Jeremy Spencer (born Jeremy Cedric Spencer in Hartlepool on 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the band until his abrupt departure in February 1971 when he joined the "Children of God", a new religious movement now known as "The Family International", with which he is still affiliated.
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Jeremy Spencer (born Jeremy Cedric Spencer in Hartlepool on 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the band until his abrupt departure in February 1971 when he joined the "Children of God", a new religious movement now known as "The Family International", with which he is still affiliated. After a pair of solo albums in the 1970s, he continued to tour as a musician but did not release another album until 2006. He released further solo albums from 2012 onwards and has also recorded as part of the folk trio Steetley. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Elmore James was the young Spencer's chief influence, and it was his ability to reproduce James' distinct slide guitar sound that brought him into the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac. He left the group midway through their 1971 U.S. tour, having joined a Christian group after professing to feel spiritually undernourished following the band's success. After 30 years without an official album release, Spencer returned with a new album 'Precious Little', released in 2006 by Bluestown Records/Blind Pig. Dan Forte of Vintage Guitar, November 2006, stated, "Purely on its musical merits, the album, which teams Spencer with Trond Ytterbo's Norwegian blues band, would rank as the blues comeback album of the year, at the very least. Add Spencer's back-story, and it may well be the pop music comeback of the past several decades." "Precious Little" was indeed nominated as Blues Comeback Album on the year. In 1998 Spencer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with the founding and present members of Fleetwood Mac. In recent years, Spencer has performed at festivals and shows in France, Switzerland, Holland, Poland, Denmark, Mexico, Czech Republic and the USA. Referring to Spencer ’s live performances, Art Tipaldi, editor for Blues Revue, commented, “Jeremy has lost none of the fire from the Fleetwood Mac days. His slide guitar still sends chills. Every note I've heard Jeremy play showcases his great commitment to the blues. I've seen him ignite the stage with a mixture of classic Chicago blues and smart contemporary songs." In 2010 Spencer recorded 32 new tracks with a team of Detroit musicians, the first release on Propelz label is entitled "Bend in the Road", the double LP was released April 21, 2012 for International Record Store Day and the CD is set for release on August 28th, 2012. The material comprises traditional Blues and original compositions, some of which are instrumentals. During 2012–13, Spencer became involved with Hartlepool-based singer-songwriter Andy Oliver, and they eventually decided to record songs together. They formed a trio named Steetley, along with the Northern Irish musician and actress Janet Bamford, and in December 2013, released their debut album, The Moment She Fell. Since then Spencer has concentrated on instrumental work. Homebrewed Blues (2016) showcases his slide guitar playing, whereas Treading Softly (2018) and Latina Nights (2019) focuses on music inspired by Ireland and Latin America respectively. On 26 February 2020, he made an appearance at the Peter Green tribute concert, making his first stage appearance with Mick Fleetwood in 49 years. Several of Spencer's children formed a band called JYNXT.
