Everything about Mick Fleetwood totally explained
Michael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood (b.
24 June 1947,
Redruth,
Cornwall,
UK) is a
British-born
American musician best known for his role as the
drummer with the
blues/
rock and roll band
Fleetwood Mac. His name, combined with that of
John McVie was the inspiration for the name of the originally
Peter Green-led 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. Although Buckingham and Nicks deserve credit for contributing to much of Fleetwood Mac's later commercial success, Mick Fleetwood's determination to keep the band together was essential to Fleetwood Mac's longevity as a band and their lasting international success. He is known for his distinctive height; Fleetwood stands at 6'6" (197cm).
Early life
He was born to Michael and Bridget Maureen (née Brereton) Fleetwood in
1947. His elder sister, the late
Susan Fleetwood, was an
actress. The early childhood years saw young Mick Fleetwood and his family follow his father, a
Royal Air Force fighter pilot, initially to
Egypt where the family stayed for about six years. Mick Fleetwood moved to
Norway where his father was posted. He attended school there and acquired fluency in the
Norwegian language. According to his autobiography,
Fleetwood - My Life and Adventures with Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood had an extremely difficult and trying time academically at the English
boarding schools he attended, including
Sherborne. 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.
Musical 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 inebriety 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 more than fifty 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 also led a number of side projects. 1981's
The Visitor featured heavy African stylistics and a rerecording of "Rattlesnake Shake" with Peter Green. 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's most recent solo work to date is "Something Big", released in 2004.
Fleetwood also 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 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.
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 a romance with
Stevie Nicks of
Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood also discusses his
addiction to powdered
cocaine and his personal
bankruptcy after earning millions of dollars and pounds from his drumming career.
In 1979, Mick Fleetwood was diagnosed with
diabetes, after having suffered recurring bouts of
hypoglycemia during several live shows.
Miscellanea
Mick Fleetwood became a US citizen on
22 November 2006 in
Los Angeles, California.
Drumming equipment
Drums: Collector's Series Maple Drums in Natural Lacquer over Exotic Quilted Maple with 24k Gold hardware
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
Discography
With Fleetwood Mac
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" |
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mick Fleetwood'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://mick_fleetwood.totallyexplained.com">Mick Fleetwood Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
