Jeremy Spencer was born on July 4, 1948 in West Hartlepool, Cleveland, England, UK . He grew up listening to early rock and roll (Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly etc.) then after discovering Elmore James -- got seriously into the blues.
Jeremy then formed a trio called The Levi Set and sent a tape to famed blues-era Mac producer Mike Vernon. Mike thought Jeremy was terrific but didn't like the drummer & bass player in his band.
At that same time, Peter Green was looking for a guitarist
for his new band called Fleetwood Mac. Vernon took it upon himself to introduce
slide guitarist Jeremy to Peter. Peter was impressed with the young Spencer and immediately asked him to join
Fleetwood Mac.
In the beginning, they performed as "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac featuring Jeremy Spencer". After about a month they had their first gig at the famous "Windsor National Jazz and Blues Festival". The Fleetwood Mac buzz had begun.
The band did release a single at that time -- "I Believe My Time Ain't Long"/"Rambling Pony" but didn't release an album until "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac". This first album did surprisingly well and stayed on the British charts for over a year.
The second single, "Black Magic Woman" flopped, but a third single, an instrumental called "Albatross" found its way to number one. A moody, beautiful piece, it was the first sign that Fleetwood Mac was moving beyond the confines of the blues. With "Albatross" firmly planted at number one, the band headed to the States for their first American tour.
The second Fleetwood Mac album released was "Mr. Wonderful". It was on that album that Jeremy re-recorded "I Believe My Time Ain't Long" but renamed it "Dust My Broom". While touring the States again, the band played a jam-session with some of the great blues legends like Otis Spann and Willie Dixon. The tracks they worked on during that time can be heard on "Blues Jam At Chess".
While with Fleetwood Mac, in 1970, Jeremy recorded a self-titled solo album in a way to make up for the fact that he did not play on "Then Play On" which came out a year earlier. An EP of Jeremy's work was also supposed to have been released at that time but that didn't happen either. The material from that EP has since surfaced on Fleetwood Mac's “Vaudeville Years” CD.
During this early 70's period, it was becoming more and more apparent that Jeremy was not happy in the lifestyle he was immersed in and was trying to 'find himself'. Like everyone else around Jeremy at the time, Mick Fleetwood noticed the change in the young guitarist and suggested that he write a song about he felt. The result was a track called "One Together" which can be heard on The Mac's Kiln House album.
While in LA and visiting a bookstore in the daytime (when scheduled to play with Fleetwood Mac that night), Jeremy met a member of a religious cult called The Children of God. This happenstance meeting proved to be all Jeremy needed to change his life completely in an instant. Apparently this is where he felt his life should be at the time and he decided to withdraw from Fleetwood Mac and society in general.
Jeremy's bandmates in Fleetwood Mac contacted the police soon after, having no idea what had happened to their friend and bandmate. They ended up finding Jeremy at the Children of God 'headquarters'. Fleetwood Mac's manager Clifford Davis did get to speak to Jeremy. He discovered that he was indeed with that group because he wanted to be. The band had no choice but to accept the situation and move on. Jeremy would be sorely missed.
Jeremy did not give up music completely though. He did record an album called “Jeremy Spencer and the Children” in 1972. Then came "Flee" in 1979. The latter release featured a song called "Sunshine" which in essence was a re-worked version of “When I Looked to See the Sunshine” from the “Jeremy Spencer and the Children” album.
In 1992, “Don’t Go Please Stay” & “You Made A Hit” from Jeremy's self titled 1970 solo album on Reprise appeared on the CD that accompanied the original hard cover edition of Mick’s “My 25 Years In Fleetwood Mac” book. It was a nice gesture although in Mick’s introductory speech on the disc, he mistakenly refers to them as being Fleetwood Mac tracks “never heard by anybody before”.
Then believe it or not, we didn't hear from Jeremy again until 1999. A live cd documenting Spencers tour through India was released that year but only in India and Thailand. On the cd he performs “It Hurts Me Too” which, interestingly enough, was a song covered by the Bluesbreakers when Peter Green, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood were with John Mayall.
Recently, Jeremy got together with Mick Fleetwood to add a track to a various artists album called “Gaia”. The track they teamed up to do was an instrumental called “Maria de Santiago”. Jeremy also played on the Zucchero/Anggun track from the album called "World". Though the CD has yet to receive a US release (as it was claimed it would), it did get released in the UK in 2003.
Spencer has made it clear over the years that he has never regretted joining The Children of God or leaving Fleetwood Mac. He reportedly is still active with the religious sect although conflicting rumors abound as to his whereabouts and relationship with the organization. We've heard everything from him having had a falling with the group to them changing their name to 'The Family" to him living in a commune with his wife Fiona and numerous offspring.
Although his personal situation at times may seem unclear, his professional contributions to Fleetwood Mac and to the world are profound and undeniable.
Research: John Fitzgerald
Written by: Jan Freedland & John Fitzgerald
If you have any interesting facts or insights that you'd like to add to Jeremy's bio, please drop us a line.