Did FM really outsell The Beatles and The Stones?

[FuzzyPlum]

It’s often mentioned that Fleetwood Mac outsold both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in 1969. But is that an actual fact? There’s no doubting it was a really great year for the band. A number 1 single. A couple of number 2’s and a hit album (#6). But is there any statistical proof to back this up? What’s the source? I know it’s something Mick says (and I’m sure he mentioned it in his first book). Is this notion purely based on Mick Fleetwood’s assertion?

Maybe not the best year for The Beatles (in part because time was taken out to make Let it Be. And all in all- things were just generally coming to an end), but the White album was released at the tail end of 68 and sold well into 69. Yellow Submarine was early 69 and Abbey Road was released later in the year.

Singles-wise, they had number 1’s with Get Back (for 6 weeks) and The Ballad of John and Yoko. They also did well with Something/Come Together as a double A side (how the hell did that only peak at 4?).

And what do we mean by sales? Surely it’s not just contemporary sales? The Beatles’ entire back catalogue would still have been selling.

I’ve tried to find some sort of list of the highest selling acts for 1969 but it doesn’t seem as if any such statistics officially exist. Anyone else know?

[Macfan4life]

I've never heard this. But you in the UK maybe this was circulated back then over there. I personally don't remember Mick stating this in his first book. I remember Mick writing John McVie freaked out when Paul McCartney called one of their new Beatles songs "Our Fleetwood Mac song" because John said he felt honored they knew who they were. No doubt Fleetwood Mac was very established in the UK and Europe in the late 60s. But I cannot recall ever hearing they outsold the Beatles or Stones. Not saying Mick did not say this or that it can't be true, it's just that I've never heard it before.

[Penguin Emeritus]

It’s often mentioned that Fleetwood Mac outsold both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in 1969. But is that an actual fact? There’s no doubting it was a really great year for the band. A number 1 single. A couple of number 2’s and a hit album (#6). But is there any statistical proof to back this up? What’s the source? I know it’s something Mick says (and I’m sure he mentioned it in his first book). Is this notion purely based on Mick Fleetwood’s assertion?



I'm pretty sure Mike Vernon also said this, and he might have known better than mick. but as for statistical records etc, i don't know if those are out there. FM was def a very big band in the UK...for that one year, maybe it happened..

--Lis

[Villavic]

I know it’s something Mick says (and I’m sure he mentioned it in his first book). Is this notion purely based on Mick Fleetwood’s assertion?


Beatles is mentioned several times in the first episodes, about how they (and the Stones) were changing everything in UK, but mostly because of Patti, Jenny’s sister.

Our next single, Peter Green's "Man of the World," was recorded while we were in New York and was released in England in April 1969. Like "Albatross" it had little to do with the blues, owing more to the music the Beatles and Stones were doing at the time, opening acoustically and then turning to a harder rock feel. Most of all, "Man of the World" was sad, even abject. In retrospect, we should have seen it as a warning of what was to come.
….
Clifford broke off negotiations with Immediate and told Melody Maker: "The Beatles have heard our new album and have become very friendly with us lately. We may sign with Apple if we can get a reasonable deal, but we are an independent team we write and produce and record so we may conceivably form our own label. " (The Beatles loved "Albatross" and recorded "Here Comes the Sun King" as a tribute to Pete.)

Not exactly the sales numbers but related to charts circa 1969:

Melody Maker named us #1 Progressive Group for 1969 (the Beatles were #1 Pop Group, an important difference in those times), while Pete was voted #3 composer, behind Lennon-McCartney and Jagger-Richards. But success was bittersweet. Although Fleetwood Mac entered 1970 as one of the biggest groups in the world, outselling both the Beatles and the Stones in Europe the year before, we were forced to confront Peter Green's disaffection and increasing disgust with the world.

[FuzzyPlum]

I've never heard this. But you in the UK maybe this was circulated back then over there. I personally don't remember Mick stating this in his first book. I remember Mick writing John McVie freaked out when Paul McCartney called one of their new Beatles songs "Our Fleetwood Mac song" because John said he felt honored they knew who they were. No doubt Fleetwood Mac was very established in the UK and Europe in the late 60s. But I cannot recall ever hearing they outsold the Beatles or Stones. Not saying Mick did not say this or that it can't be true, it's just that I've never heard it before.

Yes, they were absolutely big. Not just in the UK but also popular across Europe. But the ‘outsold the Beatles and the Stones’ thing might be one of those ‘Peter Green is better than God’ quotes that seems to be taken as fact, without any solid evidence. It’s a ‘statistic’ I’ve heard mentioned by quite a lot of journalists etc, but I think they just say it without really considering whether it’s actually true.

[sue]

I find this really difficult to believe..

Although by 1969, the Beatles were maybe just on the wain whereas Fleetwood Mac at the late 60s were hugely popular.

To me as someone who had been absolutely bowled over by the Beatles in late 1962 …they were somewhat de rigueur and a bit passé ..
They were part of our lives, part of the furniture, almost.
Whereas Fleetwood Mac especially with Albatross were very popular.

So maybe it’s true.

[Villavic]

Just for example, Then Play On and Abbey Road were released in september 1969, TPO peaked #4 and AR #1 in UK. Did TPO sell more than AR? or Yellow Submarine released in jan. 1969? :shrug:

Albatross, that was included in compilation albums, reached Gold certification in 2022, or so I read. Probably it outsold Beatles or Stones during a specific week, but I doubt Fleetwood Mac outsold those mentioned bands at the end of the year. Finding complete reliable statistics of those years is hard anyway.

[FuzzyPlum]

This is a typical article….

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-a-to-k/artists-f/fleetwood-mac/

‘It has been said that during 1969 Fleetwood Mac outsold The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined’

Combined!!!!

[Macfan4life]

This is a typical article….

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-a-to-k/artists-f/fleetwood-mac/

‘It has been said that during 1969 Fleetwood Mac outsold The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined’

Combined!!!!
It quotes no source. "It's been said" as if its some sort of urban legend. Outsold where? UK? In eastern Europe? Belgium? Germany? Western Europe? I think its safe to say it did not happen in the United States in 1969. Even Chris who was very modest said once that Fleetwood Mac in the early 1970s was one of the biggest bands there. Its very possible there is truth to this statement but where?

[Penguin Emeritus]

It quotes no source. "It's been said" as if its some sort of urban legend. Outsold where? UK? In eastern Europe? Belgium? Germany? Western Europe? I think its safe to say it did not happen in the United States in 1969. Even Chris who was very modest said once that Fleetwood Mac in the early 1970s was one of the biggest bands there. Its very possible there is truth to this statement but where?

i think mike vernon had mentioned in the UK...? that's the only place i could imagine it happening. def not the US lol

-Lis