Topic: Mick Fleetwood

Michael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician and actor best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for his work in Fleetwood Mac.

Aside from his work as a drummer, he also helped form the different incarnations of his band Fleetwood Mac, and is the sole member to stay with the band through its ever-changing lineup. In 1974, he met and invited Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to join Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham and Nicks contributed to much of Fleetwood Mac's later commercial success, while Fleetwood's determination to keep the band together was essential to the group's longevity.

Fleetwood was born in Redruth, Cornwall, to John Joseph Kells and Bridget Maureen (née Brereton) Fleetwood. His sister, the late Susan Fleetwood, was an actress. In early childhood he and his family followed his father, a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, to Egypt. After about six years they moved to Norway where his father was posted. He attended school there and acquired fluency in the Norwegian language. According to his autobiography, Fleetwood had an extremely difficult and trying time academically at the English boarding schools he attended, including the Kings School, Sherbone Park, Glos. He performed poorly on exams which he attributes to his persistent inability to commit facts to memory. He dropped out of school aged 15, and, in 1963, moved to London to pursue a career as a drummer.