Man of the World (song)
Encyclopedia
"Man of the World" is a song recorded by Fleetwood Mac
in 1969, and composed by vocalist and lead guitarist Peter Green
. It first appeared as a Fleetwood Mac single in various countries in 1969, subsequently appearing on the Greatest Hits
album in 1971. It later featured on the 1992 boxed set 25 Years - The Chain
, and on the 2002 compilation albums The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac
and The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
. A slightly different version of the song was included on the 1998 compilation The Vaudeville Years
.
on the tragic price of fame, leading to frustration and depression.
The single's peak position in the UK Charts
was #2 on 7 June 1969, spending a total of 14 weeks on the chart. It entered the Dutch Top 40
on 26 April 1969 and peaked at #12. It also reached the top 5 in Norway and Ireland.
It was not released in the USA until 1976, when DJM records released it as a single, with different B-sides. It has been also re-released in many countries as a 'Golden Oldies' single.
The B-side of the single was "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite", credited to Earl Vince and the Valiants, in reality Fleetwood Mac performing under a different name. The song was composed and sung by Jeremy Spencer
, the only member of the band who did not appear on the A-side.
as the basis – melody
and the final lyric line – for an album track, "I Wish I Was in Love", on The Lightning Seeds' album Tilt
. The track is accordingly credited as co-written by Peter Green.
The song was used in the 2000 movie Loser
and 2009 movie The Damned United
.
The song was used in a car accident advertisement in Northern Ireland in 2003
The song was also used for Shane Meadows
' This is England '86
during the closing scenes of the first episode in September 2010.
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
in 1969, and composed by vocalist and lead guitarist Peter Green
Peter Green (musician)
Peter Green is a British blues-rock guitarist and the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac...
. It first appeared as a Fleetwood Mac single in various countries in 1969, subsequently appearing on the Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (1971 Fleetwood Mac album)
Greatest Hits was the first hits compilation package from the rock band Fleetwood Mac, covering the period from the band's beginning in 1968 to 1971, mostly in its original incarnation led by guitarist Peter Green...
album in 1971. It later featured on the 1992 boxed set 25 Years - The Chain
25 Years - The Chain
25 Years – The Chain is a compilation album by British-American band Fleetwood Mac originally released in 1992. It consists of four CDs, covering the entire history of the band from its formation in 1967 up to 1992...
, and on the 2002 compilation albums The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac
The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac
The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac is an enhanced compilation album released by rock band Fleetwood Mac in 2002 to promote their then-upcoming album Say You Will . It was released as a double album in the USA, and as a single disc in the United Kingdom. It debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart at...
and The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
The Best Of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac is a compilation featuring tracks from Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green years. The album serves as a digitally remastered replacement for the band's 1971 Greatest Hits album, with the remastering and cover art taken from the 1999 box set The Complete Blue Horizon...
. A slightly different version of the song was included on the 1998 compilation The Vaudeville Years
The Vaudeville Years
The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968 to 1970 is an album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1998. It was a compilation of outtakes and unreleased tracks from the band's early line up, none of which had previously seen the light of day officially...
.
Composition and chart performance
"Man of the World" is a hauntingly sorrowful song about a man who has everything he wants, except the companion he so obviously craves. The song is considered as autobiographical and a plausible lamentLament
A lament or lamentation is a song, poem, or piece of music expressing grief, regret, or mourning.-History:Many of the oldest and most lasting poems in human history have been laments. Laments are present in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and laments continued to be sung in elegiacs accompanied by...
on the tragic price of fame, leading to frustration and depression.
The single's peak position in the UK Charts
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
was #2 on 7 June 1969, spending a total of 14 weeks on the chart. It entered the Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
on 26 April 1969 and peaked at #12. It also reached the top 5 in Norway and Ireland.
It was not released in the USA until 1976, when DJM records released it as a single, with different B-sides. It has been also re-released in many countries as a 'Golden Oldies' single.
The B-side of the single was "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite", credited to Earl Vince and the Valiants, in reality Fleetwood Mac performing under a different name. The song was composed and sung by Jeremy Spencer
Jeremy Spencer
Jeremy Cedric Spencer , is a British musician, best known as one of the first guitarists in Fleetwood Mac.Spencer was born in Hartlepool, County Durham. He grew up in South London and was educated at Strand School, where he became known for hilarious impressions of the headmaster and several of his...
, the only member of the band who did not appear on the A-side.
Other uses
The song was used by Ian BroudieIan Broudie
Ian Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
as the basis – melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and the final lyric line – for an album track, "I Wish I Was in Love", on The Lightning Seeds' album Tilt
Tilt (Lightning Seeds album)
Tilt is the fifth studio album from rock group The Lightning Seeds. It was released in 1999.-Release and reception:-Track listing:All tracks written by Ian Broudie .# "Life's Too Short" – 4:01...
. The track is accordingly credited as co-written by Peter Green.
The song was used in the 2000 movie Loser
Loser (film)
Loser is a 2000 American romantic comedy film starring Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari and Greg Kinnear. It is about a small town teenager who is accepted into New York University and must cope with the pressures of college life and the big city...
and 2009 movie The Damned United
The Damned United
The Damned United is a 2009 British sports drama film directed by Tom Hooper and adapted by Peter Morgan from David Peace's bestselling novel The Damned Utd, a largely fictional book based on the author's interpretation of Brian Clough's tenure as manager of Leeds United...
.
The song was used in a car accident advertisement in Northern Ireland in 2003
The song was also used for Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows is an English film director, screenwriter, occasional actor and BAFTA winner.-Background:Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop...
' This is England '86
This Is England '86
This Is England '86 is a 2010 British drama series written by Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne. A spin-off from the 2006 film This Is England, and set three years later, it focuses on the mod revival scene rather than the skinhead subculture...
during the closing scenes of the first episode in September 2010.
Personnel
- Peter GreenPeter Green (musician)Peter Green is a British blues-rock guitarist and the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Danny KirwanDanny KirwanDaniel David "Danny" Kirwan is a British musician best known for his role as guitarist, singer and songwriter with the blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac between 1968 and 1972.-Early career:...
– guitar - John McVieJohn McVieJohn Graham McVie is a British bass guitarist best known as a member of the rock group Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fleetwood, was the inspiration for the band's name...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Mick FleetwoodMick FleetwoodMichael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood is a British musician and actor best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Jeremy SpencerJeremy SpencerJeremy Cedric Spencer , is a British musician, best known as one of the first guitarists in Fleetwood Mac.Spencer was born in Hartlepool, County Durham. He grew up in South London and was educated at Strand School, where he became known for hilarious impressions of the headmaster and several of his...
- vocals, guitar (B-side only)
Release information
- UK - ImmediateImmediate RecordsImmediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene.-History:...
IM080, #2 - DJMDJM RecordsDJM Records was the record label set up in the 1970s by British music publisher, Dick James, distributed by Pye Records in the UK and various other companies around the world, including the USA...
DJS 10620 (promo DJS 620) with Danny KirwanDanny KirwanDaniel David "Danny" Kirwan is a British musician best known for his role as guitarist, singer and songwriter with the blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac between 1968 and 1972.-Early career:...
's "Second Chapter" on the B-side, released in 1976 - EpicEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
S EPC 6466 (promo only) again with "Second Chapter" on the B-side, released in 1978 - Norway - Immediate IM080, #4
- Ireland - Immediate IM080, #5
- South Africa - Immediate IMJ080, #11
- Netherlands - Immediate 5C 006-90134, #12
- Sweden - Immediate IM080, #12
- Germany - Immediate 1C 006-90134, #23
- USA -
- DJM DJUS-1007 AS, b/w Danny Kirwan's "Best Girl in the World" (a song from the non-US version of Kirwan's album Second ChapterSecond ChapterAllmusic critic Joe Viglione declared that Second Chapter was a feather in the cap for Kirwan as well as producer Martin Rushent. Drawing comparisons with the music of Lindsey Buckingham, Paul McCartney and America, he highlighted the title track, "Love Can Always Bring You Happiness" and "Silver...
), released in 1976. - DJM DJUS-1007 AM/1008 BM (promo only) b/w "Silver SpringsSilver Springs (song)"Silver Springs" is a song written by Stevie Nicks and performed by Fleetwood Mac. It was originally intended for the band's 1977 album Rumours, but became a B-side to the song "Go Your Own Way", and was eventually released as a single from the 1997 album The Dance.-History:Written by Stevie Nicks,...
", a RumoursRumoursRumours is the eleventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Largely recorded in California during 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut and was released on 4 February 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. The record peaked at the top of both the...
-era track by the Lindsey BuckinghamLindsey BuckinghamLindsey Adams Buckingham is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released six solo albums and a live album...
/ Stevie NicksStevie NicksStephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
incarnation of the group.
- Also issued in Australia, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain on Immediate Records; Lebanon and Malaysia on Stateside RecordsStateside RecordsStateside Records is a British record label which initially released licenced American recordings and is now a reissue label....
and Yugoslavia on JugotonJugotonJugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, Socialist Republic of Croatia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia the company continued to work in independent Republic of Croatia under the name Croatia...
.