Oh Well' single is the finest moment of the original Peter Green Fleetwood Mac?

Fleetwood: "I certainly think 'Oh Well' would be up there in the top three of Peter's songs and that set a template for a lot of people. The way that that song was constructed influenced a lot of people in bands. The use of melodic riffs and the acoustic (-electric) blend became quite apropos in certainly lots of things Led Zeppelin did."

Dotmusic: By the time Peter Green left in 1970, he was obviously very disturbed mentally. How many warning signs had you noticed?

Fleetwood: "Not many. Looking back, you can see the danger signs. If you just listen to the words of 'Green Manalishi', you would feel devastated if you knew that he basically was crying out. The line 'I wish I'd never been born' is slightly devastating but the reality was we truly didn't know that Pete was in the beginnings of having a lot of trouble with himself.

"Peter left Fleetwood Mac not because he had emotional problems they were part of it but musically he would have left anyhow. He wanted out. He wanted to play different weird music and thought that we couldn't do it."

Stay tuned for Part 2, in which Mick talks about the arrival of Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, the classic albums 'Rumours' and 'Tusk', and the reunion of the classic line-up for 1997's 'The Dance'. And he also reveals what this year has in store for both him and the band.

Part 2
In Part 2 of dotmusic's exclusive chat with Mick Fleetwood he picks up the band's story from the departure of founder member Peter Green in 1970.

Mick guides through the massively-successful albums of the late 70s and 80s and also tells us what the future has in store for this remarkable band.

Dotmusic: 'Kiln House', the first album you made after Peter left, was a respectable album but did you get the feeling that the magic wasn't quite there without Peter?

Fleetwood: "I think so. At the time we were very nervous, not having Pete in the band. It was the best we could do. Basically, Jeremy Spencer took that frontman position. When Jeremy was put in that position, the reflection musically was more retro: the Buddy Holly, Fabian-type songs that were on that album. I think it's a really charming album but we were quietly aware we had a challenge ahead of us without Peter."

Dotmusic: How did Christine McVie come to join the group?

Fleetwood: "We were about to go on a tour in the United States. She'd heard us rehearse. We all lived in this house together and she was married to John then. We were starting to go, 'Hmm, the band sounds a bit empty'. Literally a few days before we left, we said, 'Chris, you gotta join the band. We need that extra voice and we want the piano'."

Dotmusic: Bob Welch joined around about the same time as Christine and you released a sequence of albums after this that constitutes the least remarked-upon stage of Fleetwood Mac's career.

Fleetwood: "Bob Welch was a major part of Fleetwood Mac. Not really well known here but in the States we did really well with Bob pretty much in the lead position of Fleetwood Mac. We made five albums with Bob Welch. This was not something that just was a flash in the pan. This was a major part of Fleetwood Mac's history that had all the respect and credibility that it should have. We weren't huge but as an underground band we were really well respected."

Dotmusic: When Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined to form what would become the most well-known line-up of the band, did you immediately feel that this was the ultimate magic combination of musicians?

Fleetwood: "It was the second one. The first one was when the band was formed with Peter. Certainly not to degrade anything in between, my personal opinion is there's no doubt that when Steve and Lindsey joined it reminded me of the power and chemistry we had when we first started. Not musically but just the feeling with the people and knowing something was looking really strong and good."

'Rumours'
Dotmusic: When 'Rumours' became one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, was that the ultimate vindication of your sometimes-criticised decision to continue with the Fleetwood Mac name throughout the personnel changes?

Fleetwood: "It's never been an issue. I've never heard that once in my life. I've never felt that at all so I had no feeling of being handed back my wings."

Dotmusic: Following up a phenomenon like 'Rumours' is pretty difficult. How do you think you did with 'Tusk'?

Fleetwood: "That's probably my favourite Fleetwood Mac album of all time. I think musically that album has influenced anyone from The Corrs to Aerosmith to a whole load of people. That album is a very important album to Fleetwood Mac. We were pushing some rather strange envelopes. We'd come off the 'Rumours' album and we made a very different album with 'Tusk'.

"We certainly had the freedom to do that but what is often the case is when you get a magical formula that works it's very tempting just to repeat it. And we didn't. Lindsey was a big influence to really push and do something different and take the risk of it not being a huge success."

Dotmusic: Were you shocked when Lindsey Buckingham decided to leave the band after 'Tango In The Night'?

Fleetwood: "No, he was unhappy. He'd had enough. He'd done fourteen years in Fleetwood Mac and he wanted to move on and do different things and we had grown apart as people. He had a vision for his own creative journey and, much like Peter Green, didn't see it as part of Fleetwood Mac."

Dotmusic: With both Lindsey and Stevie Nicks gone, you put together a new line-up of Fleetwood Mac and released the 'Time' album in 1995. For the first time, replacing the departed personnel didn't seem to sustain your success. Why was that?

Fleetwood: "It didn't work. Quite simply, it was a really good band but the one major misjudgement in terms of carrying on. At that point, we didn't have either Christine or Steve on the road. Christine made the album but she elected not to go out on the road, which made it very awkward. The reality is, it was too much to expect our audience to accept a new lead female singer. The album was not in retrospect as strong as it should be."

Dotmusic: You surprised a lot of people by going into the entertainment memorabilia auction business with Fleetwood-Owen.

Fleetwood: "I've been doing business ventures, all of which for the most part I have really enjoyed. I've run clubs, I've run restaurants, I have a very successful publishing company. I do a lot of things and this is something that became very exciting."

Dotmusic: The classic 'Rumours' line-up got together a few years back for the album 'The Dance'. Are you planning any more projects?

Fleetwood: "We're going back in. Stevie's doing a solo project this summer and me and Lindsey are going to go out and do some road work with a solo project of his that I worked on with him. Hopefully by September Fleetwood Mac will be in the studio."

Stevie Nicks' new solo album, 'Trouble In Shangri La', is due for release on May 1st. Lindsey Buckingham's new solo album, 'Gift Of Screws', is scheduled for release at the end of June. Fleetwood Mac are currently planning a world tour for 2002.

Part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20030620...views19023.asp

Part 2
https://web.archive.org/web/20030821...views19079.asp

[Villavic]

Since it’s in italic, I understand that the statement about 'Gift of Screws' being scheduled for release at the end of June 2001 is not from Mick, but from the interviewer. Anyway, it was released in 2008. And Under the Skin was released even before. I understand Lindsey talk about GOS release in "A chat with Lindsey Buckingham, Lindsey Buckingham interview, Gift of Screws, Fleetwood Mac", an article from www.bullz-eye.com (Wikipedia lists it as a source), but I couldn’t find it.

[WalkAThinLine.]

Originally Posted by Villavic

Since it’s in italic, I understand that the statement about 'Gift of Screws' being scheduled for release at the end of June 2001 is not from Mick, but from the interviewer. Anyway, it was released in 2008. And Under the Skin was released even before. I understand Lindsey talk about GOS release in "A chat with Lindsey Buckingham, Lindsey Buckingham interview, Gift of Screws, Fleetwood Mac", an article from www.bullz-eye.com (Wikipedia lists it as a source), but I couldn’t find it.

Thanks for the catch. I archived the url, which I will include here. This is the specific quote from Lindsey Buckingham.

"In 2001, I was pretty much poised to put that out as a real album, and the band came in and said, “We want to make a studio album.” So the bulk of that body of work got folded over into the Say You Will album that Fleetwood Mac did in 2003. But a couple of stragglers were just kind of waiting to find a home somewhere. I actually didn’t expect this album to be quite as rock and roll as it ended up, but when it seemed to want to go that way, I knew that they had found a home finally."

https://web.archive.org/web/20120512...buckingham.htm