From rock star to a homeless shelter
WHEN aspiring guitarist and songwriter Danny Kirwan invited Fleetwood Mac’s producer Mike Vernon to watch his band Boilerhouse play a gig in London in 1967, he could only dream of what was to happen next.
Having impressed Vernon, Boilerhouse were invited to support Fleetwood Mac’s shows and Kirwan went on to replace the band’s co-guitarist Jeremy Spencer in 1968.
A whirlwind rise to fame ensued, with Kirwan’s creativity taking the group in new musical directions. Part of Fleetwood Mac from 1968 to 1972, he would go from co-guitarist to sharing the songwriting and lead vocal duties with the founder Peter Green and record five albums.
However the strain of touring drove Kirwan to alcohol and drug addiction and within eight years he went from famed rock star to sleeping in homeless shelters.
Kirwan was born in Brixton, London, in 1950. Aged 18, he joined Fleetwood Mac during their blues-rock era, after the release of their second album Wonderful. He became the driving force for change during the band’s early years, with his first recorded piece, Albatross, reaching number one in the UK. The next album Then Play On in 1969 included seven of Kirwan’s songs and shortly after they released Kirwan’s song Dragonfly, which is considered to be his best.
However Kirwan was “emotionally fragile” and buckled under the pressure of stardom, seeking solace in drink and drugs.
His behaviour became increasingly erratic and the final straw came in 1972 when Kirwan refused to go out on stage and smashed up his guitar. He was fired with immediate effect.
As a solo artist, Kirwan recorded four albums, including a reggae cover of The Beatles’ classic Let It Be in 1976 but none of them were commercially successful.
His mental health deteriorated and he eventually withdrew from the music industry. For the next 20 years Kirwan endured spells of homelessness and in 1993 Mick Fleetwood used the Missing Persons Bureau to trace him.
It emerged that he had been living in basements and shelters, making ends meet through social security and small royalty payments.
He died after contracting pneumonia and is survived by his son Dominic from his marriage to Clare Morris in 1971, which ended in divorce.