Dreams

The Many Lives of Fleetwood Mac

Mark Blake

An illuminating deep-dive into everything Fleetwood Mac—the songs, the rivalries, the successes, and the failures—Dreams evokes the band's entire musical catalog as well as the complex human drama at the heart of the Fleetwood Mac story.

Fleetwood Mac has had a ground-breaking career spanning over fifty years and includes some of the best-selling albums and greatest hits of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. But the band's unique story is one of enormous triumph and also deep tragedy. There has never been a band in the history of music riven with as much romantic drama, sexual tension, and incredible highs and lows as Fleetwood Mac.

Dreams is a must-read for casual Fleetwood Mac fans and die-hard devotees alike. Presenting mini-biographies, observations, and essays, Mark Blake explores all eras of the Fleetwood Mac story to explore what it is that has made them one of the most successful bands in history.

Blake draws on his own exclusive interviews with Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and the late Peter Green and Christine McVie, and addresses the complex human drama at the heart of the Fleetwood Mac story, including the complicated relationships between the band's main members, but he also dives deep into the towering discography that the band has built over the past half-century.

Among Mark Blake's previous books are Magnifico!: The A to Z of Queen; the bestselling Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd; and Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin and Beyond, which was listed as a "Music Book of the Year" by The London Times, the Sunday Times, the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. Mark lives in England. 

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Endorsements & Reviews

“Filled with compelling prose and insight. Mr. Blake is a dedicated reporter and a fine stylist who makes for a companionable and entertaining trail guide through the thicket of fact and myth surrounding the band.” The Wall Street Journal

“Dreams delves into Fleetwood Mac’s storied past and the enduring appeal of the band’s music. Many musicians passed through the revolving door that led to the formation and collapse of the various Fleetwood Macs. Blake will guide you through all the hirings and firings, the couplings and uncouplings, the rivers of liquor and mountains of cocaine that went down throats and up noses, with plentiful stops along the way at the studios where the magic happened.” The Washington Post

"Affairs, of course, abound, the most famous being between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, and it is fair to say that tumult both produced memorable music and exploded the group. If you are a Fleetwood Mac fan, then Dreams will satisfy every ounce of your passion." Air Mail

“A kaleidoscopic chronicle of one of rock’s most fabled groups. In loose, episodic sections drawing on interviews with bandmembers, Blake analyzes the makings of their famous and lesser-known songs; dissects their romantic rivalries; and traces the destructive effects of the rock and roll lifestyle. It’s a colorful account of a fascinating chapter in rock history.” Publishers Weekly

“An excellent history.” The Guardian

"Dreams is the perfect guide to the decades of dysfunction, drama and dreaming that underpinned the labyrinthine soap opera of Fleetwood Mac. It is an engrossing, eye-opening window into the whirlwind world of 1970s rock, when life was both innocent and debauched and painful, failing relationships could produce timeless, laid-back musical perfection." John Higgs, author of Love and Let Die: James Bond, the Beatles, and the British Psyche 

"Fleetwood Mac’s songs are about many things, but inner turmoil and broken relationships top the list. Based on original interviews and eyewitness accounts, Blake's chronicle charts the band’s journeys from London to California, from British blues to West Coast rock while also discussing individual albums and songs. In this fun and eccentric account of an eccentric rock band, Blake helps readers understand how a clash of egos and cultures generated music that survived all the drama and continues to find new fans today." Booklist

“A refreshing approach, highlighting oblique connections, odd legacies and echoes. Blake undertakes a thorough journey around Fleetwood Mac and their turbulent personalities. An entertaining unpicking of rocks most tangled webs.” MOJO Magazine