DANNY KIRWAN
Fleetwood Mac guitarist (1950-2018)
Once described by fellow guitarist Peter Green as “a clever boy who got ideas by listening to all that old-fashioned Roaring Twenties big-band stuff”, Danny Kirwan’s tenure with Fleetwood Mac gave them a whole other dimension. Kirwan had been recruited in August 1968, after impressing as an 18-year-old prodigy in south London trio Boilerhouse. His arrival allowed Green to inch away from the restrictive blues purism of Fleetwood Mac’s early oeuvre, beginning with languid instrumental hit “Albatross”.
His contributions to 1969’s Then Play On offered a more melodic, folk-rooted alternative to Green’s improvised blues lines, while the animated “coming Your Way” saw his fluid phrasing tied to a semi-tribal rhythm.
Despite a healthy appreciation of each other’s guitar capabilities, the temperamental Kirwan endured a difficult working relationship with Green. When the latter quit Fleetwood Mac a year later, Kirwan took a more central role for Kiln House and wrote the superlative 1971 single “Dragonfly”.
His time with the band came to a messy end 12 months later, during the American tour to promote Bare Trees, when his increasingly fragile state and heavy drinking resulted in an altercation with the band’s other guitarist at the time, Bob Welch. Mick Fleetwood sacked him, after which Kirwan embarked on a half-hearted solo career that delivered three low-selling albums in the late ’70s.
The ensuing years saw his mental health deteriorate badly and he spent a considerable amount of time living homeless in London. In a statement, Mick Fleetwood wrote: “Danny’s true legacy, in my mind, will forever live on in the music he wrote and played so beautifully as a part of the foundation of Fleetwood Mac, that has now endured for over 50 years.”