The Mystery of Mick Fleetwood

Of all the members of Fleetwood Mac, it seems as though Mick Fleetwood is the most elusive. Obviously, Stevie Nicks is the star, followed by Lindsey Buckingham, whose actually an amazing guitarist in addition to being the man who fucked Stevie Nicks. But Mick Fleetwood always seems to come in last after John and Christine McVie when taking into account the members of the band. Is it his aesthetic? His aloofness? What is this quality of his that makes him seem so mysterious and under the radar?

Considering that Mick was the one to pull together the final lineup of Fleetwood Mac and the one who suggested moving from England to the U.S., it’s a bit unjust that everyone’s always fawning over Stevie Nicks. Yeah, she had the look and the voice, but Fleetwood had the foresight to know the direction the band needed.

Known for his “aristocratic” aura, Fleetwood was never the sort of man who spoke often, but when he did, it always sounded eloquent–rehearsed even. In spite of this, his heavy drinking got in the way during his early career in various bands throughout London. Fortunately, this was a shared love between him and fellow bandmate/co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, John McVie.

By 1967, the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac had formed: Peter Green, McVie and Fleetwood. By their second album, Christine Perfect (soon to be McVie) had joined the band. Although this formation of the band experienced moderate success by their third album, Green was going slightly crazy from too much LSD. He would later go the Christian route, leaving his band mates to fend for themselves. And fend they did. Fleetwood’s devotion to the band through its strange trials and tribulations (as well as its many sexual deviancies, including his wife, Jenny Boyd, cheating on him with the guitarist, Bob Weston) proved fruitful with the creation of albums like Rumours and Tusk, perhaps two of the greatest records ever made. While Fleetwood released a fairly lurid autobiography in 1990, he will forever hold an air of imperviousness. We’ll never know what he’s really thinking for sure–except that it probably includes doing a bump off Stevie Nick’s ass in her prime.