Fleetwood Mac founder’s homeless son says his daughter is the only reason he’s alive-Asyia Iftikhar-Entertainment – Metro

The founder of Fleetwood Mac’s son opens up about his ‘traumatic’ experience being homeless (Picture: My London / BPM Media)

Liam Firlej, the son of Fleetwood Mac’s co-founder Peter Green, has spoken about his ‘impossible’ struggle to find housing as he remains homeless outside Richmond station in London.

The late guitarist and singer Green helped form rock band Fleetwood Mac with drummer Mick Fleetwood in 1967 and was behind chart-topping single Albatross before eventually departing the group in 1970.

Green was diagnosed with drug-induced schizophrenia in 1974, underwent electroshock treatment and spent bouts of time homeless himself.

In 1980, Green met 18-year-old Janina and had a short-lived romance that resulted in Liam who he never fully acknowledged and grew up with his grandmother Maureen on his mother’s side.

Green died in his home in Essex in 2020 aged 73 and left behind £4.5million in his will of which Firlej never saw a penny, per the Daily Mail.

It was his grandmother’s nursing home costs that drove the now 38-year-old (who grew up in Clapham) out of his home three months ago when he was no longer able to pay rent. He is now been living opposite Richmond tube station in a green tent.

Peter Green helped found Fleetwood Mac but only remained in the band for three years (Picture: Getty)

His father never publicly acknowledged Liam as a son (Picture: My London / BPM Media)

He started his career in the Army, before leaving due to his opposition to the Iraq War and has since worked various manufacturing jobs and even done a stint as a support worker for Brixton Night Shelter.

Despite this, he told MyLondon: ‘I’m a musician just like my father, I can play multiple instruments. It’s in the blood.’

Firjel told the publication that he has ‘no pride’ left since becoming homeless, adding that it’s ‘dead and doesn’t exist’.

He continued: ‘You can’t feel good about yourself. I just feel numb all the time.

‘That’s when you don’t care about yourself, you self-destruct. You just hate yourself and start drinking.

‘If you’re ever homeless it takes about three weeks and then your mind switches into a totally different state. Then you just don’t give a fuck anymore about anything. But I’m used to it now.’

Peter did not leave any money to his son Liam in his will (Picture: WireImage)

Liam shared that even being homless for three weeks is enough to make someone ‘self-destruct’ (Picture: My London / BPM Media)

He fled to Richmond after being threatened while in a hostel in Tooting and although he has been housed a few times that has come with its own kettle of issues such as rowdy neighbours ‘smashing fists against walls’ and black mould.

‘I’m really trying to get housed, but it’s impossible at the moment,’ he added.

In Richmond the people treat him kinder and he sometimes receives extra money thanks to his famous father.

He is also the father to a three-year-old daughter who lives with her mother in West London whom he regularly visits.

He admitted: ‘I miss her so much all the time, she means the world to me. I just want to look after her, I don’t want to be on the street.

‘If it weren’t for her I would’ve killed myself already. Just to get out of this s****y life. But I’ve got to keep on going for her. It’s so hard.’

Firlej went to the high court for a DNA test in 2017 after several unsuccessful attempts to reach out to the rocker.

‘I feel like I was swept under the rug. I used to try to forget about him and the whole situation.

Liam went to the high court for a DNA test to prove his paternity in 2017 (Picture: Getty)

‘It would work for about six months, then I would keep on hearing the music and think ‘I just can’t escape this.’ It still drives me insane.’ he told the Mirror about his fraught relationship with his estranged father.

He also claimed that Green and his mother’s relationship was ‘rocky’ and he regularly ‘kicked her out the house’.

Although some have attributed Green’s pre-mature exit from the band to a worsening drug problem, some have hit back against this narrative.

Martin Celmins, author of Peter Green’s 1995 biography, told NPR: ‘The influence of drugs didn’t help, but I think it’s been exaggerated. I think there were far more musical, lifestyle reasons why he no longer wanted to be a member of a world-beating rock-and-roll band.’

Upon Green’s death, his former bandmates flooded to pay tribute to his musical legacy.

Stevie Nicks, who joined the band in 1975, said at the time: ‘My biggest regret is that I never got to share the stage with him. I always hoped in my heart of hearts that it would happen.

‘When I first listened to all the Fleetwood Mac records, I was very taken with his guitar playing. It was one of the reasons I was excited to join the band. His legacy will live on forever in the history books of Rock n Roll.’

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