Editing Fleetwood Mac (section)

===1974–1987: Addition of Buckingham and Nicks, and global success===

In Bob Welch's words, following the ''Heroes are Hard to Find'' tour, "the buzz that the ''Mystery to Me'' band had started to create...[was] gone. I [was] totally exhausted by writing, singing, touring, negotiating, moving, and frankly so [were] Mick, John and Chris. We were ''all'' discouraged that ''Heroes'' [hadn't] done better. Something needs to change, but what? … There was also a kind of fatigue, anger and bitterness that all the work we had done hadn't really paid off and we were just all sort of shaking our heads saying 'what do we do now' … Everybody knew that we had to find some new creative juice."<ref name="fleetwoodmac_net">{{cite web|title=Bob Welch 1999 p3|url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa3.htm|access-date=1 December 2022|archive-date=25 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825120236/http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa3.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Welch himself had grown tired of the constant struggles to keep Fleetwood Mac functioning and was openly considering leaving the band.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bob Welch 1999 p4|url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa4.htm|access-date=1 December 2022|archive-date=12 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012013543/http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa4.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Whilst Fleetwood was checking out [[Sound City Studios]] in Los Angeles during the autumn of 1974, the house engineer, [[Keith Olsen]], played him a track he had recorded, "Frozen Love", from the album ''[[Buckingham Nicks]]'' (1973).<ref>{{cite book|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|title=Fleetwood Mac: The Complete Illustrated History|year=2017|publisher=Voyageur Press|isbn=978-1627889759}}</ref> Fleetwood liked it and was introduced to the guitarist from the band, [[Lindsey Buckingham]], who was at Sound City that day recording demos.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Baltin |first=Steve |date=May 1, 2015 |orig-date=May 1, 2015 |title=Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham Speaks at USC, Confesses 'I Like Taylor Swift' |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/fleetwood-macs-lindsey-buckingham-speaks-at-usc-confesses-i-like-taylor-swift-6553526/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519164206/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/fleetwood-macs-lindsey-buckingham-speaks-at-usc-confesses-i-like-taylor-swift-6553526/ |archive-date=May 19, 2022 |access-date=October 15, 2024 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-21 |title=Stevie Nicks shares why she moved out of San Francisco San Francisco |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/stevie-nicks-san-francisco-chase-center-18525484.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921142313/https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/stevie-nicks-san-francisco-chase-center-18525484.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=2024-09-21 |access-date=2024-10-16 }}</ref> Fleetwood asked him to join Fleetwood Mac, and Buckingham agreed, on the condition that his music partner and girlfriend, [[Stevie Nicks]], be included. Welch considered remaining as part of this extended lineup but opted to depart for a solo career. Buckingham and Nicks joined the band on New Year's Eve 1974.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lindsey Buckingham|url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/lindsey.htm|publisher=Fleetwoodmac.net|access-date=7 August 2012|archive-date=5 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805124218/http://fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/lindsey.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Behind the Music Remastered: Fleetwood Mac|url=http://www.vh1.com/video/behind-the-music-remastered/full-episodes/behind-the-music-remastered-fleetwood-mac/1654105/playlist.jhtml|publisher=VH1|access-date=7 August 2012|archive-date=10 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910201933/http://www.vh1.com/video/behind-the-music-remastered/full-episodes/behind-the-music-remastered-fleetwood-mac/1654105/playlist.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="fleetwoodmac_net" />

In 1975, the new line-up released their first album together, the self-titled ''[[Fleetwood Mac (1975 album)|Fleetwood Mac]]'', the band's tenth studio album overall. The album was a breakthrough for the band and became a huge hit, reaching No. 1 in the US and selling over 7 million copies. Among the hit singles from this album were Christine McVie's "[[Over My Head (Fleetwood Mac song)|Over My Head]]" and "[[Say You Love Me (Fleetwood Mac song)|Say You Love Me]]" and Stevie Nicks' "[[Rhiannon (song)|Rhiannon]]", as well as the much-played album track "[[Landslide (Fleetwood Mac song)|Landslide]]", a live rendition of which became a hit twenty years later on ''[[The Dance (Fleetwood Mac album)|The Dance]]'' album.
{{Listen|filename=Landslide by Fleetwood Mac.ogg|title="Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac)|description=17 second sample from Fleetwood Mac's song "Landslide".| format=[[Ogg]]}}

In 1976, the band was suffering from severe stress. With success came the end of John and Christine McVie's marriage, as well as Buckingham and Nicks's long-term romantic relationship. Fleetwood, meanwhile, was in the midst of divorce proceedings from his wife, Jenny, and had also begun an affair with Nicks.<ref name = "Play On">{{cite book|title=Play On|author1=Fleetwood, Mick |author2=Bozza, Anthony |year=2014|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=978-0316403405}}</ref> The pressure on Fleetwood Mac to release a successful follow-up album, combined with their new-found wealth, led to creative and personal tensions which were allegedly fuelled by high consumption of drugs and alcohol.<ref name="Rock Nuns">{{cite web |last1=Jonze |first1=Tim |title=Fleetwood Mac's Stevie and Christine: 'We were like rock'n'roll nuns' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/12/fleetwood-mac-stevie-nicks-christine-mcvie-nuns |website=The Guardian |date=12 December 2013 |access-date=3 October 2018 |archive-date=4 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004192005/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/12/fleetwood-mac-stevie-nicks-christine-mcvie-nuns |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Fleetwood Mac Rumours trade ad Billboard 1977.jpg|thumb|left|upright|1977 trade ad for ''[[Rumours (album)|Rumours]]'' with Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, [[Lindsey Buckingham]] and [[Stevie Nicks]]]]
The band's eleventh studio album, ''[[Rumours (album)|Rumours]]'' (the band's first release on the main Warner label after Reprise was retired and all of its acts were reassigned to the parent label), was released in February 1977. In this album, the band members laid bare the emotional turmoil they were experiencing at the time. ''Rumours'' was critically acclaimed and won the [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year]] in 1977. The album generated four top-ten singles: Buckingham's "[[Go Your Own Way]]", Nicks' US No. 1 "[[Dreams (Fleetwood Mac song)|Dreams]]", and Christine McVie's "[[Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac song)|Don't Stop]]" and "[[You Make Loving Fun]]". Buckingham's "[[Second Hand News]]", Nicks' "[[Gold Dust Woman]]", and "[[The Chain]]" (the only song written by all five band members) also received significant radio airplay. By 2003, ''Rumours'' had sold over 19 million copies in the US alone (certified as a [[diamond album]] by the [[RIAA]]) and a total of 40 million copies worldwide, bringing it to eighth on the [[list of best-selling albums]]. Fleetwood Mac supported the album with a lucrative tour.

On 10 October 1979, Fleetwood Mac were honoured for their contributions to the music industry with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6608 [[Hollywood Boulevard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/fleetwood-mac|title=Fleetwood Mac {{!}} Hollywood Walk of Fame|website=www.walkoffame.com|access-date=15 June 2016|archive-date=12 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812181905/http://www.walkoffame.com/fleetwood-mac|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/fleetwood-mac/|title=Fleetwood Mac|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=15 June 2016|archive-date=3 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603033724/http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/fleetwood-mac/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Buckingham convinced Fleetwood to let his work on their next album be more experimental and to be allowed to work on tracks at home before bringing them to the rest of the band in the studio. The result of this, the band's twelfth studio album ''[[Tusk (album)|Tusk]]'', was a 20-track double album released in 1979. It produced three hit singles: Buckingham's "[[Tusk (song)|Tusk]]" (US No. 8), which featured the [[Spirit of Troy|USC Trojan Marching Band]]; Christine McVie's "[[Think About Me]]" (US No. 20); and Nicks' six-and-a-half minute opus "[[Sara (Fleetwood Mac song)|Sara]]" (US No. 7). "Sara" was cut to four-and-a-half minutes for both the single and the first CD release of the album in the 1980s, but the full version has since been restored on the 1988 ''[[Greatest Hits (1988 Fleetwood Mac album)|Greatest Hits]]'', the 1992 ''[[25 Years – The Chain]]'' box set, 2002's ''[[The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac]]'', and the 2004 remaster of ''Tusk''. Original guitarist Peter Green also took part in the sessions of ''Tusk'', although his playing on the Christine McVie track "Brown Eyes", is not credited on the album.<ref>{{cite book| title=My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac| url=https://archive.org/details/fleetwoodmylifea00fleet| url-access=registration|last=Davis|first=Stephen|year=1991|page=[https://archive.org/details/fleetwoodmylifea00fleet/page/214 214]| publisher=Avon Books| isbn=9780380716166}}</ref> In an interview in 2019, Fleetwood described ''Tusk'' as his "personal favourite" and said, "Kudos to Lindsey … for us not doing a replica of ''Rumours''."<ref>{{cite news|work= Independent |url=  https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/fleetwood-mac-interview-tour-uk-wembley |title= Fleetwood Mac: We'll Burn in Hell if We Don't Play Glastonbury One Day: Chris Harvey |date= 27 April 2019 |access-date= 30 April 2019 }}</ref>

''Tusk'' sold four million copies worldwide. Fleetwood blamed the album's relative lack of commercial success on the [[RKO General|RKO]] radio chain having played the album in its entirety prior to release, thereby allowing mass home taping.<ref>{{cite book| title=My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac| url=https://archive.org/details/fleetwoodmylifea00fleet| url-access=registration|last=Davis|first=Stephen|year=1991|page=[https://archive.org/details/fleetwoodmylifea00fleet/page/219 219]| publisher=Avon Books| isbn=9780380716166}}</ref>

The band embarked on an 11-month tour to support and promote ''Tusk''. They travelled around the world, including the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In Germany, they shared the bill with reggae musician [[Bob Marley]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams, & Rumours|last=Howe|first=Zoë|pages=146, 154–156|year=2015|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-1-4683-1066-5|url=https://archive.org/details/stevienicksvisio0000howe/page/156/mode/2up}}</ref> On this world tour, the band recorded music for [[Live (Fleetwood Mac album)|their first live album]], which was released at the end of 1980.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Martoccio |first=Angie |date=20 February 2021|title=Fleetwood Mac Prep Deluxe Edition of 1980 Live Album, Drop 'The Chain' Performance |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/fleetwood-mac-1980-live-album-deluxe-1126278/ |access-date=28 January 2024|magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>

The band's thirteenth studio album, ''[[Mirage (Fleetwood Mac album)|Mirage]]'', was released in 1982. Following 1981 solo albums by Nicks (''[[Bella Donna (album)|Bella Donna]]''), Fleetwood (''[[The Visitor (Mick Fleetwood album)|The Visitor]]''), and Buckingham (''[[Law and Order (album)|Law and Order]]''), there was a return to a more conventional approach. Buckingham had been chided by critics, fellow band members, and music business managers for the lesser commercial success of ''Tusk''. Recorded at [[Château d'Hérouville]] in France and produced by [[Richard Dashut]], ''Mirage'' was an attempt to recapture the huge success of ''Rumours''. Its hits included Christine McVie's "[[Hold Me (Fleetwood Mac song)|Hold Me]]" and "[[Love in Store]]" (co-written by [[Robbie Patton]] and Jim Recor, respectively), Nicks' "[[Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac song)|Gypsy]]", and Buckingham's "[[Oh Diane]]", which made the Top 10 in the UK. A minor hit was also scored by Buckingham's "[[Can't Go Back (Fleetwood Mac song)|Can't Go Back]]".

In contrast to the [[Tusk Tour]], the band embarked on only a short tour of 18 American cities, with the Los Angeles show being recorded and released on video. They also headlined the first [[US Festival]], on 5 September 1982, for which the band was paid $500,000 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|500000|1982|r=-3|fmt=c}} in 2024). ''Mirage'' was certified double platinum in the US.

Following ''Mirage'' the band went on hiatus, which allowed members to pursue solo careers. Nicks released two more solo albums (1983's ''[[The Wild Heart (album)|The Wild Heart]]'' and 1985's ''[[Rock a Little]]''). Buckingham issued ''[[Go Insane (album)|Go Insane]]'' in 1984, the same year that Christine McVie made an [[Christine McVie (album)|eponymous album]] (yielding the Top 10 hit "[[Got a Hold on Me]]" and the Top 40 hit "[[Love Will Show Us How]]"). All three became successful in their solo efforts, with Nicks being the most popular. During this period, Fleetwood had filed for bankruptcy, Nicks was admitted to the [[Betty Ford Clinic]] for addiction problems, and John McVie had suffered an addiction-related seizure – all of which were attributed to the lifestyle of excess afforded to them by their worldwide success. It was rumoured that Fleetwood Mac had disbanded, but Buckingham commented that he was unhappy at allowing ''Mirage'' to remain the band's last effort.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=785&c=18 |title=Fleetwood Mac: Return Without Leaving |work=[[Creem]] |last=Kordosh |first=J. |date=September 1987 |access-date=25 October 2011 |archive-date=27 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527211656/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=785&c=18 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The lineup featuring Fleetwood, the McVies, Buckingham, and Nicks recorded one more album, their fourteenth studio album, ''[[Tango in the Night]]'', in 1987. The recording started off as a Buckingham solo album before becoming a full group project. The album went on to become their best-selling release since ''Rumours'', especially in the UK where it hit No. 1 three times in the following year. The album sold three million copies in the US and contained four hits: Christine McVie's "[[Little Lies]]" and "[[Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac song)|Everywhere]]" ("Little Lies" being co-written with her new husband, Eddy Quintela), [[Sandy Stewart (musician)|Sandy Stewart]] and Nicks' "[[Seven Wonders (song)|Seven Wonders]]", and Buckingham's "[[Big Love (Fleetwood Mac song)|Big Love]]". "[[Family Man (Fleetwood Mac song)|Family Man]]" (Buckingham and [[Richard Dashut]]) and "[[Isn't It Midnight]]" (Christine McVie) were also released as singles.