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  2. Oh no! I know she’d been ill but I didn’t know she still was. Always underrated in FM for me but just as good a writer as SN and LB though their attention seeking distracted from her. Shame. Never thought hubby would outlive her.

  3. Ah man, that’s sad. Tremendous talent as a songwriter and singer. Imagine Rumours without Songbird, Tusk without Never Make Me Cry. Would have made both albums far less interesting and appealing. Sad news.

  5. So very sad. She was the heart and soul of Fleetwood Mac through many of its incarnations. Always seemed so grounded while all about her was chaos. Seemed like a thoroughly nice woman too. As others have said she was a supremely talented singer and songwriter but seemed happy to allow Buckingham and Nicks to hog the limelight with their multiple tantrums. She will be much missed.

    • Beautifully, perfectly expressed. Thankyou, @boneshaker.

      She seemed like a lovely person: grounded, modest, humble. And, for me, she had an absolutely ‘benchmark’ female singing voice: fluid, strong, kind, wise, full of warmth, colour, sincerity, humility, and integrity.

      God I hate seeing people this good leaving us. I’ve lost too many good people in the last few years and so, on top of that, to see someone in public life, in the Arts, of the quality of Christine McVie, also leaving us, is very difficult.

      Thankyou very, very much, Christine McVie, for the beauty that you gave us, and my sincere condolences to any of her loved ones who may happen to stumble across this site and this thread.

  6. Very sad indeed. FM weren’t the same in that period when she withdrew – I saw them without her, and then again after she rejoined – and she really was the glue. Her presence and contributions in the earlier incarnations are very undervalued too. Gutted.

  10. Aside from her peerless Mac songs, this is a real latter-day career highlight from the Buckingham McVie album. Deceptively simple but precision-crafted as always, this is just gorgeous.

    • Exactly Junior – for me her next best performance after Songbird which is just astounding and means so much to so many people
      When Nicks and Buckingham were kicking the shit out of each other she seemed to be above it all and dignity personified.
      A beautiful person.

      • To be fair, the conflict(s) during the recording of Rumours brought about truly great songs, as conflict often does. Christine’s own ‘You Make Loving Fun’ is about her extra-marital relationship with one of their recording entourage; certainly written and delivered with her usual elegance, but nodoubt quietly devastating to her estranged hubby.

  12. Dreadfully sad and unexpected. I remember her on Desert Island Discs telling a story of how her entire career was because of a chance meeting in London when a friend from Birmingham saw her dressing a shop window where she worked, recognised her as a keyboard player and asked her to come to a rehearsal with his band that evening. How a hugely successful career was kicked off by chance. Lovely song writer.

  13. I was never into the huge mega Fleetwood Mac. But she seemed like the sanest person in that mob.

    I won’t post “I’d Rather Go Blind” again, but what an amazing performance of a great 2 chord song!

  14. That’s a shame. Also a sobering reminder that most of the famous musicians born in the early 1940s will pass away within the next decade. Although perhaps we should celebrate the fact they have had far longer careers and higher profiles than most of their predecessors. Most popular acts from the early 20th century were long forgotten by the times they passed away.

  17. I was really saddened to learn of her death last evening and, generally, agree with what has been said (above) by other Afterworders.
    It is now some 10 hours since news of her death broke and I am more than a little surprised not to have heard any reaction from John McVie or Lindsay Buckingham – has anyone else heard anything from them?

    • LB quoted on his Facebook page ‘the days dwindle down to a precious few….’ etc, but I don’t think JMcV does social media, which I guess is how we judge everyone’s reaction to anything these days.

      • Lindsey has now tweeted the following:

        “Christine McVie’s sudden passing is profoundly heartbreaking. Not only were she and I part of the magical family of Fleetwood Mac, to me Christine was a musical comrade, a friend, a soul mate, a sister. For over four decades, we helped each other create a beautiful body of work and a lasting legacy that continues to resonate today. I feel very lucky to have known her. Though she will be deeply missed, her spirit will live on through that body of work and that legacy.”.

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