Danny Kirwan, a singer-songwriter and guitarist best known for his work with Fleetwood Mac during the legendary band’s nascent stages, has assed away in London at the age of 68. It was in a Facebook post that Fleetwood Mac confirmed the news without getting into any cause of death.
“Danny was a huge force in our early years,” read the statement addressed by the band and co-founder Mick Fleetwood. “His love for the Blues led him to being asked to join Fleetwood Mac in 1968, where he made his musical home for many years.”
“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 fifty years. Thank you, Danny Kirwan. You will forever be missed!”
Kirwan, who began with Fleetwood Mac at the age of 18, earned credits for his role in the band’s No. 1 single “albatross,” and recorded a total of five albums with the group, including the Peter Green’s last album with the group, 1969’s Then Play On, and Christine McVie’s first, 1970’s Kiln House.
While struggling with alcoholism during the “Bare Trees” 1972 tour, Kirwan was fired. He battled homelessness in the 80s and 90s and was among the eight members of the band who were inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1998, although he did not attend the ceremony.
