Christine McVie Reveals the Bizarre Ritual Fleetwood Mac Does Before Every Show
Christine McVie revealed the strange ritual she and her Fleetwood Mac bandmates do before every show. Here’s what the keyboardist said the classic rock band does ahead of every performance.
Christine McVie revealed the strange ritual Fleetwood Mac does before every show
Keyboardist, singer, and songwriter Christine McVie has been a member of Fleetwood Mac for decades (although she took a 15-year hiatus from the band starting in 1998).
In January 2015, McVie told The New Yorker about the group’s bizarre ritual they do before every performance.
“Before shows, we rub elbows and growl,” she described. She explained that the habit formed due to a band member’s illness. “It started once when someone had a cold, and we didn’t want to hug each other. So we started rubbing elbows. And we don’t kiss. We just go, Grrrr!”
Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks have another ritual after every show
Besides growling and rubbing elbows before every show, Stevie Nicks once revealed that she and Christine McVie have another ritual that they do after every Fleetwood Mac performance.
When Maclean’s asked about the most emotional moment she experienced while on tour with the band, Nicks responded, “When I finish ‘Silver Springs,’ Christine waits for me and takes my hand. We walk off and we never let go of each other until we get to our tent.”
She added, “In that 30 seconds, it’s like my heart just comes out of my body.”
Nicks’ legendary breakup anthem, “Silver Springs,” is about her ex-boyfriend and Fleetwood Mac bandmate, Lindsey Buckingham. Buckingham performed the song on stage with Nicks for years. It makes sense that Nicks would be so emotional about having the support of her only female bandmate after each performance.
Stevie Nicks once gave her Fleetwood Mac bandmate a very meaningful gift
Christine McVie revealed that Stevie Nicks gave her a special present when she returned to Fleetwood Mac following her 15-year hiatus. The “Dreams” singer gifted the keyboardist a silver chain link bracelet with a diamond feather.
“Stevie gave me this chain,” McVie reportedly told The New Yorker while fiddling with the trinket on her wrist. “It used to have a diamond feather on it. It’s a metaphor, you know. That the chain of the band will never be broken. Not by me, anyways. Not again by me.”
The bracelet illustrates the lyrics of “The Chain,” one of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits from their 1977 album Rumours. Nicks originally wrote the song about her failing relationship with Lindsey Buckingham, but over time it came to represent the resilience of the band and the strength of their bond. It is the only track credited to all five members of the group’s 1977 lineup.
Each member of Fleetwood Mac worked through immense personal and professional difficulties to keep the band together. It’s clear from the pre- and post-show rituals that the bandmates have a bond that extends beyond their connection as co-workers.
