26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
People are just realising what the band name Fleetwood Mac means after 58 years
When it comes to music, Fleetwood Mac are a band that has played a big part in a lot of people's lives.
The British-American rock band, who formed in London in 1967, was put together by guitarist and singer Peter Green. Over 50 years later, the group have sold more than 120 million records worldwide, which ranks them as one of the world's best-selling bands.
Even so, it seems that after all this time, some people still don't know the meaning behind their name - especially if they've become fans later down the line. On
Reddit
, lots of music fans talk about the iconic group, known for hits such as "Dreams" and "Go Your Own Way", however it seems they're always learning something new about the band.
On Quora, another person asked: "How did Fleetwood Mac get their name?" The simple question generated a host of replies.
Fleetwood Mac perform onstage during the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival
(Image: Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
One replied: "Fleetwood Mac got their name from a combination of the last names of two of its founding members, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. The band was originally formed in 1967 as a blues band led by Peter Green, and they were initially called 'Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac'. The name was later shortened to simply 'Fleetwood Mac'."
Another suggested: "Peter Green, the lead guitarist at the time in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers was given by John Mayall studio time, as a gift to do with whatever he wanted. He made the instrumental recording of the song 'Fleetwood Mac' with Mick Fleetwood & John McVie, the drummer and bass player respectively at the time in The Bluesbreakers."
However, if you didn't know how the band got its name, you may be surprised to learn it's actually quite simple how it all came together.
Green actually named the band by combining the surnames of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie - two musicians who remained with the band throughout its various line-up changes.
If you knew the founding members were called Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, you'd probably guess where the band got its name from, but the idea to merge the rhythm sections' names actually took a little while to develop.
Christine McVie (L) and Stevie Nicks of music group Fleetwood Mac
(Image: Getty Images)
The story goes it all began when co-founder Peter Green replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, which also comprised of Fleetwood and McVie. Then a name for the new band came about after Peter, Mick and John started recording songs - something which John Mayall reportedly gave them space to do.
During these recording sessions, one song turned out to be a sprawling instrumental and it was dubbed "Fleetwood Mac" due to the vital contributions of the drummer and bassist, with Mac being a shortened version of McVie.
Later, Green suggested using it to name the band itself, and the idea soon stuck. However, despite inspiring the moniker, Green was the first to leave the band.
By the time they reached the mid-'70s, the group had altered quite a bit, and added Christine McVie - then Christine Perfect. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks later concluded what would be the enduring line-up.
As many people know, it wasn't always full of joy though, as the five piece ended up turning their affairs, break-ups and utter heartbreak into major music with their iconic album Rumours in 1977.
