Last Word Christine McVie
 

Who the heck writes these questions, what is this an annual performance review? What are your goals for the next couple of years? She's almost 80. Mitigating back pain and trying to enjoy the rest of her days. That's the goal.

It's interesting to hear her take on all of the fighting. Makes one wonder just how overblown a lot of it had become over the years. How much of it was exaggerated in the minds of Stevie and Lindsey?

I love the brevity and matter-of-factness of her responses. While the rest of Fleetwood Mac is continually embroiled in regrets and recriminations, Chris is the Anti-Drama.

I think she’s deliberately playing the positive ion to all the negative ions. Probably more than anyone else, she wants Mac’s legacy to be musical, not sociological. She downplays the melodrama, while the others (and the press) emphasize it. But the truth sits between.

Sounds, too, as if she’s back in London permanently. I hope she plans to see Lindsey play somewhere next fall. They ought to both start demoing again for a follow-up to the June 2017 album.

Stevie and Lindsey are all about drama. Especially Stevie. Mainly Stevie. It's interesting she says that they are no longer enemies. But they aren't talking to each other. I'm not sure what that is about. Stevie seemed pretty pissed when she told RS she would never be in the same room with him again.

I love Christine. She is so genuine. She obviously has looked on the bright side of life instead of the dark like someone else we know. I wish her the best with her Scoliosis.

I loved this. Thank you for sharing and posting. I love that she mentioned Bob Welch and was happy in that era. I would love to ask her questions about it. The Stevie/Lindsey era has been asked to death. I want to dig into her relationship with Bob and her songs in that era. I still love it when Bob said Chris would give him side eye and hate his talking mid song like on the Bermuda Triangle.
I am just happy she said those 2 words even in passing...….. BOB WELCH

Wow, I really enjoyed that interview. Christine mentioned so many folks, but nothing about Billy and Rick, which surprised me. I wonder if she was disappointed by the lackluster response to Behind the Mask and Time, and therefore doesn’t care to talk about that era much? She should know that just because BTM didn’t match Tango sales, a lot of fans did enjoy that album. Her positive remarks about Bob Welch were a surprise to me, considering she wanted him excluded from the RRHOF.

Great interview!

I dont think that was anything personal. She has known Billy for years before Fleetwood Mac and I am sure they still keep in touch. If she purposely avoided them its probably because of how Rick and Billy got screwed over. Stevie was already bringing Mike Campbell so it was probably complicated to only ask one and not the other.
I am sure Christine is fond of Rick and Billy and especially Billy. Chris and Billy's voice went really good together.

Chris and Billy's harmonies were probably better than hers and Lindsey's.

I LOVE Lindsey, but Billy is a better singer. Billy's voice doesn't get enough love on here. It's comforting, like Christine's.

Christine can harmonize with anyone so well. She really. has some magic.

Very well said, especially the part about Billy’s voice being comforting. That’s exactly the word I use when I think of his voice, so hearing you felt the same way was cool.

Well, Billy has great talent and knows how to use it. But I’m just not all that turned on by his voice. The only times I dug hearing him sing were when he was duetting and harmonizing with Bekka. Those two had magic.

True! I mean, Bob Welch and Lindsey’s voices couldn’t have been more different but she sounded great with both of them. I think of her harmonies on Emerald Eyes and Hypnotized are haunting. But then her harmonies on The Chain, Rhiannon, and World Turning are equally haunting in a different way.

I'm often surprised that so many here don't seem to like Billy. I mean, Lindsey is the real talent, but Billy is a good songwriter, with a really nice voice.

He had every reason to be pissed when they didn't ask him back into the band.

I was never satisfied with Billy as a replacement for Lindsey. He can sing but the only good song he contributed to FM was ITBOMM, IMO. He's not at all exciting to watch onstage. Why would they want him back in the band when his being there the first time didn't do a damn thing to benefit or take FM to another level? The Behind the Mask and Time versions of FM were their lowest points.

So you're saying Neil and Mike brought some magic to the band that Rick and Billy didn't? :lol:

I think Billy has a lovely singing voice. I'm with Viv in that I only like ITBOMM (for Rick, I really like Love is Dangerous).

I think he should have been asked back in 2018, Rick too. But, one, isn't he not healthy enough to do a one year 90 show tour and two, even though Lindsey isn't a big audience draw, do any casual fans of FM music even know who Billy Burnette is in 2022? With Neil and Mike, you get CH and Heartbreaker fans.

The BTM show I saw in Cleveland was explosive. I left saying "wow"!

But this is Fleetwood Mac, not CH OR TOM PETTY.

It's not Ringo Starr's All Star Band!

No but it’s basically the Stevie Nicks All Star Fajita Roundup Band!

After firing Lindsey they were going to need to ensure that whatever press there was going to be saw the change as an upgrade or at the bare minimum keep things level. I think adding Neil and Mike accomplishes that. Going with Rick and Billy or even Billy instead of Neil wouldn’t quite have the same impact. I don’t think Neil’s name is that much of a household name in the US but as soon as you plug Don’t Dream It’s Over in the background of a news story announcing him in the band, a majority of the “tourists” who might want to “see a Fleetwood Mac show finally” will go “oh I love that song” etc. It just adds more legitimacy than going with Billy Burnette who really is not well known at all. It was different in 1987 - Lindsey had left and the band had a hugely successful album. I don’t think reuniting that era would really sound like a good (or more importantly, money making idea to Azoff) in 2018. Outside of us, that era of Fleetwood Mac post-Tango up through The Dance is largely forgettable to the general public (not to mention to the band itself).

I thought that was you I saw there LOL! We should have hung out!

Actually, I saw them in Cincinnati in November of 1990. No Save Me :distress:

Still a good show. That was the first concert I’d ever been to.

I understand why FM didn’t go to Billy or Rick in 2019- they had already done that once, so they wanted someone new. And as already pointed out, Stevie wanted Mike Campbell. As much as I like Billy, Neil Finn was a good choice. And didn’t Billy have major health issues shortly after the announcement? Or it might have been right before, can’t remember.

All I want from FM now is a BTM Deluxe Edition. Ok, and a Christine McVie Deluxe Edition of her 1984 album. And a rerelease of her concert on dvd/Blu-Ray. Oh, and Deluxe Editions of Rock a Little and the Other Side of the Mirror by Stevie. And the full concert videos of the Mirage and Rock a Little tours. And a video compilation of all the FM videos.

Billy and Rick weren’t picked because they were inspirational artists, they were picked because opening night was 55 days away and the band was behind schedule.

Billy was in their inner circle. They’d all worked with him, they knew he knew the songs, and that he could sing with Stevie and Christine. Rick was an in-demand sideman who was a fan of Peter Green. Furthermore, Billy and Rick had a working relationship.

It saved a lot of time and got them road ready by opening night.

Do you really think that more than 1%of the audience was there to see Mike or Neil?

The crowd in Indy erupted into thunderous applause when Mike said “We’ve got an Indiana crowd on an Indiana night” before talking about how “Oh Well” was a staple in the Heartbreakers set on several tours.

As mentioned many times, DDIO was the cell phones-as-lighters song in the set.

People were there to see Fleetwood Mac and knew that Tom Petty’s guitarist and the guy from Crowded House were in the band.

In any case, I’d definitely say there was much more excitement about Neil and Mike than Billy and Rick.

You know my opinion on the whole thing but yes, I would say more than 200 people in an arena were convinced to buy a ticket because of Mike or Neil. They’re a far bigger draw than Rick Vito and/or Billy Burnette would ever be which was my point. Vince Gill in Eagles is the same concept. You could have put any serviceable guitar player and singer in to handle Glen’s parts and/or supplement a more heavily tilted Henley/Walsh setlist.

I guess I'm more of a purist. I don't like my different foods touching.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m with you. I love TP and the HBs but I’d rather see Campbell with his own band or a reformulated Heartbreakers playing the solo to Runnin’ Down a Dream than watching Mike painfully try to create his own spin to the GYOW solo.

My understanding of the unnamed 2018 Tour was that it was a celebration of FM's 50 years so I feel the show should've been free of non-FM music. The crowds obviously didn't care because DDIO and Free Fallin' are huge hits.
I think the three non-FM songs they did should've been As Long as You Follow, In the Back of My Mind, and Say You Will to give fair representation to Stevie and Chris' work and to give Neil another FM song to sing.

My feeling is that one you've made music with your band, then you can play your other work in the set list.

Those are *your* rules, though. Most people don’t agree.

Fleetwood Mac is in the entertainment business. DDIO and at least one Tom Petty song were foregone conclusions when the lineup was announced. You don’t bring guys of that caliber in the band and ignore their legendary bodies of work.

If FM had played As Long As You Follow, In the Back of My Mind, and Say You Will, I would have lost my mind LOL. Especially the first two songs you mentioned. Really, I think it would have been better if Stevie and Christine had performed As Long As You Follow together rather than All Over Again. Lost opportunity. That is a beautiful song, it’s on both of their greatest hits albums, and it would have served the same purpose as All Over Again, only the audience would have responded to it more favorably, to say the least.

Most people don't agree that Free Fallin' is a Stevie Nicks song either just because she recorded it for a tv show soundtrack but that's your rule.

What's up with the "*"? Why are you writing "Those are *your* rules, though." I wrote "I feel or I think" to express my thoughts. You are so quick to argue with anything that's not praise for the 2018 Tour. I went to shows on that tour. They even had a shirt with the names of all the albums on it. I didn't care for the shows. What's the problem with that? I also didn't care for OWTS. Are you pleased with that? Just don't understand why you're not kind.

If they're in the entertainment business, then why did they not do Fleetwood Mac hits or classics as Sara, I Don't Want to Know, Over My Head, Songbird, Never Going Back Again, Tusk, or In the Back of My Mind. Do people not know those songs?

I cant believe we are debating guitar replacements would bring in a bigger crowd or get more applause. None of the above. Most people are there to see Stevie and have no interest in who the guitarist is. I wish we could do a social experiment and sell tickets in the same city for various guitarists. There would be an insignificant change. I am sure there were many like me that did not go because Lindsey was not there. But once the replacements were hired, that crowd was baked in.
I keep reading how the crowd went wild for Dont Dream Its Over. Not sure there are mass Crowded House fans packing arenas today. Seriously people are commenting that they saw more cellphones or applause? That is your measurement?
Stevie's 24K Gold show would attract almost the same amount of patrons if not more. The real test would be remove Stevie and see what you have. Petty fans were not going to see Fleetwood Mac. Sorry. Most of them were not happy that Mike did it and thought it ruined Petty's legacy.
Even the members of Fleetwood Mac know this otherwise they would not walk on eggshells when the boss gives an ultimatum.

I couldn't care less what the masses think.

I like you! :xoxo:

I would have settled for three from BTM over any from SYW. I think with Lindsey not there, they had an opportunity to represent BTM and the compilation songs. Say You Will was on the 50 Years compilation so that's why I threw that in.

Nope. I didn't want them there either. But if I had to choose, I'd take them back over Billy any day.

Nobody here likes Billy. I've peed beside the man, and he's a good guy. And a good singer. Billy deserves some love here.

I would take Rick and Billy over Neil and Mike any day and I'm a huge Heartbreaker fan. I do not like Rick and Billy's singing but hold on a second (before you start flaming). One of the best songs on BTM is Billy's song! I also liked the 1990 Farewell concert better than the Dance. Having said that I always thought Billy's singing on Go Your Own Way and Dont Stop was nails down a chalkboard. I of course prefer Lindsey with the band and like Lindsey's singing. I think that is the minority opinion around here (Lindsey's singing). But I cant quite put my finger on why I liked the Billy/Rick era. Stevie was klonopinned out too. I suppose its because Chris was holding the band together and we didnt have to deal with the Stevie/Lindsey drama. Stevie was almost an afterthought with the band since none of her songs were singles during this era. Many were like "oh Stevie is still with that band?".

So there were definite perks to this era despite no commercial success.

Now the answer we deserve to know. Were you pee shy around Billy?

So I was too young to have seen any of that era live but from what I've heard, I have to concur about Billy's singing. In particular on Lindsey's songs - Lindsey has a unique voice and Billy singing Go Your Own Way was as brutal as Neil Finn IMO. However, I love In the Back of My Mind and actually opening some of the shows with it in 1990 was a ballsy thing that Fleetwood Mac of the last 25 years would never consider.

I preferred Billy and Rick. They were more FM adjacent to me than Mike and Neil. Love Billy Burnette... The tours I saw in 1987/2000 ish.. fantastic shows. There were truly Shakin the Cage..

I never liked 1987's The Chain. Visually it was spectacular almost Eagles like with 3 singers lined up on stage with a 4th behind keyboards singing all the parts. But vocally it did not sound great. I could be wrong but I think for their second tour in 1990, they just let Billy take over Lindsey's lead and it sounded better. Or at least a little better :lol: