[5][6] In early childhood, Fleetwood and his family followed his father, a Royal Air Force fighter pilot,[7] to Egypt.

[1][8] Biographer Cath Carroll describes the young Fleetwood as "a dreamer, an empathetic youth" who, though intelligent, did not excel academically.

[7] Fleetwood was inspired—as he said at the Brits Awards ceremony in 1989—by Cliff Richard, Tony Meehan (drummer of the Shadows), and The Everly Brothers.

[10] It would take him from the Cheynes—with whom he supported early gigs by the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds—to stints in the Bo Street Runners, where he replaced original drummer Nigel Hutchinson,[11] who had enjoyed brief television fame on Ready Steady Go!.

[10] By February 1966, Bardens, who had left the group, called on Fleetwood to join his new band, the Peter Bs, which soon expanded to become Shotgun Express (with Rod Stewart).

Though McVie hesitated briefly due to financial reasons, both joined Green by the summer of 1967 with a record contract on the horizon.

[15] McVie, initially hesitant to commit, was later prompted to leave the Bluesbreakers and join Fleetwood Mac full-time when the former adopted a horns section with which he disagreed.

Despite the success of their third album, Then Play On, and a string of hit singles including "Albatross" and "Man of the World", Green himself drifted away from the band, struggling both creatively and with increasing use of LSD.

[23] Fleetwood, "a social creature who prized community and communication", was particularly taken with the group's new living arrangements: they moved into a large Victoria-era mansion near Headley, Hampshire.

[24] By early 1971, with Christine McVie becoming an official member of the band, Fleetwood and the group boarded a plane to San Francisco.

Kirwan's self-destructive personality and problems with alcohol culminated in a refusal to go on stage before one concert; Fleetwood himself made the decision to fire the band member.

[29] The band added guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker, formerly of Savoy Brown and the Idle Race.

Fleetwood was shopping with his children when a chance encounter with an old friend led him to visit Sound City and producer Keith Olsen.

[42] He put forward an idea of promising to reimburse any losses suffered by promoters should they occur, in an attempt to raise the group's profile and earn more contracts and gigs.

"[43] Ken Caillat, sound engineer on Rumours, concurred that Fleetwood "had superb intuition and a flair for taking risks".

[54] Grissim, working for Rolling Stone, frequently met with the group and took a particular liking to Fleetwood, whom he described as "a real pro.

"[55] Fleetwood Mac convened at the Record Plant February 1976 with hired engineers Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut.

[57] Despite his talent at keeping the group together, the recording of Rumours was fraught with emotional turmoil due to the collapsing relationships within the line-up.

Christine McVie and Nicks decided to live in two condominiums near the city's harbour, while the male contingent stayed at the studio's lodge in the adjacent hills.

[59] Fleetwood often played his drum kit outside the studio's partition screen to better gauge Caillat's and Dashut's reactions to the music's groove.

[60] After the final mastering stage and hearing the songs back-to-back, the band members sensed they had recorded something "pretty powerful".

Fleetwood, recently diagnosed as having diabetes after suffering recurring bouts of hypoglycaemia during several live shows,[64] was again instrumental in maintaining the band's cohesion.

"[65] Though the nature of the album strained relationships again within the band—particularly John McVie, a long-established blues musician who disliked the experimental nature of the album—Fleetwood himself rates the album as his favourite by Fleetwood Mac, and cites the freedom of creative expression allotted to each band member as integral to the survival of the group.

1981's The Visitor produced by Richard Dashut, featured heavy African stylistics and a rerecording of "Rattlesnake Shake" with Peter Green.

The album featured a minor hit, "I Want You Back", and a cover version of the Beach Boys' "Angel Come Home".

In the book, he discussed his experiences with other musicians including Eric Clapton, members of the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, as well as the affair with Stevie Nicks and his addiction to cocaine and his personal bankruptcy.

His roles in this field have included a leader of the Resistance in The Running Man (1987), and as a guest alien in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Manhunt" (1989).

Fleetwood was a self-taught drummer from his early childhood, after moving from a lacklustre academic performance at school to a love of music encouraged by his family, who bought him his first drum kit.

He attributed his pivot to Tama to Ludwig's supposed deterioration in quality and Sonor's inability to produce a bass drum suitable for Fleetwood's large frame.

[102] Fleetwood has incorporated many percussion instruments into his drum rig, including a 40 inch Zildjian gong, two rows of wind chimes, and congas.