THEY remain one of the world’s biggest bands, selling more than 120 million records since forming in the late 1960s. Now Fleetwood Mac are rocketing to the top of the charts again after their iconic song, Dreams, went viral.
Fleetwood Mac are more than 50?
The British-American rock band was founded back in 1967 by drummer Mick Fleetwood, before bassist John McVie and his keyboardist wife Christine joined soon after. Then in the mid-1970s, lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks completed the line-up.
They’re still going strong?
Their most recent tour concluded in 2019, so the group that was for so long the epitome of sex, drugs and rock and roll, plagued by relationship dramas and internal strife, are still on the scene - although the ups and downs continue.
How so?
The band's line-up has changed frequently, with Buckingham, Nicks and McVie coming and going. But in 2018, Buckingham was fired. Later that year, he revealed he had settled a lawsuit against his former bandmates, saying that he was “happy enough” with the outcome, before also speaking of the “visceral” feeling of being fired. He revealed that he learned he had been let go when the band’s manager called him and said: “Stevie never wants to be on a stage with you again.”
They are old flames?
When Fleetwood asked Buckingham to join the band in 1974, he agreed on the condition that his musical partner and girlfriend, Nicks, join too. The following year saw the release of the band’s self-titled album, which proved to be their breakthrough, with songs such as Rhiannon. But the McVie's marriage was at an end and the long-term romance between Buckingham and Nicks was floundering, with their sudden riches and fame creating issues, along with drugs and alcohol. Throw in an affair between Fleetwood and Nicks and all was not rosy in the recording studio.
But then came Rumours?
They somehow managed to make the iconic 1977 album, Rumours - which recently ranked seventh in Rolling Stone's 'The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time' and features hits such as Go Your Own Way, Don't Stop and Dreams. It has sold more than 45 million copies alone.
And it’s Dreams that’s gone viral?
Last month, Nathan Apodaca made a TikTok clip of him skateboarding down a highway in Idaho, sipping a carton of juice as he lip synced to Dreams. The 37-year-old potato warehouse worker's video went viral with around 23 million views.
Now Fleetwood has responded?
The 73-year-old said online at the time that the band "love this" viral video and now the veteran rocker has joined TikTok to post his own take on the clip, showing him skateboarding through a garden, drinking from the same juice carton and singing along with Nicks' vocals.
And in the meantime?
In the last week alone in the US, Dreams - written by Nicks and inspired by her relationship with Buckingham - has been streamed 8.47 million times, beating its previous high of 3.83 million last September. The song and the Rumours album are both back in the global charts and Apodaca has been given thousands of dollars in donations.
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