Who is Stevie Nicks and what happened with Christine McVie?
FLEETWOOD Mac crafted some of music’s most recognizable hits from the 1970s and beyond.
However, things weren’t always harmonious between Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, or the other members.
Who is Stevie Nicks?
Born on May 26, 1948, Stevie Nicks is an American singer and musician from Phoenix, Arizona.
In 1967, Stevie joined her future ex-boyfriend and bandmate Lindsey Buckingham’s group Fritz.
Following Fritz’s disbanding in 1972, Stevie and Lindsey performed as a duo until they met Mick Fleetwood.
On December 31, 1974, Mick specifically asked Lindsey to join Fleetwood Mac.
Lindsey requested that Mick recruit Stevie as well and by 1975, Fleetwood Mac released their debut studio album.
As part of the group, Stevie enjoyed success as Fleetwood’s songs Landslide, Rhiannon, Little Lies, Go Your Own Way, Hold Me, and Everywhere achieved mainstream popularity.
On July 27, 1981, Stevie released her first solo album Bella Donna.
Independently, she is recognized as the voice behind the hits Edge of Seventeen, Stand Back, Talk to Me, and Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You?
In September 2014, her eighth solo project 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault was made available to listeners everywhere.
Stevie’s last album with Fleetwood Mac was the 2003 project Say You Will.
Say You Will featured a minimal amount of contribution from Stevie’s late bandmate Christine McVie.
What happened between Stevie and Christine McVie?
Throughout Fleetwood Mac’s time together, the group dynamic has seen ups and downs in their relationships.
Stevie’s relationship with Christine McVie was no exception.
Stevie and the late Christine’s friendship is riddled with eras of camaraderie and support.
However, there would be times when the pair’s friendship saw friction.
As a result, they both candidly admitted to not speaking with one another for some time.
Regarding their early years together in Fleetwood, Christine told The Guardian: “It was critical that I got on with her because I’d never played with another girl.
“I liked her instantly. She was funny and nice but also, there was no competition.
“We were completely different on the stage from each other and we wrote differently too.”
Stevie echoed Christine’s sentiments and shared with NME: “We felt like together, we were a force of nature.
“We made a pact, probably in our first rehearsal, that we would never accept being treated as second-class citizens in the music business.
“When we walked into a room, we would be so fantastic and so strong and so smart that none of the uber-rockstar group of men would look through us…and they never did.”
Sometime in the early 1980s, the singers’ friendship took a turn and they grew distant.
It appeared to take place around the same time Stevie saw a solo prominence with Bella Donna, mourned the death of her friend Robin Anderson, and happened to go through a very-short lived marriage to Robin’s widower Kim Anderson.
At the time, Christine revealed to Rolling Stone: “She thought it was what Robin would have wanted.
“They’d known each other for a long time, and it didn’t seem like crazy love to me. I didn’t buy her a wedding present.
“Ten years ago, she really had her feet on the ground, along with a tremendous sense of humor, which she still has.
“But she seems to have developed her own fantasy world, somehow, which I’m not part of. We don’t socialize much.”
When did Stevie and Christine make up?
Although the early 1980s saw the “best friends” ceasing contact with one another, they patched things up years later.
Since making amends with one another, the two showed support for each other on a variety of occasions.
The bandmates even stayed in contact as Christine left Fleetwood Mac in 1998.
Recalling her fellow group members’ decision, Stevie said to Vulture: “I understood why. I understood that in her heart of hearts, she could not do it anymore.
“I love Chris, and she was my best friend for 30 years. So when your best friend looks at you in your eyes and says, ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ you just have to let her go. And I did.”
In September 2013, Christine performed her first Fleetwood show in 15 years and rejoined the band in September 2014.
When it came to the topic of her reunion with Stevie and the others, Christine disclosed to theartsdesk: “Stevie and I are really good friends.
“In fact, I think we’re better friends now than we were 16 years ago.
“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.”
Prior to Christine’s death on November 30, 2022, she toured an additional two times with Fleetwood Mac and Stevie.
Months earlier in June of that year, the singer revealed she and Stevie were once again, not on speaking terms.
Christine stated to Rolling Stone: “I don’t communicate with Stevie very much.
“When we were on the last tour, we did a lot. We always sat next to each other on the plane and we got on really well.
“But since the band broke up, I’ve not been speaking to her at all.”
What did Stevie say about Christine’s death?
Upon learning of Christine’s death, Stevie took to social media to mourn her longtime friend.
She posted on Instagram: “A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975, had passed away.
“I didn’t even know she was ill … until late Saturday night. I wanted to be in London, I wanted to get to London – but we were told to wait.
“So, since Saturday, one song has been swirling around my head, over and over and over.
“I thought I might possibly get to sing it to her and so I’m singing it to her now.”
In memory of the late Christine, she added: “I always knew I would need these words one day…It’s all I can do now.
“See you on the other side, my love. Don’t forget me. Always, Stevie.”