Robbie Patton is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

. His first major exposure came in 1979 when he was selected as the opening act for a Fleetwood Mac

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...

 tour. Mac member Christine McVie

Christine McVie

Christine McVie is an English rock singer, keyboardist, and songwriter. Her primary fame came as a member of the British/American rock band Fleetwood Mac, though she has also released three solo albums...

 would go on to produce

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 both of Patton's solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

s and played keyboards

Keyboard instrument

A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

 on them; Lindsey Buckingham

Lindsey Buckingham

Lindsey 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...

 played guitar

Guitar

The 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...

 on Patton's hit single

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

, "Don't Give it Up", and Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks

Stephanie 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...

 sang on "Smiling Islands". Patton returned the favour by co-writing the hit "Hold Me

Hold Me (Fleetwood Mac song)

"Hold Me" is a single by British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac. The song was the first track to be released from the 1982 album Mirage, the fourth album by the band with Lindsey Buckingham acting as main producer with Richard Dashut and Ken Caillat....

", which appeared on Fleetwood Mac's 1982 album, Mirage

Mirage (Fleetwood Mac album)

Mirage is the 13th studio album by Fleetwood Mac, released in June 1982.Following a hiatus of over a year after the completion of the worldwide Tusk tour, the band temporarily relocated to Château d'Hérouville in France to record this 12-track collection...

. Patton wrote songs for Jonathan Cain

Jonathan Cain

Jonathan Cain is an American musician, best known for his work with The Babys, Journey and Bad English.-Early life:...

 and Santana

Santana (band)

Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...

 later in the 1980s.

Albums

• Distant Shores (Liberty Records
  Liberty Records
  Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...
  
  , 1980) U.S. #162
• Orders from Headquarters (Atlantic Records
  Atlantic Records
  Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
  
  , 1982)
• No Problem (Atlantic Records
  Atlantic Records
  Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
  
  , 1984)

Singles

• "Don't Give it Up" (1981) U.S. #26, U.S. AC #41
• "Smiling Islands" (1983) U.S.
  Billboard Hot 100
  The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
  
   #52, U.S. AC #16