Ironically, they had the least influence over the musical direction of the band. Throughout all of their incarnations, the only consistent members of Fleetwood Mac were drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie - the rhythm section that provided the band with their name. Initially conceived as a hard-edged British blues combo in the late '60s, the band gradually evolved into a polished pop/rock act over the course of a decade. While most bands undergo a number of changes over the course of their careers, few of them experienced more radical stylistic evolution than Fleetwood Mac.