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Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)

25 Jul 20 - 12:25 PM (#4065797)
Subject: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: John MacKenzie

Sad passing of a great player, from a magic group.


25 Jul 20 - 12:55 PM (#4065801)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: Bonzo3legs

Yes, a great player indeed RIP.


25 Jul 20 - 01:30 PM (#4065807)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: GUEST,Gilly

Sad news, it's impossible to overstate his influence on a whole generation of guitar players.He had a beautiful voice too. His music will live on.RIP.


25 Jul 20 - 01:31 PM (#4065808)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: Mrrzy

Nice view here.

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album was the first rock&roll record in our Abidjan house. One of my sisters brought it home from college. It is *still* one of the best albums I have ever heard.


25 Jul 20 - 01:45 PM (#4065811)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: GUEST,keberoxu

A brief brilliant career,
and a lifetime of suffering.
Listen to his "Albatross" and imagine his spirit
freed and flying.
Safe journey home, Peter Green.


25 Jul 20 - 01:51 PM (#4065812)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: Bee-dubya-ell

I had the pleasure of seeing the Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac when I was in college. It was a four-band evening also featuring Long John Baldry, Uriah Heep, and Procol Harum. All put on by the university with free admission for full-time students.


25 Jul 20 - 02:47 PM (#4065816)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: pdq

There is a full concert from 1967 on You Tube...

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (feat. Peter Green) ~ Live In 1967 ( Full Album )

Great tone and great ideas yet he was just 20.


25 Jul 20 - 03:21 PM (#4065821)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: John MacKenzie

Peter Green took over from Eric Clapton when Clapton left the Bluesbreakers, one of my favourite British blues groups. I still have a very stretchy cassette of Blues from Laurel Canyon. It was later that he met Mick Fleetwood, and they went on to form Fleetwood Mac.


25 Jul 20 - 03:57 PM (#4065824)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: Gallus Moll

RIP Peter Green, your music was a big influence on me during my student days - and I used Albatross for creative dance classes for years after I started teaching! Fly high on the wings of that bird, hope your soul finally finds peace. Thank you for the music....


25 Jul 20 - 04:00 PM (#4065825)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: David Carter (UK)

Great, great guitarist. With the death of Danny Kirwan a couple of years ago we have now lost two of the five from the classic Fleetwood Mac lineup. However Peter Green did a lot more than this, it was he who prompted John Mayall to make the comment on Eric Clapton's departure from the Bluesbreakers "Don't worry, we've got someone better". And later despite his well documented health problems, he recorded some great stuff, including a full album of Robert Johnson songs.


25 Jul 20 - 04:05 PM (#4065826)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: David Carter (UK)

But, Mrzzy, I don't think he had anything to do with Rumours. Their classic guitarists (Green, Spencer, Kirwan) had all left by then.


25 Jul 20 - 04:07 PM (#4065827)
Subject: RE: Obit: RIP Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac.
From: fat B****rd

RIP Mr. Green


25 Jul 20 - 05:21 PM (#4065832)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: GUEST,Roger

RIP Peter.


25 Jul 20 - 08:51 PM (#4065850)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: keberoxu

I've printed out a paper copy of the obituary and will attempt
to copy it in this post.

From the London Sunday Times

Peter Green, the Fleetwood Mac founder who dropped out, dies at 73

by Rosamund Urwin and Grant Tucker
26 July, 2020

He was the musician who encouraged a generation of teenagers to pick up the guitar, but Peter Green's own career was marred by psychedelic drugs and mental illness.
Last night, the world of rock and blues was in mourning after the death of the Fleetwood Mac co-founder at the age of 73. Green, nicknamed the Green God by fans, formed the band with drummer Mick Fleetwood and bass guitarist John McVie in London in 1967. He was so instrumental in the band's early years that its original name was Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Their greatest hits included Albatross, Man of the World, Oh Well and The Green Manalishi. After he left the band, he missed out on their biggest success, the 1977 Rumours album.

To some music fans, Green -- born Peter Greenbaum in Bethnal Green in 1946 -- was the best of the British blues guitarists, even greater than Eric Clapton. The singer-songwriter B. B. King once said that Green "has the sweetest tone I ever heard. He was the only one who gave me the cold sweats."
Cat [Yusuf] Stevens wrote in a tweet last night:
"God bless the ineffable Peter Green, one of the unsung heroes of musical integrity, innovation and spirit ... He became something of a model for me."

Fleetwood Mac enjoyed staggering success, with four hit albums. In 1969, the band sold more records than The Rolling Stones and The Beatles combined, and Green became one of the most famous musicians in Europe. But he left the band at the height of its fame after a final performance in 1970. He said he was leaving the music business "for my freedom", but was also suffering from mental health issues, and was hearing voices. He later had schizophrenia diagnosed.
He had gone off the rails after taking LSD. In 1996, he admitted that the drug had left a lasting impression on him. "I'm still there ... I never did come back off the trip. I guess I took one trip too many," he told the Daily Telegraph.

While on tour in Munich, Germany, to promote their third album, Then Play On, matters came to a head. "Peter took some more drugs," said Mick Fleetwood in the 2012 BBC documentary Man of the World, "and never really came back from that."
Green was met by a group of people Fleetwood referred to as "the German jetset," who whisked him away to a party after their show. "It was a hippie commune sort of thing," said Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer.
"We arrived there, and [road manager] Dennis Keane comes up to me shaking and says 'It's so weird, don't go down there. Pete is weirding out big time and the vibes are just horrible."
Green was already set to leave the band, but this was, said Fleetwood, "the final nail in the coffin". Friends say he was never the same after the "Munich incident". He began to give away his guitars and, after he left the band, had a series of odd jobs, including a gravedigger. In the following years he spent time in various psychiatric hospitals and underwent electro-shock therapy.

Green was never enamoured with either fame or money. As the royalty cheques flooded in as Fleetwood Mac became ever more successful in the 1970s and news fans scoured the back catalogue, Green did not want the cash or the attention. He was trying to enjoy a much simpler life.
Green contacted a former Fleetwood Mac manager about his finances -- because he was upset the money kept pouring in. In January 1977, armed with a shotgun, he went to see his accountant, David Simmons, and threatened to shoot him. The police were called and Green ended up in jail.
"I was quite happy in prison, so I thought I'd be all right," Green said. "But they said, 'You failed the psychiatrist test.' "

He endured long stretches of mental illness and destitution in the 1970s and 1980s, later moved in with his older brother Len, and his mother in their house in Great Yarmouth, where he started to recover.
In 1977, Fleetwood Mac, without Green, released Rumours, which sold more than 45 million copies worldwide.
Green married Jane Samuels in January 1978. The couple had a daughter, Rosebud Samuels-Greenbaum, but divorced in 1979.

With advances in treatments for schizophrenia, he began to recover and took up the guitar again in 1996. He then formed the Peter Green Splinter Group, which recorded nine albums during their time together.
In February [2020], a concert was held at the London Palladium in Green's honour, with performances by rock royalty including Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd, who played a rendition of Albatross, and Noel Gallagher of Oasis, who perfomred three of the band's early acoustic numbers.

Last night, the guitarist Bernie Marsden of the band Whitesnake, who saw him recently, shared his memories of Green in a long tribute on social media.
"I can't quite express my feelings this afternoon after learning of Peter's death," he wrote on Instagram.
"I'm just thinking of the times we spent together in the last couple of years, hanging out with him at his home was very special. There I was, sat with my hero.
"As a musician I can only be one of the millions he touched, his talent for guitar playing, vocals and harmonica would have been more than most people could have possibly wished for, and then you add those wonderful songs, original, vibrant, atmospheric, outright psychedelic and so much fun, to listen to and [to] witness."
The rock singer David Coverdale, formerly of Whitesnake, also paid tribute to Peter Green on Twitter:
"An artist I truly loved and admired from the first time I heard him. I supported the original Fleetwood Mac at Redcar Jazz Club when I was in a local band. He was a breathtaking singer, guitarist and composer."

John McVie, a former bandmate in Fleetwood Mac, previously said of Green:
"He was one of the best, if not the best. That's why it's such a tragedy that it all went the way it did. He could have been so much more."

**keberoxu's own comment:
Green's life story has long been reported with inaccuracies and there are some details that may never get fully set straight; I spy a few such in the Times obit, and other readers may notice more than I did.


25 Jul 20 - 09:46 PM (#4065854)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: Jos

It's strange. I have a clear memory of playing Albatross over and over again at a party in Exeter, but that can't have been later than summer 1965. By 1968 I was in West London with two small children, and parties were out of the question for quite some time. But all the information I find on the internet says Fleetwood Mac was formed in 1967 and Albatross was released in 1968 or 1969.

How can this be? (I had not taken any illegal substances.)


26 Jul 20 - 03:57 AM (#4065877)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: GUEST

I enjoyed the early Green Fleetwood Mac but only saw the great man live once with the Splinter Group, a memorable night.Great loss.
RtS


26 Jul 20 - 03:58 AM (#4065878)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: Roger the Skiffler

Last post was me sans cookie.
RtS


26 Jul 20 - 05:29 AM (#4065887)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: Bonzo3legs

I saw the original FM at Windsor 1967 festival, then several times after John McVie replaced Bob Brunning on bass, always around London at places like The Manor House and Marquee Club.


26 Jul 20 - 05:43 AM (#4065890)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: gillymor

Funny, I read this article about Mr. Green's '59 Les Paul with the turned-around humbucker and a few hours later I learned he had passed on. If I had to pick out a favorite song from the old FM it would probably be Kirwan's "Like it this Way" a great jamming vehicle with that guitar chase, Kirwan laying down a simple riff and PG expanding on it. He was one of my favorites.


26 Jul 20 - 06:11 AM (#4065893)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: GUEST,maj

Jimi Hendrix said that the best three british guitarists were


Eric Clapton
Jeff Beck
Peter Green


26 Jul 20 - 06:12 AM (#4065894)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: JHW

Jos - Sorry but my single of Alabatross, P. A. Green says Produced 1968. Blue Horizon Records/CBS Wonderful.


26 Jul 20 - 06:13 AM (#4065895)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: JHW

Albatross


26 Jul 20 - 06:26 AM (#4065899)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: gillymor

Gosh, the guitar sounds he got on Albatross. I'd heard that he was inspired by Santo and Johnny's Sleepwalk.


26 Jul 20 - 06:38 AM (#4065903)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: GUEST,Clive Pownceby

Such fond memories - Southport Floral Hall with the Bluesbreakers. 7/6d in and no support. Peter was not just just an astonishing player, but what fashion style?! Scuffed plimsolls and a rugby shirt! I'd never liked the game but I went out and bought a similar shirt next day. Such soulfulness in his playing, and it's possible to 'do' excellent blues without the soul element but Peter's playing simply touched you. Mayall always knew what he was doing in that band, always keeping an eye on the horizon in those shifting-sands line-ups.
I was at the first gig at Windsor Fest. too. (Weekend ticket 30/- from the Marquee) That was a mighty debut and later on in the Mac's lifespan you only have to listen to the lyrics of such as 'Man Of The World' and 'Green Manalishi' ("the night is so black that the darkness cooks") to understand the sensitivity that came through his guitar.
Thank you Peter - you hit the spot.


26 Jul 20 - 07:44 AM (#4065909)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: Jos

I shall just have to accept that somehow I was time travelling on nothing stronger than cheap red wine - but the music certainly made a lasting impression.


26 Jul 20 - 08:13 AM (#4065919)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: Bonzo3legs

Clive Pownceby - did you see the second set of Fleetwood Mac at Windsor a little later in a big Marquee? I think The Nice were on too in that Marquee.


26 Jul 20 - 11:49 AM (#4065951)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: GUEST,Clive Pownceby

I have the poster framed on the kitchen wall, it was THAT memorable!
Can't see in the line-up nor recall The Nice but in the afternoon I'd grooved to Donovan and Ottilie Patterson in the sunshine. Memories are a tad hazy but 'The' Cream headlined in the evening and there were all kind of heroes along the lines of Chicken Shack and Pentangle to see - all this for a quid or so?!
Somehow I got a last train back to Waterloo and slept on a luggage trolley on platform 4.
If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me would we? Could we? Erm, yes please.


26 Jul 20 - 01:14 PM (#4065956)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: Bonzo3legs

I remember the Cream set well, rumour had it that their amps were quickly reset to USA lower mains voltage so that they would be just as loud !!


26 Jul 20 - 04:15 PM (#4065978)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: Thompson

Ar slí na fírinne anois é.


26 Jul 20 - 04:34 PM (#4065983)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: Bonzo3legs

pardon??


26 Jul 20 - 05:04 PM (#4065989)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: GUEST,keberoxu

That's lovely, Thompson,
pity the "Translate" link at Mudcat doesn't work for it --

now you are on the way to truth.


26 Jul 20 - 05:58 PM (#4065997)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: Thompson

Now he is on the Way of Truth.


26 Jul 20 - 06:14 PM (#4066001)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: rich-joy

Thanks Tel, for acquainting me with the magic music of Peter Green, all those years ago. Never got to see him or the Mac live, but unforgettable all the same (thank gawd for YouTube now!)

It was only a week ago that I enjoyed Fil's (Wings of Pegasus) analyses of Peter Green's 1969 "Oh Well".
Who knew .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr9BoSYc4hU

Vale, Mr Green.


27 Jul 20 - 08:45 AM (#4066078)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: gillymor

That's one of the heaviest riffs in R&R history.
I love Fil's videos and here's one spotlighting "Like it this Way"
We used to have some marathon jams to this one with plenty of call and response and room for lots of jazzy BBesque licks.


27 Jul 20 - 01:25 PM (#4066139)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: Mr Red

YouTube video tribute


27 Jul 20 - 01:43 PM (#4066143)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: keberoxu

from "Closing My Eyes":

Now I'm back to the time
Where I would search for a dream
But no use to try any more as before
Someday I'll die
Maybe then I'll be with you


Closing My Eyes

this may be one of those tracks on which
Peter Green plays all of the instruments,
including drums. Not certain.


28 Jul 20 - 12:54 PM (#4066303)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: GUEST,keberoxu

Peter Green's family, I suppose,
will keep burial/interment private,
with a separate memorial for the benefit of the public?
Have there been any further statements or announcements?


20 Sep 22 - 04:42 AM (#4153098)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: keberoxu

There is a Peter Green page on Find a Grave,
although no grave is in evidence.
The page does list the location of his death, for what that's worth.

Peter Green [Peter Allen Greenbaum]


20 Sep 22 - 07:46 AM (#4153119)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: GUEST

There is a CD of live performances while in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in 1967, which contains some of the best blues guitar solos ever played.


20 Sep 22 - 08:41 AM (#4153126)
Subject: RE: Obit: Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (1946-2020)
From: gillymor

This could be from that '67 recording with PG going crazy on Freddie King's San Ho Zay