- Mick Fleetwood
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Mick Fleetwood 
Background information Birth name Michael John Kells Fleetwood Born June 24, 1947
Redruth, Cornwall, England, United KingdomGenres Blues, blues-rock, rock Occupations Musician Instruments Drums, percussion Years active 1964–present Labels Reprise, RCA, Sanctuary Associated acts Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, The Zoo, Mick Fleetwood's Island Rumours Band Website mickfleetwood.com Michael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician and actor best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 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 together was essential to the group's longevity.[citation needed]
Contents
Early life
Fleetwood was born in Redruth, Cornwall, to John Joseph Kells and Bridget Maureen (née Brereton) Fleetwood.[1] His sister, the late 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 language.[2] According to his autobiography,[2] 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 drummer.[2]
Career
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 1970While 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.
Mick 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 with "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 album is Blue Again!,[3] appearing in October 2008 with the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band touring to support it, interspersed with the Unleashed tour of Fleetwood Mac.[4] 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". 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
Fleetwood married Jenny Boyd in 1970, and the couple had two daughters. 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.
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 powdered cocaine and his personal bankruptcy in spite of earning millions from his drumming career.[2]
In 1979, Mick Fleetwood was diagnosed as having diabetes, after suffering recurring bouts of hypoglycemia during several live shows.[5]
Fleetwood has lived in the United States since the mid-70s,[2] and became a U.S. citizen on November 22, 2006 in Los Angeles, California.
Drumming equipment
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
With Fleetwood Mac
Year Album US UK Additional information 1968 Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac) 198 4 - 1968 Mr. Wonderful - 10 Fleetwood featured on the cover art 1969 Then Play On 192 6 Fleetwood was credited with the instrumental "Fighting For Madge" 1970 Kiln House 69 39 Fleetwood co-wrote "Jewel Eyed Judy" 1971 Future Games 91 - - 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 1 23 Fleetwood featured (with McVie) on the cover art 1977 Rumours 1 1 Fleetwood co-wrote "The Chain"/featured (with Nicks) on the cover art / 8th Best-Selling album of all time 1979 Tusk 4 1 - 1980 Live 14 31 - 1982 Mirage 1 5 - 1987 Tango in the Night 7 1 - 1988 Greatest Hits 14 3 - 1990 Behind the Mask 18 1 - 1995 Time - 47 Fleetwood co-wrote "These Strange Times" 1997 The Dance 1 15 - 2003 Say You Will 3 6 - Solo albums
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 Cage - - Billed as "The Zoo" 2004 Something Big - - Billed as "The Mick Fleetwood Band" 2008 Blue Again! - - with "The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band feat. Rick Vito" See also
- List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards
References
- ^ "Susan Fleetwood Biography (1944-1995)". Filmreference.com. 1944-09-21. http://www.filmreference.com/film/4/Susan-Fleetwood.html. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
- ^ a b c d e Fleetwood, Mick (1991). Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac. Avon Books. ISBN 978-0380716166.
- ^ Blue Again press release San Francisco Business Times, February 12, 2009
- ^ NPR interview of Mick Fleetwood March 28, 2009
- ^ Martin E. Adelson. "Mick Fleetwood". Fleetwoodmac.net. http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/mick.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
External links
- Drummerworld
- Biography from The Penguin
- Official website for Mick Fleetwood
- 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
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers John Mayall
Eric Clapton • Jack Bruce • Peter Green • John McVie • Mick Fleetwood • Hughie Flint • Mick Taylor • Colin Allen • Don "Sugarcane" Harris • Harvey Mandel • Larry Taylor • Aynsley Dunbar • Dick Heckstall-Smith • Andy Fraser • Roger Dean • Alan Skidmore • Keef Hartley • Jon Hiseman • Henry Lowther • Tony Reeves • Rocky Athas • Jay Davenport • Greg RzabStudio albums John Mayall solo The Blues Alone (1967) • Blues from Laurel Canyon (1968) • Empty Rooms (1969) • USA Union (1970) • Back to the Roots (1971) • Ten Years Are Gone (1973)Live and compilation albums John Mayall Plays John Mayall (1965) • Looking Back (1969) • The Turning Point (1969) • Jazz Blues Fusion (1972) • Moving On (1973) • The 1982 Reunion Concert (1994) • 70th Birthday Concert (2003)Production Tony Clarke • Jimmy Page • Mike Vernon • Gus Dudgeon • Eddie Kramer • Eddy Offord • John Judnich • Don NixRecord labels Related artists Grammy Award for Album of the Year (1970s) Year Album Artist(s) Producer(s) 1970 Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (Dick Halligan, Jerry Hyman, Steve Katz, Fred Lipsius, Lou Soloff, David Clayton-Thomas, Chuck Winfield) James William Guercio 1971 1972 Tapestry Carole King Lou Adler 1973 The Concert for Bangla Desh George Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann George Harrison, Phil Spector 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 Rumours Fleetwood Mac (Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, Stevie Nicks) Fleetwood Mac, Ken Caillat, Richard Dashut 1979 Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track Bee Gees (Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb), KC and the Sunshine Band (Harry Wayne Casey, Richard Finch, Fermin Goypisolo, Robert Johnson, Jerome Smith), Kool & the Gang (Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell, George Brown, Larry Gittens, Robert Mickens, Otha Nash, Claydes Smith, Dennis Thomas, Rickey West), MFSB, Ralph MacDonald, Tavares (Butch Tavares, Chubby Tavares, Pooch Tavares, Ralph Tavares, Tiny Tavares), The Trammps (Jimmy Ellis, Robert Upchurch, Harold Wade, Stanley Wade, Earl Young), Walter Murphy, Yvonne Elliman Albhy Galuten, Arif Mardin, Bee Gees, Bill Oakes, Bobby Martin, Broadway Eddie, David Shire, Freddie Perren, Harry Wayne Casey, K.G. Productions, Karl Richardson, Ralph MacDonald, Richard Finch, Ron Kersey, Thomas J. Valentino, William Salter Complete list · (1960s) · (1970s) · (1980s) · (1990s) · (2000s) · (2010s) Categories:- 1947 births
- English rock drummers
- English emigrants to the United States
- John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers members
- Fleetwood Mac members
- Grammy Award winners
- Living people
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- People from Redruth
- People from the Greater Los Angeles Area
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