In 1974, Fleetwood Mac found themselves at the centre of one of rock music's strangest scandals. A replacement band was touring America under their name, their manager was claiming ownership of the group, and the real musicians were fighting to regain control of their identity.
Picture turning up to a Fleetwood Mac concert, expecting to see Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie, only to discover that not one of them was onstage.
It sounds like the premise of an elaborate practical joke. Yet that's precisely what happened in January 1974, when an entirely different group of musicians began performing under the Fleetwood Mac name.
And the person responsible wasn't some opportunistic promoter or tribute act organiser. It was Fleetwood Mac's own manager.
A Band Already Falling Apart
To understand how the extraordinary situation developed, it's worth remembering that Fleetwood Mac were a very different band in the early 1970s.
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham hadn't yet joined. Their reputation rested largely on their British blues roots, although successive line-up changes had gradually pushed their music towards a more melodic rock sound.
The departure of founding guitarist Peter Green in 1970 had been followed by Jeremy Spencer's abrupt exit in 1971 and Danny Kirwan's dismissal in 1972.
By late 1973, the band were touring America to promote their eighth studio album, Mystery to Me.
Then came another spectacular falling-out.
Mick Fleetwood discovered that guitarist Bob Weston had been having an affair with his wife, Jenny Boyd.
Weston was dismissed, Fleetwood was devastated, and the remaining American tour dates were cancelled.
For manager Clifford Davis, the collapse created an expensive problem. Venues had been booked, promoters were expecting concerts, and abandoning the tour threatened to damage his reputation.
Rather than accepting the cancellations, Davis devised an extraordinary alternative.
He would assemble another Fleetwood Mac.
The Manager Who Replaced the Entire Band
Davis recruited five musicians to fulfil the band's outstanding American commitments.
Singer Elmer Gantry, guitarist Kirby Gregory, bassist Paul Martinez, keyboard player John Wilkinson and drummer Craig Collinge became the new touring line-up.
None had previously been a member of Fleetwood Mac.
Davis maintained that he controlled the group's name and therefore had the authority to decide who performed under it.
The replacement musicians, however, later insisted they hadn't knowingly agreed to impersonate the established band.
According to Gantry and Gregory, they'd been led to believe that Mick Fleetwood himself would join them.
His participation would have given the new line-up at least some connection to the genuine group.
But when the musicians arrived in America, Fleetwood was nowhere to be seen.
They were reportedly assured he'd appear at a later concert.
He never did.
The Concert That Exposed Everything
The replacement Fleetwood Mac began their American tour in Pittsburgh on 16 January 1974.
Concert promoter Rich Engler had worked with the real Fleetwood Mac before.
When five unfamiliar musicians arrived, he initially assumed they were members of the road crew.
He asked Clifford Davis when Fleetwood Mac would be arriving.
Davis informed him that the musicians standing before him were the band.
Engler was understandably furious.
Nevertheless, the performance went ahead.
And in one of the strangest details of the entire affair, the replacement musicians were apparently quite good.
They were experienced performers, capable of delivering an entertaining blues-rock show.
Some audiences enjoyed the concerts, while others questioned why none of the musicians resembled the people they'd paid to see.
The tour continued through January and into February.
But the controversy was gathering momentum, and the genuine Fleetwood Mac weren't prepared to surrender their name.
Fleetwood Mac Versus Fleetwood Mac
Guitarist Bob Welch became instrumental in organising the real band's response.
The musicians challenged Davis's claim to the Fleetwood Mac name, triggering a complicated legal dispute.
The manager argued that his role in developing and promoting the group gave him rights over its identity.
The band disagreed.
After all, Fleetwood Mac had been named after Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, both of whom remained members.
The dispute wasn't simply about replacing individual musicians. It raised a much bigger question: could a manager effectively take control of an established rock band's name and replace every performer?
As the controversy attracted publicity, the replacement group's position became increasingly uncomfortable.
Despite completing around 15 American appearances, the experiment eventually collapsed.
The musicians subsequently went their separate ways, while the legal arguments continued.
The real Fleetwood Mac ultimately retained control of their name, although the dispute disrupted their ability to tour and complicated their business affairs.
The Unexpected Road to Rumours
Remarkably, the scandal indirectly helped reshape Fleetwood Mac's future.
Bob Welch encouraged the group to establish greater control over its affairs and relocate its operations to California.
The move brought them closer to the American music industry and the scene that would transform their fortunes.
In late 1974, Welch departed.
Mick Fleetwood subsequently approached guitarist Lindsey Buckingham about joining the group.
Buckingham insisted that his musical partner and girlfriend, Stevie Nicks, should join too.
Both became members in 1975.
The following year, Fleetwood Mac began recording Rumours, an album shaped by another extraordinary period of romantic breakdowns and personal turmoil.
Released in 1977, it would become one of the most successful albums in rock history.
Rock's Most Unbelievable Identity Crisis?
The fake Fleetwood Mac scandal remains remarkable because of just how far it went.
An established band's manager assembled five replacement musicians, arranged American concerts and insisted that he had the authority to use the group's name.
Fans purchased tickets expecting Fleetwood Mac, only to encounter performers with no previous connection to the band.
Yet the musicians themselves maintained that they'd been misled about Mick Fleetwood's involvement, an account that remains disputed.
What followed was a legal confrontation that helped force Fleetwood Mac to reconsider who controlled their future.
Within a year, the group would welcome Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham and begin its transformation into one of the world's biggest rock acts.
But for a brief period in 1974, there were effectively two Fleetwood Macs.
And the one touring America didn't contain a single genuine member.
For more extraordinary stories about rock music's greatest feuds, scandals and controversies, explore Rocktee's rock history collection.
Bands in this article:Fleetwood Mac