Fleetwood Mac‘s history has been marked by discord and harmony, loss and discovery, departures and returns. The story of Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie is no different. The intriguing and unusual pact between Buckingham and McVie that led to an unexpected collaboration in 2017 shook up the music scene and their fans.
Christine had initially left Fleetwood Mac in 1998, citing her desire to lead a ‘normal life.’ However, it seems the call of music proved too strong to resist. Over the years, she felt a renewed connection with her creative muse. This longing to create and her closeness with her former bandmates pushed her to reach out and express her desire to return to the band.
Lindsey has always been one for surprises; his revelation about an intriguing chat with Christine is no exception. This wasn’t just about some casual banter over coffee. Buckingham laid out a singular demand for McVie’s return to Fleetwood Mac, one that changed the course of their musical journey.
The conversation with McVie occurred when Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie were in the studio, working on some of Buckingham’s songs. McVie reached out, expressing interest in rejoining the band. This unexpected call prompted Buckingham to lay down his terms. This wasn’t just a negotiation for band membership; it was an ultimatum to make her stay that would fuel a creative partnership no one saw coming.
What followed next wasn’t just McVie’s return to the band but a burst of creative energy that took everyone by surprise. McVie shared some song ideas with Buckingham, and their collaborative efforts in the studio extended way beyond anyone’s expectations. In a 2017 interview with The Guardian, Lindsey revealed that they’d unknowingly embarked on a journey to produce a duet album that was as unplanned as it was fruitful.
Lindsey Buckingham’s words to Christine McVie about rejoining the band read:
“Well, only initially. It was done in stages – before Christine decided to rejoin Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and I had gone into the studio, just the three of us, to cut some of my songs. We put that material on the shelf. A year after that, Christine phoned up Mick and was nosing around about wanting to rejoin the band.”
She added:
“I don’t think she assumed we’d necessarily be OK with it — we had been doing quite well as a four-piece. I think she was trying to nose around to see if there was any openness to it before she got too assertive or specific about it. I had to have a conversation with Christine and say: ‘Well, we’d love you to come back, but you can’t leave again.’
She told me she’d been reconnecting with her creative muse and had some rough ideas she sent to me – I, of course, took great liberties with them in my studio. And she was interested in these songs I’d been working on, and Mick and John thought it would be good to bring her over early and cut tracks on some of these things. It was unbelievable. We only expected to do it for a couple of weeks, but we stayed for a month. Nobody was saying it was a duet album – we didn’t care what it was!”
And just like that, a simple conversation, an ultimatum, and a shared love for music created a safe space for the two musicians to create ‘Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie.’ This surprising reunion not only marked McVie’s triumphant return to the band but also became an embodiment of Fleetwood Mac’s enduring spirit to keep creating in the music space.
