She Was The Songbird
Christine McVie was the high-flying songbird behind some of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits, including “Everywhere” and “Little Lies”. But, buried between her sultry lyrics and soaring vocals, were the surprising (and scandalous) stories of her romances, breakups, and curious retirement.
1. She Had A “Perfect” Start
Christine Anne Perfect (yes, that was actually her last name) was destined for a life in music. Born in July of 1943, she grew up in the quiet village of Greenodd to a father who played concert violin and taught music for a living. Talk about a pitch-perfect childhood—on her father's end, anyway.
2. Her Mother Had Otherworldly Gifts
If McVie’s father passed down his musical talent to her, then her mother brought something stranger to the table. Beatrice Perfect, McVie’s mother, was a practicing “medium, psychic, and faith healer”. Thankfully, she took after father—but not at first.
3. She Didn’t Find Love At First Note
McVie would one day become the keyboardist for one of rock music’s most iconic bands. But, at first, she was barely interested in learning music. McVie’s parents introduced her to the piano when she was just four years old, but it wasn’t love at first note. She didn’t commit to music until she was 11, when one of her brother’s friends reintroduced her—and this time, it stuck.
4. She Had The Blues
By the age of 15, McVie had had her fill of Bach and Beethoven. She might have given up on music altogether had it not been for her brother. Once he introduced her to a Fats Domino songbook, McVie was traded classical scales for grooving blues—and never looked back. Her journey to fame would go on a few riffs, though.
5. She Was Nearly An Art Teacher
After graduating high school, McVie quickly learned a hard lesson—that making money from making music wasn’t exactly as easy as she had expected. Instead, she spent five years studying sculpture at art school, dreaming of one day becoming an art teacher. But instead of picking up a syllabus, she picked up a mic—and a few bandmates.
6. She Had Friends In Low Keys
McVie’s new friends—Stan Webb and Andy Silvester—recognized her talent instantly and invited her to join their band, Sounds of Blue. She also briefly sang with a fellow student named Spencer Davis. Sadly, the band lasted about as long as an ice sculpture in the desert.
7. She Hit Rock Bottom—Briefly
By the time McVie graduated, her nascent band, Sounds of Blue, had fallen apart. With no band backing her and no money to pursue her art career, she moved to London and took a short-lived job dressing windows. She was just about ready to give up on music when she heard a melodic rumor.
8. She Heard The Right Rumor
In 1967, McVie got wind that her former bandmates, Webb and Silvester, were forming a new band: Chicken Shack. Better yet, they needed a pianist. McVie reached out and landed the gig as the band’s keyboardist and backup vocalist—and eventual breakout star.
9. She Made Her Voice Heard
Chicken Shack’s first release, “It’s Okay With Me Baby” was all McVie. Far from fading into the background, she had written and performed the hit single and was eager for more. She went on to complete two albums with the band, developing a small but dedicated fanbase that became obsessed with her sultry, blues-soaked voice.
In fact, no one could deny her talents.
10. She Blew The Critics Away
McVie’s rendition of “I’d Rather Go Blind” became a Chicken Shack classic. The song was a hit—and so was she. The budding artiste nabbed the title of UK’s Best Female Vocalist two years in a row in 1969 and 1970. But she was just getting started.
11. She Heard The Mac
McVie was already a fan of Fleetwood Mac when Chicken Shack and the Mac kept running into each other on tour. As it turns out, the feeling was mutual. The members of Fleetwood Mac invited McVie to contribute her bluesy piano playing to the band’s second studio album, Mr Wonderful.
She was, as it turns out, Mrs Wonderful.
12. She Married Her Way Into The Band
McVie left quite the impression on Fleetwood Mac. So much of an impression, in fact, that in 1968, she tied the knot with Fleetwood Mac’s bassist, John McVie. The best man at the couple’s wedding was Fleetwood Mac’s founding member, Peter Green. In other words, she was an unofficial Mac.
And that could only mean one thing.
13. She Picked Love Over Career
Even after marrying into Fleetwood Mac, McVie continued playing with Chicken Shack. But she knew she would have to pick a band before long. Certainly enough, after a year of marriage, McVie decided to leave Chicken Shack, fearing that she’d never see her husband if they both kept touring.
Then she tried something no one expected.
14. She Went Solo—Briefly
McVie didn’t just become a Fleetwood Mac wife when she left Chicken Shack. Instead, her friends encouraged her to keep making music—on her own! McVie then proceeded to release her first solo album under her maiden name: Christine Perfect. Little did she know, a perfect opportunity was just about to open up.
15. She Didn’t Get The Credit
McVie officially joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970—but not in the way that most people think. Only true Fleetwood Mac fans know that McVie made uncredited contributions to the band’s album Kiln House, including doing the artwork for the album’s cover. However, her uncredited contributions didn’t go without reward.
16. She Filled In For Green
When founding member, Peter Green, left Fleetwood Mac, the band struggled to find a new sound. Little did they know, however, that they already had their replacement pianist: enter Christine McVie. McVie officially stepped forward to fill in Green’s admittedly large shoes.
In fact, if she hadn’t, there might not have been a Fleetwood Mac.
17. She Held The Band Together
When McVie joined Fleetwood Mac, rumors about a breakup swirled around the band. But, between her keys, her voice, and her songwriting chops, McVie put those rumors to bed. The band later released a statement, saying, “Christine became the glue [that held the band together]...She filled out our sound beautifully”.
But it would cost her.
18. She Packed Up For The Coast
Despite her talents, McVie struggled to keep Fleetwood Mac together. By 1974, she had moved to California with the rest of the band, but they were beginning to turn over new members faster than they could churn out hits. But, when Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined, McVie knew that everything was about to change.
19. She Met Her Musical Match
McVie’s soft, smoky vocals had carried Fleetwood Mac through the early 1970s. But, in Stevie Nicks, she had finally met her musical match. Nicks’ gruff, raspy vocals complemented McVie’s sweet songbird sounds and the pair bonded instantly, What happened next became music history.
20. She Made Hits Happen
Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled 1975 album wasn’t just a debut for the new lineup—it was a chart-topping comeback. And McVie was the musical mastermind behind it. She had co-written five of the album’s most successful songs and led vocals on four, including “Over My Head” and “Say You Love Me”—both Billboard hits.
Behind the sheet music, however, was trouble.
21. She Made Loving Fun—Literally
In 1976, just as she attained new levels of fame and success, McVie did something that threatened to ruin everything. Back stage, out of the eyes of the public, McVie struck up an affair with the band’s lighting director, Curry Grant, while on tour. Their brief (but almost certainly “bright”) romance sparked one of her biggest hits: the flirty, funky “You Make Loving Fun”.
At least one person, however, did not think it was fun.
22. She Kept It Civil
McVie managed to keep the affair secret from the public—but not from her bandmates. And certainly not from her husband. Later that year, McVie and her husband, John, called it quits in their marriage—but not in their music. Despite the emotional wreckage, the pair remained friends and continued performing together.
Band before bonds, I guess? But not before Beach Boys…
23. She Dated A Beach Boy
After her divorce from John, McVie found herself drawn to another rock legend: Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys. Their romance lasted three years, from 1979 to 1982. Unlike with her marriage to John, McVie’s relationship with Wilson seemed to be a drag on her musical ambitions.
24. She Hit A Rough Patch
By 1979, the magic hadn’t just faded from McVie’s marriage—the band was also in trouble. Despite having a top-20 hit with “Think About Me”, Fleetwood Mac’s album Tusk didn’t measure up to the dizzying success of Rumours. After the tour, the band took a break, only coming together two years later to work on the album Mirage.
They should have named it Miracle.
25. She Was Haunted By Love
McVie poured her heart and soul into Mirage. In fact, some of the album's biggest hits were largely based on her own life experiences. McVie had co-written the album’s chart-topping single “Hold Me”. The tear-jerking pop-rock hit was inspired by her rocky relationship with Dennis Wilson.
After that, she needed a break.
26. She Went Solo—Again
In 1984, McVie released her second solo album, Christine McVie, and this time, she wasn’t flying under the radar. Her single “Got a Hold on Me” climbed to number 10 on the pop charts—and topped both the Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts. But she was never in it for the fame or fortune.
27. She Stayed Modest
Despite the success of her solo venture, McVie remained her usual down-to-earth self. “Maybe it isn’t the most adventurous album in the world,” she admitted, “but I wanted to be honest and please my own ears with it”. She pleased everyone’s ears with it—one person’s in particular.
28. She Married A Collaborator
In 1986, McVie continued the trend of blending love and lyrics when she tied the knot with Portuguese keyboardist Eddy Quintela. Theirs was a romance written into the bars and melodies of countless sounds, including some that would feature on future Fleetwood Mac albums. But first, she would have to get the band back together.
29. She Made Another Comeback
McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac for 1987’s Tango in the Night. It was the band’s most-anticipated album since Rumours—and it didn’t disappoint. McVie’s song “Little Lies”, which she had co-written with her husband, Quintela, became the album’s breakout hit—seemingly proving McVie’s love life was the band’s secret recipe.
Suffice to say, she had a lot of material to work with.
30. She Was Everywhere
McVie’s second Tango single, “Everywhere”, became one of Fleetwood Mac’s highest-charting hits of all time. Meanwhile, more of her songs such as “Save Me”, propelled the band into the rock and roll hall of fame, taking the album Platinum in the UK. But an unexpected tragedy would change everything.
The music was about to stop.
31. She Couldn’t Perform Anymore
Just as she was reaching new heights of fame and success, McVie’s life took a dramatic turn for the worse. While touring the album Behind the Mask in 1990, McVie received horrifying news: her father had passed. With her original musical inspiration gone, McVie stepped back from touring.
But she couldn’t leave music altogether.
32. She Turned Tragedy Into Tunes
Despite her personal struggles, McVie stayed with Fleetwood Mac following her father’s demise. Once again, she channeled her innermost feelings into her music, contributing to the band’s 1995 album, Time. However, by that “time”, Nicks had left the band, leaving McVie with another kind of loss.
33. She Brought The Band Back Together
For much of the early and mid 1990s, former and current Fleetwood Mac band members collaborated on their solo projects. With so many Fleetwood alumni working together, fans dared to dream of a reunion. And, when Nicks rejoined the band, they got just that. With McVie and Nicks back together, Fleetwood released their chart-topping live album, The Dance, in 1997.
It was a sign for McVie that the stage was calling her name.
34. She Performed Again
McVie hadn’t set foot on a stage since her father’s passing. But, with the band back together and a new album to promote, she made a bold move. Three bold moves, actually. To the delight of Fleetwood Mac fans the world over, McVie performed with her bandmates for the first time years at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammys, and the Brit Awards.
Then she lost her wings.
35. She Was Afraid Of Flying
For a high-flying songbird, McVie developed a strange phobia. Following her triumphant return to live performances, McVie once again stepped back from the stage in 1998. But her reason was puzzling for millions of fans: she had developed an intense fear of flying. As such, she couldn’t keep up with the band’s schedule and stepped back from performances once again.
Then she disappeared.
36. She Became A Doctor
No longer willing to perform, McVie left Hollywood behind and (paradoxically) flew back home to England. Once there, she disappeared from public view, opting instead to spend time with her family. It wasn’t until 2000 that she reemerged, even if only briefly, to accept an honorary doctorate from the University of Greenwich.
The next time she made headlines, it would be scandalous.
37. She Listened To Her Heart
In 2003, McVie made headlines when she announced her divorce from Quintela. You might say that they had fallen out of harmony. In a follow-up interview the following year, McVie confessed that she barely listened to pop music any longer and had returned to early roots in music, preferring to listen to classical music.
Or, as it turns out, her own music.
38. She Sang Along From The Sidelines
In late 2003, McVie conquered her fears and returned to performing with Fleetwood Mac—kind of. Not really. When the legendary band gave their last UK performance for the Say You Will tour, McVie attended…in the audience. While she had contributed to the recording of the album, McVie remained backstage.
But she didn’t totally leave the spotlight.
39. She Was Busy In The Meantime
Without a busy touring schedule, McVie had found time to write and record her third solo album, In the Meantime. The aptly named album satisfied her fans and critics alike and saw her snag the Composers and Authors’ Gold Badge of Merit award from the British Academy of Songwriters.
40. She Became A Living Legend
In 2006, the publication Paste paid tribute to McVie and her Fleetwood Mac bandmates, Buckingham and Nicks, when they named the trio 83rd in their list of the greatest living songwriters. Despite the praise, McVie still declined to join her bandmates in 2009 when they gave their final UK performance for the Unleashed tour.
It looked like she would never perform with them again.
41. Her Friend Had To Let Her Go
By 2012, Fleetwood Mac fans were clamoring for McVie to return. So, when the band announced a world tour, everyone was certain that McVie would make her comeback. But Nicks nixed that idea: “She went to England and she has never been back since 1998,” Nicks said. “…as much as we would all like to think that she'll just change her mind one day, I don't think it'll happen[…]We love her, so we had to let her go”.
Even Nicks couldn’t have predicted McVie’s next move.
42. She Made A 15-Year Overdue Comeback
In 2013, McVie surprised Fleetwood Mac fans the world over when she emerged from hiding. In an unexpected turn of events, McVie stepped on stage in Maui, Hawaii to perform alongside Fleetwood Mac alumni, Rick Vito and Mick Fleetwood. It was her first time on stage in 15 years—and a reminder of what she had been missing.
43. She Surprised Her Fans In London
Later that year, McVie stunned her fans again with another unexpected (but very welcome) surprise performance. This time, she joined her Fleetwood Mac bandmates on stage at London’s O2 Arena to perform “Don’t Stop”. The audience erupted with “rapturous applause”, but no one was as happy that she was back as McVie herself.
44. She Picked Up Where She Had Left Off
When McVie returned to performing with her bandmates, she was ecstatic, and felt that barely any time had passed. “It was amazing, like I'd never left,” she later explained. “I climbed back on there again and there they were, the same old faces on stage...But her triumphant return had everyone asking, “Why did she leave in the first place?”
45. She Was Hiding A Dark Secret
In a 2017 interview on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, McVie explained her nearly two-decade long disappearance from the concert stage. It wasn’t that she had lost her love for performing, or that she couldn’t feel the music anymore. Instead, she revealed that, after leaving the band, she had developed a bad case of agoraphobia.
It’s not hard to understand why.
46. Her Home Was Her Hiding Place
Back in 1990, McVie had purchased a home that no one would want to leave. Her Grade II-listed “Tudor manor house”, situated in the pastoral lands around Canterbury, became something of her prison after she left Fleetwood Mac in 1998. However, once she returned to performing, there was no Tudor castle with turrets tall enough to keep her locked inside
47. She Was Back—For Good
Following McVie’s triumphant return to the concert stage in 2013, Mick Fleetwood made another welcome announcement in early 2014. While on stage in Maui, he revealed that McVie’s performance at the O2 Arena hadn’t just been a one-off; she was back for good.
48. She Performed Until The End
McVie’s Tudor manor house had served as something of a gilded cage for over a decade. While the restive property had helped inspire some of her music, she knew that it was only holding her back. So, after rejoining her bandmates, she listed the property and spent most of her time in London, performing with her bandmates.
Sadly, by that time, her best years were already behind her.
49. She Was A Free Songbird At Last
On November 30, 2022, almost a decade after conquering her fears, McVie drew her last breath and sang her final song. At the age of 79, she had succumbed to metastatic cancer. But she was a caged bird no longer—as a free songbird, she could sing and soar into the hereafter. It was those she left behind, however, who sang her praises.
50. Her Band Wasn’t The Same Without Her
McVie wasn’t just a member of Fleetwood Mac—she had been its heart. After her passing, the band released a statement calling their departed songbird “the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life”.
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