Jeremy Cedric Spencer (born 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac.

[1] A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the band until his abrupt departure in February 1971, when he joined the "Children of God", a new religious movement now known as "The Family International", with which he is still affiliated.

Green had recruited drummer Mick Fleetwood and temporary bassist Bob Brunning, and wanted a second guitar player to fill out the sound onstage.

[3] On Fleetwood Mac, the 1968 debut album, Spencer gives a solo performance on vocal and piano of Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail".

Since Spencer's musical contributions to the band were too narrowly focused, Green and Fleetwood brought in a third guitarist, 18-year-old Danny Kirwan, after 1968's Mr.

Green and Kirwan found that they worked well together musically, quickly developing the style that provided hits such as "Albatross", "Man of the World" and "Oh Well", none of which featured Spencer.

Spencer was a gifted mimic,[2] providing excellent impersonations of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Elmore James, John Mayall and whoever else he felt like sending up at the time.

He was also often given to occasional suggestive behaviour onstage, particularly at early concerts, which sometimes landed the band in trouble with promoters and venue owners, and got them banned from London's Marquee Club.

[4] This wild onstage atmosphere was caught in Spencer's recording "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite", which was chosen as the B-side to the gentle "Man of the World" single in 1969.

Away from the stage, Spencer was often quiet and withdrawn, and other band members recall him often reading the Bible in his hotel room, strongly at odds with his on-stage persona.

[6] Shortly after arriving in LA on 15 February 1971, the day of a gig the group was scheduled to perform at the Whisky a Go Go, Spencer left the hotel room he shared with Fleetwood to visit a bookshop on Hollywood Boulevard.

He had been approached by a young man named Apollos, who engaged Spencer in conversation about God, and invited him to a nearby mission where other members were staying.

In the second half of the 80s into the early 90s, a large number of albums from the Children of God band (renamed The Family in the 1980s) featuring Spencer were released during this time.

In April 2006, during a question-and-answer session on the Penguin Fleetwood Mac fan website, bassist John McVie said of the reunion idea: "If we could get Peter and Jeremy to do it, I'd probably, maybe, do it.

[17] Spencer also took part in the TV documentary Peter Green: Man of the World,[18] in which he was interviewed together with John McVie and Mick Fleetwood.

Homebrewed Blues (2016) showcased his slide guitar playing, whereas Treading Softly (2018) and Latina Nights (2019) focused on music inspired by Ireland and Latin America respectively.

They formed a trio named Steetley, along with the Northern Irish musician and actress Janet Bamford, and in December 2013, released their debut album, The Moment She Fell.