Early Life: Michael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood (Born 24 June 1947) Is A British Musician and Actor Best Known

Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 6

Michael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician and actor best known for

his role as the drummer and co-founder of theblues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname and that of John McVie formed the name of the band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Famein 1998 for his work in 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. Buckingham and Nicks contributed to much of Fleetwood Mac's later commercial success, while Fleetwood's determination to keep the band [1] together was essential to the group's longevity .
Contents
[hide]

1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Drumming equipment 5 Discography

o o

5.1 With Fleetwood Mac 5.2 Solo albums

6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Early life[edit]
Fleetwood was born in Redruth, Cornwall, to John Joseph Kells and Bridget Maureen (ne Brereton) [2] Fleetwood. His sister, 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 [3] [3] language. According to his autobiography, Fleetwood had an extremely difficult and trying time academically at the English boarding schools he attended, including the Kings School, Sherbone 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 [3] drummer.

Career[edit]
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 about 20 original 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 Fleetwood with Fleetwood Mac, 18 March 1970

While fighting for control over the Fleetwood Mac name, Fleetwood applied his skills to a recording project being done in George Harrison's studio; Harrison also contributed to the project. On the Road to Freedom, a collaboration from Alvin Lee and Mylon LeFevre was released in 1973. Also on the project were Ron Wood,Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi. Fleetwood also led a number of side projects. 1981's The Visitor featured heavy African stylistics and a rerecording of "Rattlesnake Shake" with Peter Green. The song "You weren't in love" was a hit in Brazil because of the Soap-opera Brilliant. In 1983 he formed Mick Fleetwood's Zoo and recorded I'm Not Me. The album featured a minor hit, "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, and his most recent [4] album is Blue Again!, appearing in October 2008 with the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band touring to support [5] it, interspersed with the Unleashed tour of Fleetwood Mac. 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".Also a little unknown film title ( the Music Man). 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 on drums for 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[edit]
Fleetwood married Jenny Boyd in 1970, and the couple had two daughters (Amy and Lucy). They later divorced, remarried and then divorced again. Jenny is the younger sister of Pattie Boyd, whose first marriage was to George Harrison and her second to Eric Clapton. Fleetwood and his third wife Lynn had [6][7] twin daughters (Ruby and Tessa) who were born in 2002. He is the author of Fleetwood My Life and Adventures with Fleetwood Mac, his memoirs of his life, especially with Fleetwood Mac, published in 1990. Included in the book are his experiences with other musicians including Eric Clapton, members of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and an affair with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood also discusses his addiction to cocaine and his personal bankruptcy [3] in spite of earning millions from his drumming career. In 1979, Mick Fleetwood was diagnosed as having diabetes, after suffering recurring bouts [8] of hypoglycemia during several live shows. Fleetwood has lived in the United States since the mid-70s, 2006 in Los Angeles, California.
[3]

and became a U.S. citizen on 22 November

Drumming equipment[edit]
Drums: Drum Workshop Collector's Series Maple Drums in Natural Lacquer over Exotic Quilted Maple with 24k Gold hardware 18"22" bass drum 6"10" snare 6"14" snare 8"10" rack tom 9"12" rack tom 11"14" floor tom 13"16" floor tom

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 Fleetwood also uses Easton Ahead drumsticks in his current drum set up.

Discography[edit]
With Fleetwood Mac[edit]
Year Album US UK Additional information

1968 Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac)

198

1968 Mr. Wonderful

10

Fleetwood featured on the cover art

1969 Then Play On

192

Fleetwood was credited with the instrumental "Fighting For Madge"

1970 Kiln House

69

39

Fleetwood co-wrote "Jewel Eyed Judy"

1971 Future Games

91

Fleetwood co-wrote "What A Shame"

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

23

Fleetwood featured (with McVie) on the cover art

1977 Rumours

Fleetwood co-wrote "The Chain"/featured (with Nicks) on

the cover art / 8th Best-Selling album of all time

1979 Tusk

1980 Live

14

31

1982 Mirage

1987 Tango in the Night

1988 Greatest Hits

14

1990 Behind the Mask

18

1995 Time

47

Fleetwood co-wrote "These Strange Times"

1997 The Dance

15

2003 Say You Will

Solo albums[edit]
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

Billed as "The Zoo"

Cage

2004 Something Big

Billed as "The Mick Fleetwood Band"

2008 Blue Again!

with "The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band feat. Rick Vito"

See also[edit]
List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

References[edit]
1. 2. 3. ^ http://www.npr.org/2013/05/01/180080183/mick-fleetwood-on-fleetwood-mac-it-would-make-a-great-play ^ "Susan Fleetwood Biography (19441995)". Filmreference.com. 1944-09-21. Retrieved 2011-10-15. ^
a b c d e

Fleetwood, Mick (1991). Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac . Avon

Books. ISBN 978-0-380-71616-6. 4. 5. 6. ^ Blue Again press release San Francisco Business Times, 12 February 2009 ^ NPR interview of Mick Fleetwood 28 March 2009 ^ "Star interview: Blues legend Mick Fleetwood comes to Croydon's Fairfield with his new band". 15 October 2008. 7. 8. ^ "Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood's Daughter Recovering After Pool Accident". 21 July 2008. ^ Martin E. Adelson. "Mick Fleetwood". Fleetwoodmac.net. Retrieved 2011-10-15.

External links[edit]
Official website Drummerworld Biography from The Penguin Mick Fleetwood at AllMusic Mick Fleetwood at the Internet Movie Database Mick Fleetwood at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki) Five interview segments with Mick Fleetwood

You might also like