John gives money to the Cleveland Zoo for a penguin

[Moz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQb7LLw7TEI

Cool video.. too bad the news anchor calls John the lead singer.

[Musicman408]

Well that's kind of cool. Lead singer..... hmmmm

[michelej1]

Well, after Cool Water I do consider him the lead singer.

Michele

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Well, after Cool Water I do consider him the lead singer.

Michele

and stellar backing vocals on SYLM Dance vers...

[GoS]

How did he pick the penguin as the mascot for the band? Is it just that he really likes it?

[jwd]

Originally Posted by GoS

How did he pick the penguin as the mascot for the band? Is it just that he really likes it?

He gets off on Penguins copulating.

[Zombie]

Originally Posted by GoS

How did he pick the penguin as the mascot for the band? Is it just that he really likes it?

Apparently, he just really likes them. They are always my favorite thing at the zoo, too, so I guess I partly understand.

5. John McVie is fascinated by penguins.
When he lived near the London zoo, he spent hours watching the flightless birds. On the Mac’s 1972 album, Future Games, there’s a photograph of a penguin where McVie should be. The following year, the band named an album Penguin. Fleetwood Mac’s publishing company was named after a species of penguin, as was McVie’s yacht. Finally, McVie went out one night, got extremely drunk and had a penguin tattooed on one of his forearms.

and

20. In 1977, the whole penguin thing got really out of hand.
The band designed a giant dirigible version of the flightless bird, 70 feet tall, intended to rise up from the back of the stage at the climax of stadium shows and then float out over the audience. “It would never fully inflate — it must have had leaks or something,” Buckingham says. “This thing was limping and floundering at the back of the stage. It never flew.” Adds Fleetwood: “It was a disaster.”

from http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=1667

That whole article is cute. I would LOVE to see footage or photos of the failed penguin dirigible. And his yacht's name is "Adelie," if I remember right.