In the US, they signed with Reprise/Warner Brothers and by 1970, Warner began releasing the band's British records as well.įleetwood Mac released "English Rose" and "Then Play On" during 1969, which both indicated that the band members were expanding their music, moving away from their Blues-purists roots. The set was released later that year, after the band had left Blue Horizon for a one-album deal with Immediate Records. The following year, they recorded in Chicago with a variety of bluesmen, including Willie Dixon and Otis Spann. During 1968, the band added guitarist Danny Kirwan.
Despite its British success, the album was virtually ignored in America. "Fleetwood Mac" was an enormous hit in the UK, spending over a year in the Top 10. Fleetwood Mac soon signed with Blue Horizon, releasing their eponymous debut the following year. By that time, slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer had joined the band. He joined the band a few weeks after their debut. At their debut at the British Jazz And Blues Festival that August, Bob Brunning was playing bass in the group, since McVie was still under contract to Mayall.
Inspired by the success of Cream, The Yardbirds and Jimi Hendrix, the trio decided to break away from Mayall in 1967. In 1966 Peter Green replaced Eric Clapton and a year later, Mick Fleetwood (drums) joined. John McVie (bass) was one of the charter members of The Bluesbreakers, joining the group in 1963. The roots of Fleetwood Mac lie in John Mayall's legendary British Blues outfit, The Bluesbreakers. Throughout all of their incarnations, the only consistent members of Fleetwood Mac were drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, the rhythm section who provided the band with its name. Initially conceived as a hard-edged British Blues combo in the late '60s, the band gradually evolved into a polished Pop/Rock act over the course of a decade. While most bands undergo a number of changes over the course of their career, few groups experienced such radical stylistic changes as Fleetwood Mac.