(A Fairly Exhaustive) Timeline

[Moz]

I've been working on a fairly exhaustive and detailed timeline consisting of important dates and events in Fleetwood Mac history. Here is the first part I have completed - the 1960s and band member birthdates. As I type up and add information to the rest of the timeline (1970-2008), I'll update this thread.

Please reply if you have anything to add to the timeline or if there is a wrong date! Most of my information comes from "Q Encyclopedia of Rock Stars", Mick's books (though the book's facts are questionable), the Ledge, various interviews, and personal recollections here on the boards.

1933
November 29 - John Mayall is born in Macclesfield, Cheshire.

1943
June 29 - Robert Brunning is born in Bournemouth, Dorset.
July 12 - Christine Anne Perfect is born in Bouth, Lake District.

1944
May 10 - David Thomas Mason is born in Worcester, Worcestershire.
June 19 - Peter Bardens is born Westminster, Central London.

1945
January 25 - David Walker is born in Walsall, Staffordshire.
August 31 - Robert Welch Jr. is born in Los Angeles, California.
November 26 - John Graham McVie is born in Ealing, West London.

1946
October 29 - Peter Allen Greenbaum is born in Bethnal Green, London.

1947
June 24 - Michael John Kells Fleetwood is born in Redruth, Cornwall.
November 1 - Robert Joseph Weston is born in Plymouth, Devon.

1948
May 26 - Stephanie Lynn Nicks is born in Phoenix, Arizona.
July 4 - Jeremy Spencer is born Hartlepool, County Durham.

1949
October 3 - Lindsey Adams Buckingham is born in Palo Alto, California.
October 13 - Rick Vito is born in Darby, Pennsylvania.

1950
May 13 - Daniel David Kirwan is born in Brixton, South London.

1953
May 8 - William Beau Burnette III is born in Memphis, Tennessee.

1965
August - Peter Green replaces Eric Clapton's spot in the Bluesbreakers for a few gigs.

1966
May? - Peter Green joins Peter B's Looners, fronted by Peter Bardens.
July - Green joins John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers to replace Eric Clapton full-time.

1967
February 16 - A Hard Road is released by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, featuring future Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie and guitarist/vocalist Peter Green.
April - Mick Fleetwood, previously a member of the Cheynes, the Bo Street Runners, Peter B's Looners, and Shotgun Express (the latter with Rod Stewart), joins John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, replacing drummer Aynsley Dunbar. The new Bluesbreakers consists of Mayall, Fleetwood, John McVie and Peter Green. Green had previously played with Fleetwood as a member of both the Looners and Shotgun Express. In spare studio time offered by Mayall, Green, Fleetwood, and McVie record five songs, including early versions of "Fleetwood Mac," "Double Trouble," and "It Hurts Me Too." The three form a close alliance, though within a month, Fleetwood is fired from the Bluesbreakers, while Green leaves to form Fleetwood Mac.
July - Without Mayall, the Bluesbreakers have recently worked for Blue Horizon label owner Mike Vernon as a backing band for US bluesman Eddie Boyd, who has been keen to sign a domestic blues outfit for his label. After auditioning and firing Midlands-based band The Levi Set, he introduces their guitarist, Jeremy Spencer, to Green and Fleetwood.
Green contacts Fleetwood, wanting to start a new band. Fleetwood agrees, and they try to entice McVie into joining their new band, naming it after him. He declines, as he has been a steady member of the Bluesbreakers for some time. Fleetwood and Green team up with slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer and bassist Bob Brunning, forming Fleetwood Mac. The new group holds early warm-up gigs at the Black Bull pub in Falham, London.
August 13 - Fleetwood Mac makes its major debut at the Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival at Windfor, Berks. Ironically, future Fleetwood Mac member and wife of John McVie, Christine Perfect, appears on stage with Chicken Shack at its first concert.
September 17 - Following its London bow at the Marquee club and an appearance at an open-air festival in the Midlands, the group plays at the Saville Theatre, London.
John McVie, who left the Bluesbreakers after they were becoming 'too jazzy', joins to replace Brunning, who left to form the Sunflower Brunning Blues Band.
November 3 - The group releases its debut single "I Believe My Time Ain't Long," billed as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. It becomes the resident house band for the Blue Horizon label, backing Otis Spann, Duster Bennett, and others on a variety of albums.

1968
February 24 - Fleetwood Mac, the band's debut album, is released.
March - A new blues boom hits Britain and the band's debut album hits UK #4 and makes US #198.
April - "Black Magic Woman," written by Green, reaches UK #37. Santana's version will hit US #4 in January 1971.
April 19 - Rebekka Ruth Lazone Bramlett is born.
May - Fleetwood Mac embarks on a short tour of Scandinavia.
July - Their cover of Little Willie John's "Need Your Love So Bad," highlighted by Mickey Baker's string arrangement, reaches UK #31, as the group begins its first US tour, debuting at Detroit, Michigan's Grande Ballroom. They go on to perform in San Francisco and at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA.
July 13 - Fleetwood Mac guests on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show".
Early August - John McVie and Christine Perfect are married.
August 23 - Mr. Wonderful is released. Christine Perfect, a member of Chicken Shack, makes her first appearance on a Mac album as a session player.
August 25 - The group begins a two-month UK tour at the Nag's Head Pub, Battersea, London, with a new addition, eighteen year old Danny Kirwan. Kirwan had been spotted by Green playing in the trio Boilerhouse. A Melody Maker ad placed for a new guitarist received 300 replies, with no applicant proving good enough. Kirwan is added due to Green's frustration with Jeremy Spencer's musical contributions.
September - Mr. Wonderful hits UK #10.
November - John Mayall's new album Blues From Laurel Canyon is released. Green is featured on one track. Throughout the rest of the late 1960s and 1970s, Green makes more contributions on albums by Eddie Boyd, Duster Bennett, Otis Spann, Brunning Sunflower Blues Band, Jeremy Spencer, Peter Bardens, and others.
December 4 - They begin a 30-date US tour, including shows at the Fillmore East, Boston Tea Party, and Chicago's Electric Factory.
December 23 - Fleetwood Mac takes part in the Miami Pop Festival in Hallandale, Florida, with Marvin Gaye, Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, and the Grateful Dead, among others.

1969
Date unknown - Clifford Davis, Fleetwood's Mac manager from 1967-1974, releases two singles (with help from Fleetwood Mac), "Before The Beginning" / "Man of the World" and "Come On Down And Follow Me" / "Homework", the former a coupling of two Fleetwood Mac songs.
Date unknown - Tramp, the self-titled album by the band of the same name, is released, featuring ex-Mac bassist Bob Brunning, and current members Fleetwood and Kirwan.
Date unknown - The Brunning Sunflower Blues Band, fronted by Bob Brunning, releases its first album with a guest appearance by Green.
January - English Rose is released, consisting of six tracks from Mr. Wonderful and three unreleased tracks.
January 4 - Fleetwood Mac records at Chicago's Chess Ter-Mar Studios with Willie Dixon, Otis Spann, J.T. Brown, S.P. Leary, and Honeyboy Edwards. The Blues Jam would end up being the band's last all-blues recording.
January 9 - Otis Spann's The Biggest Thing Since Colossus is released, featuring Danny Kirwan, John McVie, and Peter Green.
January 25 - A concert from the Shrine Auditorium in LA is recorded, later released in 1999 as [I]Shrine '69[I/]
January 29 - "Albatross", written by Green, tops the UK chart. A haunting guitar instrumental, it lifts the group out of the blues bracket and establishes its name throughout Europe.
February - English Rose peaks at US #184.
February 5, 6, 7 - Three shows are recorded at the Boston Tea Party and are later released on Madison Blues Live in 1994, and Live at the Boston Tea Party, released in 1999.
March - The group embarks on a European tour, including an eight-date UK segment, with B.B. King, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee and Duster Bennett.
May - Green-penned "Man of the World" hits UK #2, behind the Beatles' "Get Back". The group's contract with Blue Horizon ends amid financial acrimony and it signs a one-off deal with Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label, not least because interest is also currently being expressed by the Beatles' Apple label (Fleetwood and George Harrison were brothers-in-law), although nothing comes of this.
August - "Need Your Love So Bad" is reissued, this time making UK #32.
September - Pious Bird of Good Omen reaches UK #18. While the group negotiates a new contract, Blue Horizon releases a collection of old material, and re-promotes "Need Your Love So Bad", which charts for a third time at UK #42.
September 9 - Then Play On is released. It includes songs by Danny Kirwan and Peter Green, with some piano work by Christine McVie. While Jeremy Spencer is still in the band, he only appears on "Oh Well", doing some "piano things." At the time of recording Then Play On, Spencer goes on to record the band's first solo album by a member, simply titled Jeremy Spencer, which is released in 1970. He is backed by Fleetwood, McVie, Kirwan, and Green.
October - Then Play On hits UK #6 and peaks at US #109, marking their debut on the Reprise label.
November - "Oh Well" hits UK #2. The song's religious overtones reflect Green's renouncement of his Jewish faith and his embracing of Christianity. He begins to appear on stage in a long white robe, underlining a new messiah image.
December 5 - Blues Jam at Chess/Fleetwood Mac in Chicago is released, featuring the group and a selection of blues greats recorded in January 1969.

[sharksfan2000]

Wow, that's an ambitious project, Moz! I just glanced at the first few non-birthday entries and here's one thing to correct: Peter Green first filled in for Clapton in the Bluesbreakers in August 1965, but only played a few gigs before Clapton returned. Green then took over in 1966 when Clapton left the Bluesbreakers permanently.

Also, Fleetwood Mac's actual debut performance at the Windsor Festival was on 13 August 1967. Seems like the actual date of this gets confused frequently.

Nice work so far, Moz. If you don't already have it, I recommend Christopher Hjort's book "Strange Brew" - it has a great day-by-day timeline for the 1960s and just into 1970, mostly for Fleetwood Mac, the Bluesbreakers, Cream, and the Stones.

[vermicious knid]

The early days are rather confusing to me because their singles,when released, wouldn't be on any album. I wonder in what era that practice ended.

[aleuzzi]

Keep going!

[jeremy spencer]

March 22? - When in Munich, Green, Fleetwood, Spencer and a road manager are invited to a party at a hippie mansion, called Highfish Commune, located in a forest. (It has been said that Green was invited not for company, but so that filmmaker Rainer Langhans and Uschi Obermaier could get in contact with Mick Taylor. Langhans and Obermaier wanted to hold a Bavarian Woodstock, with Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones performing.)
Green unwittingly drinks wine spiked with LSD. Green stays at the party for 24 hours, spending time jamming in a basement. Dennis Keen, the road manager, gets bad vibes and leaves. Spencer and Fleetwood cook eggs. At a concert the next day, Green feels "marvelous, fresh and not grubby". Later, Green says that at Highfish, "he went on a trip, and never came back." His overuse of LSD may have contributed to his schizophrenia.

This is actually 1970. Just a few days before he announced his leaving FM one morning after a gig in Zurich.
And 'Marvellous, fresh and not grubby'? Wow. The acid must have really reversed his doors of perception.

[Moz]

Originally Posted by jeremy spencer

This is actually 1970. Just a few days before he announced his leaving FM one morning after a gig in Zurich.
And 'Marvellous, fresh and not grubby'? Wow. The acid must have really reversed his doors of perception.

Thanks! The Munich incident happening in 1970 makes much more sense now. Some of these early dates are messing with my mind.
And I agree, quite the opposite happened, in my opinion.

[Moz]

The more I read about this band, the more I love it. This single cover rules!

1970
January - Spencer releases his first solo album, titled Jeremy Spencer, on which he is backed by Fleetwood Mac.
February 27 - Topping his increasingly erratic behaviour, Green tells the New Music Express that he is going to give all of his earnings away.
March - "Oh Well" reaches US #55.
March 22? - When in Munich, Green, Fleetwood, Spencer and a road manager are invited to a party at a hippie mansion, called Highfish Commune, located in a forest. (It has been said that Green was invited not for company, but so that filmmaker Rainer Langhans and Uschi Obermaier could get in contact with Mick Taylor. Langhans and Obermaier wanted to hold a Bavarian Woodstock, with Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones performing.)
Green unwittingly drinks wine spiked with LSD. Green stays at the party for 24 hours, spending time jamming in a basement. Dennis Keen, the road manager, gets bad vibes and leaves. Spencer and Fleetwood cook eggs. At a concert the next day, Green feels "marvelous, fresh and not grubby". Later, Green says that at Highfish, "he went on a trip, and never came back." His overuse of LSD may have contributed to his schizophrenia.
April 11 - Green announces his departure of the band while in Zurich, the pressures of stardom now proving intolerable. To avoid breach of contract, he agrees to finish the tour and then leave.
April 25 - The group takes part in a music festival at Reading Football Club's ground in Reading, Berks., with Christine McVie and Chicken Shack.
May 24 - Green plays his last gig with the group at the Batch Festival, Bath, Somerset.
June - "The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Prong Crown)" hits UK #10. In his last single with the group, Green gives a graphic description of the mental terrors that have been haunting him.
August 8 - After earlier announcing she was quitting the music business for good to become a housewife, Christine McVie flies to the US to officially join Fleetwood Mac. The year previous, she was voted Melody Maker's Female Vocalist of the Year.
September 18 - Kiln House (named after the band's shared house in Alton, Hants.), the band's first post-Green album, and the last album to feature Jeremy Spencer, is released. Christine McVie drew the cover art and appeared on a few songs, although she won't be a full member of the band until a few months after the recording of Kiln House.
October - Kiln House reaches UK #39 and US #69.
November - Peter Green's first solo album, The End of the Game, is released, composed of free-form jams and instrumentals.
December - Fleetwood Mac embarks on a series of UK dates and buys Benifolds Mansion near Headley, Hampshire, where they will live and work together.

1971
Date Unknown - Fritz, a San Francisco based band, breaks up. Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks would hit superstardom in just a few years time.
February - Spencer leaves abruptly during a US tour at the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel, LA. He left to buy a book at Pickwick's Bookstore on Hollywood Boulevard and met a member of a religious group called the Children of God. When Spencer did not come back that night, the band called the police. Five days later he was found at the Children of God headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. It is later discovered that he has felt the same pressures as Green did. After Spencer's departure, the band cancels the scheduled Whisky-a-Go-Go dates before asking Green (who brings along conga player Nigel Watson) to replace Spencer for the rest of the tour. He obliges, and after the completion of the tour, Green returns to his self-imposed retirement.
April - After the troubled tour, the group is in disarray, having lost its two main guitarists and songwriters. Judy Wong, wife of Jethro Tull's bassist Glenn Cornick and friend of the band, introduces Fleetwood Mac to California-born guitarist Bob Welch. He joins, without having a proper audition, saving the band and becoming the first American member of Fleetwood Mac. Before joining the Mac, Welch played in a soul band called the Seven Souls, which breaks up in 1969. Welch goes on to form Head West, releasing one album in 1970.
July - Fleetwood Mac in Chicago, recorded two years earlier, reaches US #190.
September 3 - Future Games is released, the first Fleetwood Mac album featuring Bob Welch and Christine McVie as a full member.
October - "Black Magic Woman" peaks at US #143.
November - Future Games makes US #91. The band continues to tour the US extensively.
Greatest Hits, a compilation album, is released.

1972
February - Greatest Hits reaches UK #36.
April - Bare Trees is released. It will be the last album with Danny Kirwan.
May - Bare Trees makes US #70.
August - Kirwan (whose drinking has been getting harder to handle) leaves the band after refusing to appear on stage, and goes on to smash his head against a wall and breaks his Les Paul into pieces. He watches the group fail without him, and after the show, gives a negative review of the concert. He becomes the first member of Fleetwood Mac to be fired. After recording a few solo albums in the 1970s, he is placed in a psychiatric hospital and becomes homeless.
September - Dave Walker (also from Christine's hometown), ex-vocalist of Savoy Brown and Bob Weston, who met the band while on tour with Long John Baldry, are hired to replace Kirwan.
The new line-up performs at the North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, NC with Alice Cooper and others.

1973
March - Penguin, cut at the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, is released. It is the first album to feature Dave Walker and Bob Weston. The album reaches US #49. Peter Green makes a guest appearance, but despite this, the album fails to chart in the UK. The Fleetwood Mac penguin association is due to John McVie; he is a member of the London Zoological Society and has a tattoo of the bird on his right forearm.
June - Reissued "Albatross" hits UK #2. Dave Walker is asked to leave the band, once again leaving the band as a five-piece.
September - The band begins a tour to promote the forthcoming Mystery to Me album, and Weston begins an affair with Fleetwood's wife Jenny Boyd.
October 15 - Mystery to Me, also recorded at the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio is released. Welch's song "Hypnotized" becomes a radio staple and is covered by the Pointer Sisters in 1978.
October 23 - In Lincoln, Nebraska, Weston leaves the band after Fleetwood learns of the affair. Road manager John Cougar sacks Weston and puts sends him on a plane.
November 1 - Fleetwood Mac's manager Clifford Davis, furious at the group's decision to cut short the tour, tells Welch that he intends to form a new Fleetwood Mac to tour and asks Welch if he might be interested to take part in the new line-up. Welch calls the band at Benifolds and informs them of Davis's plan. Davis goes ahead and assembles a bogus band to fulfill the dates, which leads to a bitter year-long legal battle that almost killed the real Fleetwood Mac.
December - Mystery to Me makes US #57.

[SteveMacD]

Three corrections:

First, not so much a correct, but a suggestion. Instead of saying that Green quit on 4/11, it might make more sense to say that Green announced that he would be leaving the band on 4/11. He wasn't exactly a former member of Fleetwood Mac the next day.

Second, Weston and Walker joined in Sept. 1972, and were in the band during the show you listed.

Third, the two Weston albums were recorded on the Rolling Stones mobile studio at Benifolds.

[aleuzzi]

Great job so far!

Did Christine fly out to meet them or did she debut with them at the Warehouse in New Orleans?

Also, you might want to mark the live-in-studio session dates she did with the band before the that first tour...(now compiled on Madison Blues set).

[aleuzzi]

Also include date for the release of "Dragonfly" single.

[snoot]

Nice work so far Moz. In the name of accuracy, a few suggestions:

Fleetwood and Green are fired from the Bluesbreakers

Mick was fired for drunkenness, but Green left the Bluesbreakers that summer simply to form his own group with Mick (and with hopes that John would follow). He was not fired tmk.

John McVie, fired from the Bluesbreakers

McVie had been fired by Mayall before for excessive imbibing (more than once in fact), but when he left the Bluesbreakers for good to join Fleetwood Mac, it was because he felt Mayall was moving things in a direction a bit too jazzy for his tastes by that point. He was not fired tmk.

Otis Spaan => Otis Spann
Jr. Walker => Junior Walker

March 1968 - A new blues boom hits Britian > typo
July 1968 - San Fransisco > typo
December 23 - Fleerwood Mac > typo

Then Play On is released. It includes songs by Danny Kirwan and Peter Green, with backing vocals by Christine Perfect. While Jeremy Spencer is still in the band, he only appears on a few songs, doing some "piano things."

What backing vocals did Christine provide? Also to my knowledge Jeremy only provided piano backing on the track Oh Well.

August 8 - Christine McVie flies to the US to join Fleetwood Mac, after reannouncing she is qutting the music business for good, to become a housewife.

[Suggest]: August 8 - After earlier announcing she was quitting the music business for good to become a housewife, Christine McVie flies to the US to officially join Fleetwood Mac.

Christine McVie drew the cover art and appeared on a few songs, although she won't be a full member of the band until a few months after the release of Kiln House.

... until a few months after the recording of Kiln House. Note: She was already an official member of FM by the time the album was released.

Jethro Tull's Glenn Cornick > might want to add Tull's bassist Glenn Cornick

November 1 - Fleetwood Mac's manager Clifford Davis, furious at the group's decision to cut short the tour, tells Welch that he intends to form a new Fleetwood Mac to tour and asks Welch if he might be interested to take part in the new line-up. Welch calls the band at Benifolds and informs them of Davis's plan. Davis goes ahead and assembles a bogus band to fulfill the dates, which leads to a bitter year-long legal battle that almost killed the real Fleetwood Mac.

Far more than any Welch hook, the bigger question remains: What was Mick's involvement with the bogus band, and did he commit to Davis to directly lend a hand? Inquiring minds would love to know Mick!

Benifolds Mansion near Haslemere, Surrey, England

Might be more accurate to say in Headley, Hampshire, no?

All smart suggestions by sharksfan, JS, SteveMac and aleuzzi. I say book 'em Danno. Jb

[Moz]

Thanks for the corrections (and spellchecking, snoot) everyone! I really need to make sure everything is accurate before I put it on the internet, no?

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

Great job so far!

Did Christine fly out to meet them or did she debut with them at the Warehouse in New Orleans?

Also, you might want to mark the live-in-studio session dates she did with the band before the that first tour...(now compiled on Madison Blues set).

I've no idea. I'll check tour dates.

ETA: According to the Fleetwood Mac Legacy, the 1970 tour began January 2 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. It would make more sense for her to debut with them instead of joining them in the middle of a tour, but August 8 (also at the Fillmore West) is the only date I have for Chris starting the tour.

When were those studio dates? When was that set released?

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

Also include date for the release of "Dragonfly" single.

I don't know the exact release date with that (recorded late 1970, right?), nor how high it charted. I'll do a bit more digging around..

[Moz]

Originally Posted by snoot

McVie had been fired by Mayall before for excessive imbibing (more than once in fact), but when he left the Bluesbreakers for good to join Fleetwood Mac, it was because he felt Mayall was moving things in a direction a bit too jazzy for his tastes by that point. He was not fired tmk.

What backing vocals did Christine provide? Also to my knowledge Jeremy only provided piano backing on the track Oh Well.

Benifolds Mansion near Haslemere, Surrey, England

Might be more accurate to say in Headley, Hampshire, no?

1. I thought I added that jazz bit in. Thanks for reminding me!
2. I think that was a typo, or maybe I'm just a little daft.
3. My geographic knowledge of England is nonexistent.

[sharksfan2000]

Originally Posted by Moz

July 16 - The band begins a six-week US tour.
August 5-10 - Fleetwood Mac plays at the Fillmore West, San Francisco, sharing the bill with Junior Walker

Moz, the band never made this summer '69 US tour - it was cancelled at the last minute. Again, the Christopher Hjort book is an excellent reference for this, though it's noted elsewhere too. The Legacy tour date web pages are helpful, but they contain a number of inaccuracies.

Originally Posted by Moz

ETA: According to the Fleetwood Mac Legacy, the 1970 tour began January 2 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. It would make more sense for her to debut with them instead of joining them in the middle of a tour, but August 8 (also at the Fillmore West) is the only date I have for Chris starting the tour

2 January would have been the band's first 1970 tour date, but their fall/winter US tour had actually begun in late November 1969. The band started their first post-Green tour in August 1970 in the US.

[snoot]

aleuzzi: Did Christine fly out to meet them or did she debut with them at the Warehouse in New Orleans?

Or both? And was it done eagerly, or with anticipation and/or reservation?

Moz: It would make more sense for her to debut with them instead of joining them in the middle of a tour, but August 8 (also at the Fillmore West) is the only date I have for Chris starting the tour.

Christine became an official member of the group at the beginning of the tour in the summer of '70, which purportedly began at the Warehouse Cafe in the Big Easy in August [might want to also confirm that Aug 8 date]. This was not long after the Kiln House project was completed, and before the album actually made it to the store shelves in the USA. Certain sources cite her official tenure as beginning at the start of the Future Games production, but I do not believe this is correct.

Moz: I don't know the exact release date with that (recorded late 1970, right?), nor how high it charted. I'll do a bit more digging around..

Dragonfly never charted AFAIK, either in the UK or US. Great single though, just ask Peter Green.

sharksfan2000: Moz, the band never made this summer '69 US tour - it was cancelled at the last minute.

That's what I had thought also. Good you have that reference book to keep us drones honest.

Getting tour dates fixed is always a bitch. To my knowledge, the first 6 USA tours went as follows [front line personnel bracketed]:
- Summer of '68 [Green, Spencer]
- Winter of '68 [Green, Spencer, Kirwan]
- Winter of '69 [Green, Spencer, Kirwan]
- Summer of '70 [Spencer, Kirwan, C. McVie]
- Spring of '71 [Spencer, Kirwan, C. McVie] => [Green, Kirwan, C. McVie]
- Autumn of '71 [Kirwan, McVie, Welch]

Maybe your Hjort source can confirm this sharksfan.

Getting any sort of factual minutiae down is always rough going, that much more so when done in retrospect and so many years later (and with so many conflicting accounts claiming one thing or another). Even Green's and McVie's departures from the Bluesbreakers remain a tad controversial, with some claiming - erroneously imo - one or both were fired (as opposed to leaving of their own accord, or when their contracts expired). And on and on it goes...