The Beatles

**The Beatles**, a four-piece group hailing from Liverpool in the northwest of England, were arguably the foremost rock band of all time. Consisting of John Lennon (vocals/rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (vocals/bass), George Harrison (guitar/vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums/vocals) they sold millions of records in an eight-year recording career from 1962-70 and went on to enjoy further success as solo artists.

Their connections with Fleetwood Mac are minimal but worth a mention.

**John Lennon** (1940-80) said that the song *Sun King* from their 1969 album *Abbey Road* was inspired by hearing Albatross. Following Lennon's assassination in December 1980, Stevie Nicks wrote her solo hit Edge of Seventeen partly in reaction. His anthemic *Imagine* (1971) was performed on Fleetwood Mac's Another Link in the Chain tour (1994-5) at the end of shows with Bekka Bramlett on vocals and sidesman Steve Thoma on piano.

**Paul McCartney** (born 1942) wrote three songs for the group that were also covered by Fleetwood Mac alumni on their solo albums: *Let it Be* on Danny Kirwan's Midnight in San Juan (1976), *I Saw Her Standing There* on Bob Welch's Three Hearts (1979) and *I've Just Seen a Face* on Billy Burnette's Soldier of Love (1986). The Beatles 1969 single *Get Back*, also written by McCartney, had the dubious distinction of holding Man of the World off the No 1 spot in the UK singles chart. Neil Finn appeared with McCartney at a tribute concert to Paul's wife Linda shortly after her death in 1998.

**George Harrison** (1943-2001) was a brother-in-law to Mick Fleetwood for four years between the latter's marriage to Jenny Boyd in 1970 and the former's divorce from Boyd's sister Patti in 1974. Harrison and Fleetwood would work together in 1981 (by which time Mick and Jenny were also divorced) when Harrison played on Fleetwood's album The Visitor featuring on lead guitar on an interpretation of Lindsey Buckingham's song Walk a Thin Line which had previously appeared on Fleetwood Mac's Tusk (1979). His song *Here Comes the Sun* from the Beatles' 1969 album *Abbey Road* was performed on TV by Buckingham with Fleetwood on drums shortly after Harrison's death. On the anniversary of Harrison's death in 2002, a group of his friends and colleagues put on the Concert For George at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Among the performers were John McVie's former Bluesbreakers colleague Eric Clapton who sang the songs *If I Needed Someone*, *Beware of Darkness*, *Isn't it a Pity*, *While My Guitar Gently Weeps* and, with Paul McCartney, *Something* and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, featuring future Fleetwood Mac guitarist Mike Campbell, who performed Taxman and I Need You along with Handle With Care which Harrison and Petty had co-written and recorded as members of the Traveling Wilburys.

**Ringo Starr** (born 1940) duetted with Stevie Nicks on a cover of his friend Harry Nilsson's *Lay Down Your Arms* for a tribute album, *For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson* released in 1995, the year after Nilsson's death. He also appeared with Tom Petty and by default Mike Campbell on *To Find a Friend* (from Wildflowers, 1994) and *Hung Up and Overdue* (from Songs and Music from She's The One, 1996) and along with another future Mac member Dave Mason was among the players on George Harrison's *All Things Must Pass* (1970).