Danny Kirwan -

Danny Kirwan (1950–2018) was an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter who (at 18) joined Fleetwood Mac for their 1968 second album Mr. Wonderful and featured in the 1969–72 lineups responsible for the albums Then Play On, Kiln House, Future Games, and Bare Trees.

As a solo artist, Kirwan debuted with the 1975 DJM release Second Chapter, followed by the 1976–79 titles Midnight in San Juan and Hello There Big Boy!

Background

He was born Daniel David Kirwan on May 13, 1950, in Brixton, London; raised in a musical household shaped by his mother’s singing and an early exposure to pre-war jazz and vocal harmony groups, which set a foundation distinct from the post-blues revival around him.

Kirwan took up guitar in his mid-teens and progressed rapidly, absorbing the clean attack of Hank Marvin, the fluid phrasing of Django Reinhardt, the volatility of Jimi Hendrix, and the disciplined intensity of Eric Clapton during his Bluesbreakers period. By seventeen, he fronted the blues trio Boilerhouse, whose London club appearances placed him directly in the orbit of Fleetwood Mac during their regular circuit.

Boilerhouse supported Fleetwood Mac at venues including the Nag’s Head in Battersea and the Marquee, where Kirwan’s controlled vibrato and touch-based tremolo drew immediate attention. Producer Mike Vernon and drummer Mick Fleetwood both noted the unusual focus and intensity of his playing, which contrasted with the heavier blues phrasing common at the time. Kirwan became a constant presence at the band’s shows, assisting with equipment and joining informal soundcheck sessions, where his musical rapport with lead guitarist Peter Green quickly became apparent.

Green, already looking to expand the band’s harmonic range beyond strict blues forms, identified Kirwan as a complementary partner and invited the teenager into Fleetwood Mac, expanding the group to a three-guitar lineup.

Fleetwood Mac Tenure

Danny Kirwan joined Fleetwood Mac in August 1968 at age eighteen. His first appearance coincided with their August 24 Hyde Park performance and the Mr. Wonderful tour. Though not present on that album, Kirwan made an immediate studio impact with the November 1968 release of “Albatross,” contributing the b-side “Jigsaw Puzzle Blues,” a ragtime guitar showcase that marked his recording debut with the band. He followed with three new originals—“Something Inside of Me,” “One Sunny Day,” and “Without You”—on English Rose, the 1969 US compilation that introduced Kirwan to the American audience.

He contributed heavily to their September 1969 album Then Play On, writing and singing “Coming Your Way,” “When You Say,” “Although the Sun Is Shining,” “Like Crying” (co-sung with Peter Green), and two holdovers from English Rose. He also composed the instrumentals “My Dream” and “Without You,” and played on the Green-penned “Oh Well,” “The Green Manalishi,” and both tracks from Blues Jam at Chess recorded with Chicago blues legends.

Kirwan’s role expanded further after Green’s departure in mid-1970. On Kiln House (September 1970), he supplied the upbeat “Tell Me All the Things You Do,” the wistful instrumental “Earl Gray,” and co-wrote “Station Man” and “Jewel Eyed Judy.” During this period, he also recorded the standalone single “Dragonfly” with Fleetwood and McVie, adapting a 1927 W.H. Davies poem to music. With the addition of Christine McVie and Bob Welch, Kirwan remained the band’s central songwriter across two studio albums: Future Games (September 1971) and Bare Trees (March 1972). On Future Games, he wrote and sang the opening track “Woman of 1000 Years,” the seven-minute centerpiece “Sands of Time,” and the side two ballad “Sometimes.” On Bare Trees, he contributed five of the album’s ten tracks: “Child of Mine,” the title track, “Danny’s Chant,” “Dust,” and the instrumental “Sunny Side of Heaven.”

By mid-1972, internal tensions and heavy touring pushed Kirwan to a breaking point. His behavior grew erratic during the Bare Trees tour, culminating in an outburst that led to his dismissal just before a scheduled performance. Though his tenure ended abruptly, Kirwan had by then written or co-written more than twenty Fleetwood Mac songs and shaped the band’s post-Green identity with his delicate vocal tone, layered guitar voicings, and restrained compositional style.

Second Chapter

Danny Kirwan released his debut solo album, Second Chapter, in December 1975 on DJM.

The album presents a softer, melodic departure from his earlier blues-based material, with layered acoustic textures and a clean, uncluttered production. Kirwan interacts fluidly with pianist Paul Raymond (ex-Chicken Shack, Savoy Brown), whose chordal grounding enhances the contour of Kirwan’s guitar voicings and vocal phrasing. Guitar lines weave with Raymond’s piano on tracks like “Silver Streams,” while Gerry Shury’s string arrangements subtly elevate select passages without overshadowing the central trio.

Second Chapter moves in short, acoustic-led forms with soft instrumental layers and clipped pacing. Kirwan plays with restraint, letting strings and piano carry much of the movement. “Silver Streams” closes with slow-fading phrases over rolling chords. “Odds and Ends” and “Falling in Love With You” skip along brisk patterns with light vocal cadence. “Hot Summer Day” opens wider, with drawn-out phrasing and orchestral lift. “Love Can Always Bring You Happiness” and the title track carry the most shaped vocal lines, while “Cascades” and “Lovely Days” slow the tempo into blurred contours. The album favors tone over force, building contrast through texture and placement.

A1. “Ram Jam City” (2:48)
A2. “Odds and Ends” (2:31)
A3. “Hot Summer Day” (2:40)
A4. “Mary Jane” (2:54)
A5. “Skip a Dee Doo” (2:39)
A6. “Love Can Always Bring You Happiness” (3:12)

B1. “Second Chapter” (3:24)
B2. “Lovely Days” (2:26)
B3. “Falling in Love With You” (2:16)
B4. “Silver Streams” (3:27)
B5. “Best Girl in the World” (2:31)
B6. “Cascades” (3:10)

Kirwan recorded Second Chapter between 1973 and 1974 under the guidance of producer–engineer Martin Rushent, who worked closely with ex-Fleetwood Mac manager Clifford Davis on the project. The album features contributions from Chicken Shack bassist Andy Silvester and two drummers—Geoff Britton (Easy of Eden, Wings) and Jim Russell (Curved Air, Stretch)—with Russell also handling percussion. Gerry Shury arranged the strings on select tracks, adding a gentle orchestral sheen to Kirwan’s compositions.

“Ram Jam City” appeared in alternate demo form on Ram Jam City, a 2000 CD release compiling Kirwan’s home-recorded sessions. In 1976, “Best Girl in the World” backed a US single featuring Fleetwood Mac’s earlier hit “Man of the World.”

Midnight in San Juan

Danny Kirwan released his second album, Midnight in San Juan, in 1976 on DJM.

The album leans into light, rhythmic arrangements with understated instrumental layering, shaped around Kirwan’s interwoven acoustic and electric guitar textures. Keyboardist John Cook (Slack Alice, Kestrel) supports the melodic frame with restrained piano lines that thread through Kirwan’s chordal changes and motifs. Steve Emery and Jeff Rich, both from Stretch, supply the core backing, with Emery occasionally reinforcing the melodic contour alongside Kirwan’s phrasing.

Midnight in San Juan alternates between light ballads, drifting instrumentals, and two sharper tracks that push harder against the tempo. “Life Machine” and “Castaway” open with clipped electric riffs and pivot into acoustic stretches with quick harmonic turns. “Midnight in San Juan” centers on a clipped synth motif, while “Rolling Hills” floats over open chords and soft tonal shifts. “Angel’s Delight,” “Windy Autumn Day,” and “Misty River” keep to low-intensity textures, shaped by acoustic framing, brushed keys, and long vocal arcs. “Let It Be” reworks the original with syncopated rhythm and clean ensemble lines. Electric piano, synth, and guitar trade lead lines across the set, while Kirwan’s vocals rise and fall in measured steps.

A1. “I Can Tell” (3:02)
A2. “Life Machine” (2:26)
A3. “Midnight in San Juan” (2:38)
A4. “Let It Be” (2:28) – Lennon, McCartney
A5. “Angel’s Delight” (2:47)
A6. “Windy Autumn Day” (2:38)

B1. “Misty River” (3:59)
B2. “Rolling Hills” (2:25)
B3. “I Can’t Let You Go” (2:42)
B4. “Look Around You” (3:09) – Dave Walker
B5. “Castaway” (3:47)

Clifford Davis produced the album and coordinated the sessions with Stretch members as Kirwan’s studio band. Engineering was handled by Louie Austin and Simon Davis, with sleeve design by McKinley/Howell. Kirwan recorded the album during 1976 for initial UK issue, followed by a North American release in May 1977 under the title Danny Kirwan, which repackaged the album with new artwork and liner text by Michael Hogan.

“Let It Be” appeared as a US single with a reggae-inflected arrangement distinct from the original, while “Misty River” also saw single release. Neither charted, but both received attention for their stylistic departures and inclusion of material from outside writers, including Dave Walker’s “Look Around You.”

Hello There Big Boy!

Danny Kirwan released his third album, Hello There Big Boy!, in May 1979 on DJM.

The album presents a polished, pop-leaning sound shaped through layered arrangements and a broader pool of collaborators than Kirwan’s prior releases. John Cook and newcomer Kevin Kitchen share keyboard duties, with electric piano figures alternating with fuller chordal backdrops that support interlocking guitar parts from Kirwan and Kirby Gregory. Their interplay ranges from clean rhythm textures to contrasting acoustic leads, including Kirwan’s own solo on “Summer Days and Summer Nights.”

Hello There Big Boy! moves in soft arcs and restrained shifts, shaped by layered arrangements that fold Kirwan’s guitar into the ensemble rather than placing it out front. “End Up Crying” anchors the album with interlocked electric pianos from Cook and Kitchen, compact guitar lines, and a rising vocal that leans against a mid-tempo pulse. “California” and “Spaceman” hold to the same pacing, with “Spaceman” thickened by low-register guitar and slow-moving keyboard textures. “Caroline” unfolds over strings, its long phrases and delayed cadences deepening the emotional weight. “Only You” sharpens the focus with jagged rhythm figures while “Summer Days and Summer Nights” ends the sequence on a brighter turn, framed by a two-voice duet and softened chordal backing.

Bob Weston—the onetime Ashkan guitarist who served Fleetwood Mac between the tenures of Kirwan and Lindsey Buckingham—plays lead on “Wings of a Dove” and “You.”

A1. “Wings of a Dove” (2:52)
A2. “Gettin’ the Feelin’” (3:46)
A3. “End Up Crying” (3:51)
A4. “Caroline” (3:08)
A5. “You” (3:42)

B1. “Only You” (3:52)
B2. “California” (2:35)
B3. “Spaceman” (3:18)
B4. “Summer Days and Summer Nights” (3:32)

Sessions took place in January 1979 at Kingsway Recorders, London, with final mixing completed at DJM Studios. Clifford Davis produced the album under his own name and also co-wrote two tracks, including “Caroline” with Kirwan, and “California” with Dana Gillespie, who sings a duet on the closing track. Kirwan recorded the foundational tracks with a core group that included bassist Tex Comer, drummer Fran Byrne, and percussionist Chris Fletcher, before Davis added arrangements with brass, strings, and background vocals from Tony Rivers, Stuart Calver, and John Perry. Contributions from Gregory and Weston augmented the electric guitar passages, though Kirwan is confirmed to have played the acoustic lead on “Summer Days and Summer Nights.”

“Only You,” an earlier Fleetwood Mac number, appeared as a single with “Caroline” on the B-side. Though unreleased by Fleetwood Mac at the time, their original version surfaced later on Live in Boston and Live at the BBC. Kirwan’s version offered a revised arrangement tailored to the album’s studio environment.

Later Life

After leaving the music industry in 1979, Kirwan withdrew almost completely from public life as longstanding mental health struggles and alcoholism intensified. The pressures he absorbed at a young age—first as a rapidly elevated band member, then as a principal songwriter after Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer exited Fleetwood Mac—left him ill‑equipped to manage fame or instability. By the early 1980s, he ceased recording, avoided interviews, and drifted through London with little contact beyond sporadic encounters with former bandmates, living largely on social support and residual royalties.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, Kirwan experienced prolonged periods of homelessness, moving between hostels and park benches while remaining detached from the music world he once helped shape. Occasional attempts by friends and former colleagues to reconnect revealed a private, fragile figure who avoided sustained engagement and creative activity.

In 2000, shortly after his fiftieth birthday, he entered a residential care facility in south London, where he lived quietly, played guitar in isolation, and received visits from family and a small circle of acquaintances. Though inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 as part of Fleetwood Mac, he did not attend the ceremony, marking the final separation between his public legacy and his withdrawn later life. He died in his sleep on June 8, 2018, aged 68.

Discography: