Fleetwood Mac‘s Danny Kirwan has died, the band have confirmed.

The former guitarist recorded five studio albums with the band, joining them in 1968 when he was just 18-years-old.

Kirwan left Fleetwood Mac during their Bare Trees tour in 1972, due to alcoholism. They paid tribute to their former member with a Facebook post, which you can read below.


“DANNY KIRWAN

MAY 13, 1950 ~ JUNE 8, 2018

A TRIBUTE FROM

MICK FLEETWOOD AND FLEETWOOD MAC

Today was greeted by the sad news of the passing of Danny Kirwan in London, England. Danny was a huge force in our early years. 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!

~Mick Fleetwood and Fleetwood Mac

ALBUMS FEATURING THE WORK OF DANNY KIRWAN:

Then Play On ​1969

Blues Jam at Chess​1969

Kiln House​1970

Future Games​1971

Bare Trees​1972″

Kirwan’s cause of death has not been announced. After his departure from Fleetwood Mac, the guitarist released four solo albums.

However, due to ongoing mental health issues, he left the music industry by the end of the 1970s. According to Pitchfork, it was revealed in 1993 that the former guitarist had been living in a homeless shelter.


Meanwhile, Lindsey Buckingham spoke out about his firing from Fleetwood Mac for the first time, last month.

“It’s been an interesting time on a lot of levels. For me, personally, probably some of you know that for the last three months I have sadly taken leave of my band of 43 years, Fleetwood Mac. This was not something that was really my doing or my choice,” he said.

He continued: “I think what you would say is that there were factions within the band that had lost their perspective. The point is that they’d lost their perspective. What that did was to harm – and this is the only I’m really sad about, the rest of it becomes an opportunity – it harmed the 43-year legacy that we had worked so hard to build, and that legacy was really about rising above difficulties in order to fulfil one’s higher truth and one’s higher destiny.”