The guitarist Christine McVie called “Jesus”
For a band to truly work, there needs to be some level of on-stage chemistry. For Fleetwood Mac, behind-the-scenes relationship struggles and love affairs made their live performances erupt like fireworks – something that not many outfits can force without experiencing the real thing. For Christine McVie, these types of dynamics birth great musicians.
McVie was a vital part of Fleetwood Mac, whose vocals could charm an entire room. Alongside her musical partner, Stevie Nicks, she demonstrated the power of smooth, sultry vocals against Nicks’ more raspy bellows. Both singers had immense power, of course, but McVie held a certain nostalgia in her voice that not many could replicate.
Although McVie wasn’t a founding member of the band, her arrival proved to be significant, which occurred after the singer became drawn to the group’s immense artistry while touring with them alongside her band Chicken Shack. Her growing affection for the way they worked resulted in her contributing to their album Mr. Wonderful as a session musician.
Although she would have happily sat on the sidelines, enjoying watching on so long as it meant being close to her partner, John McVie, something about the band’s electric on-stage persona continued to draw her in. This wasn’t your usual set-up; Fleetwood Mac enjoyed each others’ company and genuinely bounced off of each other on stage. It was an unusual occurrence, particularly for a lesser-known name.
Nonetheless, McVie’s true calling never felt clearer. As she explained to The Guardian in 2022, “Chicken Shack used to open for them. I got to know John, fell in love with him, and it was just sensational and exciting,” she said. She added, “Fleetwood Mac were fantastic and really funny. The biggest joker was probably Peter Green, but they all had a very copacetic sense of humour with each other. It was heartbreaking for them when Peter left.”
When McVie first witnessed the band performing, it was their “kick-ass” chemistry that stunned her. Whenever she caught wind of them playing, she would often make a beeline, enjoying witnessing experts at work. “Mick and John were a force to be reckoned with, and you had little Jeremy Spencer playing slide, doing lots of Elmore James stuff,” the singer told Mojo. Green, however, was the real deal.
In McVie’s words, Green “was like Jesus, playing out-of-this-world guitar”, making the performance “killer” to watch. Green’s departure left the band in shambles as they grappled not only with the idea of a ruptured lineup but a gaping hole in their dynamics. One time during rehearsals, however, McVie was invited to join to alleviate their woes. Despite Green’s unparalleled impact during the early days, McVie was more than a necessary stand-in whose contributions enabled the Mac to become one of the most groundbreaking bands of the 20th century.
