Daniel David Kirwan (13 May 1950 – 8 June 2018) was a British musician whose greatest success came with his role as guitarist, singer and songwriter with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac between 1968 and 1972. He released three albums as a solo artist from 1975 to 1979, recorded albums with Otis Spann, Chris Youlden, and Tramp, and worked with his former Fleetwood Mac colleagues Jeremy Spencer and Christine McVie on some of their solo projects.\n', '

Kirwan was born Daniel David Langran in Brixton, South London. His mother, Phyllis Rose Langran, married Aloysious James Kirwan in 1958 when Danny was eight. Little is known about his upbringing. He left school with six O-levels and worked for a year as an insurance clerk in the City of London. Kirwan was an accomplished self-taught guitarist who had been influenced by Hank Marvin of the Shadows, French gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and particularly by Eric Clapton\'s playing in the Bluesbreakers, and his guitar skills attracted attention at an early age. He was only 17 when he came to the attention of established British blues band Fleetwood Mac while playing in London with his first band, Boilerhouse, a three-piece with Trevor Stevens on bass guitar and Dave Terrey on drums. Kirwan persuaded Fleetwood Mac\'s producer Mike Vernon to watch Boilerhouse rehearse in a South London basement boiler-room, after which Vernon informed Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green of his discovery. Vernon was impressed by Kirwan\'s guitar playing and subtle vibrato and thought he sounded like blues player Lowell Fulson. Boilerhouse began playing support slots for Fleetwood Mac at London venues such as John Gee\'s Marquee Club in Wardour Street, which gave Kirwan and Green the opportunity to jam together and get to know each other. \n', '

Green took a managerial interest in Boilerhouse but Stevens and Terrey were not prepared to turn professional, so Green put an advert in Melody Maker to find another rhythm section to back Kirwan. Over 300 hopefuls were said to have applied, but none was deemed good enough by the hard-to-please Green, so another solution was found. Fleetwood Mac had been constituted as a quartet, but Green had been looking for another guitarist to share some of the workload in view of slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer\'s unwillingness to contribute to Green\'s songs. Drummer Mick Fleetwood, previously a member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, suggested to Green that Kirwan could join Fleetwood Mac. Although Green, bassist John McVie (both also former members of the Bluesbreakers) and Spencer were not entirely convinced, Fleetwood asked Kirwan to join the band in August 1968, "much to his astonishment and delight." Fleetwood said Green had been looking for a new musical collaborator, "which is how Danny Kirwan came into our lives... Danny was a huge fan of Peter\'s. He would see us every chance he got, usually watching in awe from the front row. Peter, John and I went to see Danny\'s band a few times and it was clear that he needed to be with better players. In the end we just invited him to join us." Kirwan\'s arrival expanded Fleetwood Mac to a five-piece with three guitarists.\n', '

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