Over the last five decades, the members of
Fleetwood Mac have weathered a bevy of tumultuous relationships and numerous changes of staff. Despite selling over 100 million records,
sudden upheaval has become standard for Fleetwood Mac. Here's the tragic real-life story of Fleetwood
Mac. The original Fleetwood Mac was formed in 1967
in England with Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and Peter Green, all former members of John
Mayall's Bluesbreakers. It was Green who wrote the band's first major
hit, "Black Magic Woman," and Green who decided to change the band's name from "Peter Green's
Fleetwood Mac" to just "Fleetwood Mac." In 1970, Green left the band, as his drug
addiction and frequent LSD use took a toll on his mental state. Fortunately for the rest of the band, John
McVie's wife Christine, a talented singer-songwriter in her own right, stepped up and joined the
group. More major personnel changes soon followed. Original guitarist Jeremy Spencer left in
1971, as did guitarist Danny Kirwan in 1972 after a backstage brawl with fellow guitarist
Bob Welch. In 1973 a third guitarist, Dave Walker, was
fired after Fleetwood decided he wasn't a good fit for the band. In those days, being a guitarist in Fleetwood
Mac was like being a drummer in Spinal Tap. The addition of Christine McVie was a welcome
boost to Fleetwood Mac, but trouble was brewing elsewhere. Mick Fleetwood suffered the first of the band's
romantic heartbreaks in 1973 when guitarist Bob Weston had an affair with Fleetwood's
wife, Jenny Boyd. Weston remained with the band until the end
of their 1973 tour. The guitarist troubles didn't end there. Bob Welch, a band member since 1971, could
no longer handle the long hours or his budding drinking problem, and quit in late 1974. Desperate to find stable, talented musicians
who could bring their skills to the table, Fleetwood Mac began looking around for a new
guitarist. When Fleetwood finally found the player he
was looking for in Lindsey Buckingham, he also found a new singer in Buckingham's girlfriend,
a young songwriter named Stevie Nicks. In the mid-1970s, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey
Buckingham were struggling singer-songwriters and lovers just trying to get by in Los Angeles. The release of their debut album as a duo,
1973's Buckingham Nicks, was a financial disappointment, but they hadn't yet given up their dreams. While touring a California recording studio,
Mick Fleetwood heard their music and asked who the guitar player was. Eager to replace Bob Welch, Fleetwood got
in touch with Buckingham and offered him a spot as Fleetwood Mac's new guitarist. Buckingham came back with a counter-offer. "I just said, well, you know, Stevie and are
a package deal." After Nicks listened to every previous Fleetwood
Mac albums and agreed there was potential there, she and Buckingham joined the band. Fleetwood Mac quickly went into the studio
to record their first album with the new lineup. Titled simply Fleetwood Mac, the album produced
the band's first-ever number one hit: Nicks' mystical story song "Rhiannon." Fleetwood Mac was suddenly one of the biggest
bands in the world but they would soon get even bigger. As Fleetwood Mac skyrocketed to fame, the
band's personal lives were quickly disintegrating. Nicks' relationship with Buckingham grew strained,
and Christine and John McVie began having problems of their own. By 1976, both couples were split up, and at
one point Nicks even had an affair with Fleetwood. Even as all of this drama unfolded, though,
the band was still working to make a new record. Fleetwood Mac poured all of their behind-the-scenes
drama into their next album, Rumours. Released in 1977, Rumours is still considered
one of the greatest breakup albums of all time. Songs like "Dreams," "Go Your Own Way," "Second
Hand News," and other hits were direct products of the band's failed relationships. Rumours shot to number one, and stayed on
the charts for 353 weeks nearly seven years! Even as they were falling apart personally,
professionally Fleetwood Mac was the biggest band in the world. The success of Rumours left Fleetwood Mac
reeling. Despite the album's acclaim, personal problems
and drug use ravaged and exhausted the band as they toured the world. Then it was time to make another album, under
the weight of the massive expectations set up by Rumours. The band's follow-up, a double album called
Tusk, finally arrived in 1979. Tusk sold well, but it couldn't live up to
the success of Rumours, in part because of its more experimental sound. In an effort to revive the feelings behind
Rumours, the band released a live album featuring many of their biggest hits in 1980. Some of the old magic was still there, but
as the '80s dawned Fleetwood Mac's frontwoman was eager to go her own way. In the early 1980s, after completing work
on Tusk, Stevie Nicks had enough allure on her own to begin a solo career. Nicks' first solo album, Bella Donna, was
a number one hit in 1981. Buckingham also went solo in 1981 with his
album Law and Order, but Stevie was without a doubt the bigger solo presence. Driven by hits like "Edge of Seventeen," her
album made her a massive star in her own right. Fleetwood Mac came together again to produce
the Mirage album in 1982. Nicks appeared on the album as she worked
on her own new record, The Wild Heart, which arrived the following year and produced more
hits. Even as her solo career was thriving, though,
Nicks' personal life was full of heartbreak. She made news when she married Kim Anderson,
the widowed husband of her lifelong friend Robin, who had died of leukemia. Two days before Robin's death, doctors were
forced to remove her six and a half month old son, Matthew, from the womb. Driven by grief and a desire to be a mother
to Matthew in memory of her friend, Nicks married Anderson. By the mid-1980s, Stevie Nicks was still struggling
personally and professionally. Her 1985 album Rock a Little was only a modest
success compared to her previous releases, and she was battling drug and alcohol addiction. By 1986, Nicks had checked into the Betty
Ford Center to seek treatment. Meanwhile, both Christine McVie and Lindsey
Buckingham pursued solo projects. In 1984, McVie released a self-titled album
that produced the hit "Got A Hold on Me." In 1983 Buckingham had a hit with the song
"Holiday Road" from the National Lampoon's Vacation soundtrack, and the next year released
his second solo album, Go Insane. After years of working around their solo projects
and personal issues, Fleetwood Mac finally released a new album in 1987. Tango in the Night was their biggest hit since
Rumours, driven by singles like "Little Lies" and "Big Love." But drama soon followed the success. Though she'd recovered from her cocaine addiction,
Nicks developed an addiction to the tranquilizer Klonopin. Then, as the band prepared to tour to promote
Tango in the Night, Buckingham decided to quit Fleetwood Mac. The band hired guitarists Rick Vito and Billy
Burnette to replace Buckingham for the upcoming tour, but it was still the end of an era. "We just couldn't work together anymore." In 1990, after Buckingham's departure, Fleetwood
Mac produced Behind the Mask, the first real flop since the beginning of the Rumours era. Nicks left the band shortly after the album's
release to work on solo projects and get her addictions under control. That struggle reached a turning point in 1993,
when Fleetwood Mac's classic lineup briefly reunited to perform "Don't Stop" at President
Bill Clinton's inauguration. Appearing in the national spotlight again
helped motivate Nicks to kick her old habits once and for all. In 1995, the remaining members of Fleetwood
Mac joined with Traffic guitarist Dave Mason and country singer Bekka Bramlett to release
Time. It was the first Fleetwood Mac album since
1974 to feature no major contributions from Buckingham or Nicks, and remains a mostly
forgotten footnote in the band's history. Before long, Fleetwood Mac would realize that
what fans really wanted was another reunion. After the disappointing release of Time, Fleetwood
Mac found itself at a crossroads. New hope for some old magic was sparked when
Fleetwood joined Buckingham for some studio sessions for a solo project. "Suddenly, there we were in the studio saying
'Gee, this feels pretty good.' Isn't that weird?!" The Rumours lineup of Fleetwood Mac officially
reunited in 1997 for a live show that would become the album and concert film The Dance. The Dance was a massive success, launching
a tour and producing a radio hit with Nicks' song "Silver Springs." In 1998, the band was inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame, but the success of its most popular lineup was short-lived. That same year, Christine McVie announced
that she was leaving Fleetwood Mac during one of its most successful periods. McVie explained that it was truly nothing
personal, but she'd developed a fear of flying that made touring difficult. Plus, she simply wanted to settle down into
a life that wasn't dominated by constant travel. The Dance got fans excited for the possibility
of a new Fleetwood Mac album. But with McVie's departure, that was once
again in jeopardy. After Christine McVie's departure, both Buckingham
and Nicks returned to work on solo projects. Nicks released the successful solo album Trouble
in Shangri-La in 2001, and Buckingham went back to work on a solo album he'd been developing
since before The Dance. It was while he was in the midst of that solo
work that an offer to make a new Fleetwood Mac album emerged. Nicks, Buckingham, Fleetwood, and John McVie
gathered together to make Say You Will, the first Fleetwood Mac album headlined by Buckingham
and Nicks since Tango in the Night. The album was a financial success, but it
was also the first Mac record made without Christine McVie since 1970, and her absence
was felt. It was also not made without drama. The resulting creative clashes were covered
in the documentary Destiny Rules. Despite these issues, Fleetwood Mac went back
on the road to promote Say You Will, and continued to tour off and on for the next decade without
McVie. Though the band was showing its age a bit,
Fleetwood Mac soldiered on. They self-released four new songs under the
title Extended Play in 2013, and in 2014 Christine McVie announced that she was ready to rejoin
the band for a major tour with the Rumours-era lineup. The reunion was successful, and in 2017 Christine
McVie and Buckingham released an album of duets together. Everything was rosy again! Or was it? By this point, we're guessing you know the
answer. In January of 2018, Fleetwood Mac came together
to be honored as the "Person of the Year" by the MusiCares foundation. While the band performed well together, tensions
were high behind the scenes. According to Fleetwood and Nicks, Buckingham
was resisting an upcoming tour the band had been planning, and wouldn't budge. It was clear that if the band was touring
again, it would be without their lead guitarist. "It became just a huge impasse, and hit a
brick wall, where we decided that we had to part company." Buckingham fought back, and claimed that Nicks
had threatened that she would leave Fleetwood Mac if Buckingham wasn't dismissed. Buckingham filed suit against the band, claiming
breach of contract, and later said he thought Nicks had staged some kind of "coup" to get
him to leave. By the end of 2018, the suit was settled out
of court. "I'm happy enough with it. I'm not out there trying to twist the knife
at all." With Buckingham gone, the band again picked
up two new members: Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn of Crowded
House. The band embarked on a successful tour that
lasted through 2019, and they may one day hit the road again. While Buckingham thinks his days with Fleetwood
Mac are over, the band itself is constantly evolving through good times and bad. If there's one thing you can say about Fleetwood
Mac, it's that they're survivors. Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite
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