Christine McVie Said Her ‘Best,’ Most ‘Beautiful’ Fleetwood Mac Era Was Also Her Most Chaotic
With the exception of a hiatus that began in 1998, Christine McVie was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1970 until her death in 2022. She was a key member of the group as a keyboardist, vocalist, and songwriter who produced many of the band’s biggest commercial hits. Fleetwood Mac has had multiple changes in the lineup over the years, and McVie shared her favorite era with the band. She said that her favorite time with the group was also the time when band drama was at its peak.
Christine McVie joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970
In 1967, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Peter Green, and Jeremy Spencer began recording and performing blues music under the name Fleetwood Mac. They brought in Danny Kirwan as a guitarist and songwriter in 1968. Eventually, though, Green left the group, and McVie stepped in.
She’d been a fan of the band for years and had even married its bassist, John McVie. McVie had trained as a pianist for years and fit into the group well. Guitarist Bob Welch also joined the band. When Kirwan left, Bob Weston took over guitar, and Dave Walker became a vocalist.
Walker exited the group very quickly, and Weston followed not long after when Fleetwood learned he was having an affair with his wife. Welch became frustrated, perhaps rightfully so, with the constantly changing lineup and low-paying gigs and left as well.
In 1975, American couple Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the group, propelling the band to massive success.
Christine McVie shared her favorite era in Fleetwood Mac
Though McVie was not in Fleetwood Mac from its inception, she was a part of the group for longer than most. She shared her favorite era with the band.
“I think I followed my map pretty well in the course of my life.… To be honest with you, I don’t think I gave myself any advice,” she told Rolling Stone in 2022. “I think I just kind of got on with what I was doing and thoroughly enjoyed it. Obviously, my best beautiful days were when we were the Buckingham-Nicks Fleetwood Mac version. That was the best to me.”
The Buckingham-Nicks Fleetwood Mac also took the group to a place of soap-opera-level drama. McVie had an affair with the band’s lighting director, Curry Grant, and got a divorce from her bassist husband. At roughly the same Nicks and Buckingham split so acrimoniously that they continued to fight about it for decades to come. Nicks had an affair with Fleetwood, and the entire band dealt with the tumult with industrial levels of cocaine and alcohol. Still, McVie looks back on the period fondly.
“I don’t think I thought about it that much,” she said. “I enjoyed the storm.… Even though I am quite a peaceful person, I did enjoy that storm. Although it’s said that we fought a lot, we actually did spend a lot of our time laughing. So, that must have been forgotten. Great sense of humor.”
She said she loved every part about being in the band
Though she said she loved the era with Nicks and Buckingham, McVie said she liked being in the band through all its chaos and lineup changes.
“I think I was happy pretty much all the time,” she said. “I was happy with Bob Welch. I was happy with that era. I was always happy with Stevie and Lindsey and loved what they brought to the table musically. Also, I loved being with Neil Finn and Mike Campbell. They were a couple of great guys. I loved working with them. But Mick and John and Stevie and I all got on well, contrary to public opinion.”
McVie remained in Fleetwood Mac until her death in 2022.
