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Fri 16 May 2025 17:07, UK
Without Christine McVie, there is a missing ingredient at the heart of Fleetwood Mac. McVie may not have been a founding member and was absent for a large part of their latter career, but once she returned to the fold in 2014, they regained a sparkle that was absent without her presence. Following her death in 2022, Stevie Nicks conceded that Fleetwood Mac was over, a testament to her irreplaceable importance.
Musically, McVie was a jewel in the armour of Fleetwood Mac, who crafted a series of the band’s most beloved songs, such as ‘Songbird’, ‘Don’t Stop’ and ‘Little Lies’. However, she offered far more than pivotal songwriting contributions to Fleetwood Mac. McVie was the reason Fleetwood Mac managed to stay together during bouts of adversity. While most other bands would have crumbled under such circumstances, they didn’t have McVie as the glue to keep them together.
Despite becoming a vital part of the band, McVie’s journey began on the periphery, and initially, she was intimidated by Mick Fleetwood. Before joining Fleetwood Mac, McVie was a member of Chicken Shack. She released two albums before leaving in 1970 after marrying John McVie, who asked her to join his band, Fleetwood Mac, which proved to be her greatest decision. Her songwriting quickly helped the band evolve to a new dimension, but building a relationship with Fleetwood took longer to materialise. To begin with, she struggled to get on the same page as the drummer, who made McVie feel “terrified”.
In the book Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac, McVie dotingly said about her first impressions of the band: “They just had tremendous charisma – especially Peter Green – and Jeremy Spencer was such an outrageous little guy onstage. I used to go and see them when I wasn’t working.” Dishing out more praise, she said of Green and Spencer as people: “Funny guys. Really great and funny guys. Peter Green was a cocky bugger and disarmingly charming. He was the one that really attracted me first. Jeremy Spencer was vulgar and rude but funny.”
While McVie instantly found the other group members endearing, she felt a different, more hostile energy from Fleetwood, admitting, “Mick Fleetwood I was terrified of, so tall and thin and imposing. He gave the impression of being quite haughty, but he’s just a puppy really, and I liked John [McVie].”
First impressions can often be misjudged, which is undoubtedly true in this case. Although their relationship got off to a stormy start, they soon became close friends. Even when she left the group in 1998, the drummer was always a confidante she relied upon, despite McVie no longer being a member of Fleetwood Mac.
During that time, Fleetwood regularly let McVie know there was always a place for her in the band if he wanted to return. After many years of trying to convince her, he was delighted when she finally caved in. In a conversation with Rolling Stone, McVie explained: “I just wasn’t interested in playing music at that point. Then the feeling came back. Mick and I have always been in touch, and he said, ‘Do you ever think you’ll come back?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’ Suffice to say that I did decide to return and never regretted it.”
Following McVie’s death in 2022, Fleetwood read a heartbreaking eulogy to her during the memorial service, which he later shared on social media. Speaking on behalf of the band, Fleetwood concluded his speech by saying of his late friend, “We all miss her as a family member, as a friend, an artist, a performer, and God knows a writer of excellence. And those years sharing life together will always be remembered.” They may not have been best friends immediately, but they blossomed into family.
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