Mick Fleetwood and Friends

Mick Fleetwood anchored his namesake band Fleetwood Mac through thick and thin, seeing the group evolve from one of the pioneering British blues combos to the biggest pop/rock band in the world. Fleetwood may have never left his seat behind the drums in Fleetwood Mac but he did occasionally step away from the group. Notably, he released a pair of solo albums in the early 1980s: The Visitor, which was recorded in Ghana, and the slick, nervy pop LP I'm Not Me, which was credited to Mick Fleetwood's Zoo. He resumed his solo career in the 2000s with the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, who released Blue Again! in 2008, and he once again returned to his solo career and his blues roots in 2020, when he organized a star-studded tribute to his late bandmate Peter Green. After the supporting tour for 1979's Tusk, Fleetwood recorded his debut solo album, The Visitor, which was released in 1981 and displayed the drummer's interest in worldbeat. After the 1982 Mac album Mirage, Fleetwood cut a second solo record, 1983's I'm Not Me, which featured cameos from several Mac members. Fleetwood Mac subsequently went on hiatus until 1987, when Fleetwood's declaration of bankruptcy prompted the reunion LP Tango in the Night; even Lindsey Buckingham was persuaded to join in, albeit only in the studio. Even as the band's classic '70s lineup splintered, Fleetwood kept versions of the band going throughout the '90s, without enjoying much commercial success until the full-fledged reunion on 1997's The Dance. Meanwhile, he also continued working on outside projects such as the Zoo, which issued Shakin' the Cage during the early '90s. Something Big (attributed to the Mick Fleetwood Band), a joint project with songwriter Todd Smallwood, was released in 2004 on Fleetwood's own label, TallMan Records. As Fleetwood Mac prepared to tour again in early 2009, the drummer issued yet another album, this one culled from a live performance by the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band. Entitled Blue Again!, the two-disc set featured the blues-based songs of Fleetwood Mac's early career while also devoting time to original material, with former Fleetwood Mac vocalist Rick Vito assuming frontman duties. Fleetwood next went solo in 2020, when he organized a star-studded tribute to his old colleague Peter Green. The concert was released in 2021 as Celebrate the Music of Peter Green.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Steve Huey /TiVo