Stevie Nicks Was ‘Awestruck’ by Christine McVie When They First Met

Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie formed a friendship shortly after Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac. They banded together as the only two women in the group and relied on each other to ward off disrespect. McVie went into her initial meeting with Nicks with a film of judgment — she had the final say on whether the other woman could join the band. Nicks, however, was starstruck by McVie.

Christine McVie had the final say over whether Stevie Nicks could join Fleetwood Mac

By the time Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, the band had existed for nearly ten years. McVie was not an original member of the group, but she’d been with the band for five years. When Mick Fleetwood invited Lindsey Buckingham to join the band, his girlfriend Nicks was included as a package deal. 

Because McVie was the only other woman in Fleetwood Mac, the band gave her the final say on whether or not Nicks could join. 

“It was critical that I got on with her because I’d never played with another girl,” McVie told The Guardian. “But I liked her instantly. She was funny and nice but also there was no competition. We were completely different on the stage to each other and we wrote differently too.”

Stevie Nicks said she was stunned by Christine McVie when they met

McVie wasn’t sure what to expect from Nicks when they first met. Luckily, they connected quickly. Nicks was a swift devotee to McVie.

“Well, this is what happened,” she said in an interview with the 1975’s Matty Healy for The Face. “When I met Chris — this sounds like a movie, right? When I met Christine McVie … she’s five years older than me, so we were like 28 and 33. And Christine is a full on, you know, trained concert pianist person and an amazing artist painter. So there was so much more to Christine than just music, and when I met her that night at the Mexican food dinner, I was just like, I was awestruck with her.”

Nicks was immediately thinking of her potential bandmate as a future best friend.

“I mean, I thought, I have just met my new best friend, for sure,” she said. “I had no doubt that she was gonna say, absolutely, when we drove away that night.”

Nicks’ prediction was correct. McVie welcomed her into the band, and she’s remained a mainstay for decades.

Both women are happy to be in the same band again

In 1998, McVie left Fleetwood Mac, seemingly permanently. After 16 years, McVie rejoined the band. She shared that she was closer with Nicks than ever.

“Stevie and I are really good friends, in fact I think we’re better friends now than we were 16 years ago,” McVie told theartsdesk. “And it’s a fact, when it’s the Buckingham/Nicks show backed by John and Mick, that’s going to cause a lot of tension and stress. But with me in there, it gave Stevie the chance to get her breath back and not have this constant thing going on with Lindsey: her sister was back.”