What's Christine Doing Now?
 

I know we had her solo album a few years back, which I'll be honest I've only listened to about 1/2 a time. Is she pretty much done with music these days?

I think so, personally. I also think most people on this part of the board agree?

She deserves to be. I'm glad she left FM while she still had her dignity and she deserves to be relaxing like she is now :)

Probably a smart move. Guess if that's all there is going on it explains why this side of the board is pretty quiet.

I'd have to guess she still at least noodles around with her piano and lyrics at home. She's converted one of the barns on her estate into a recording studio... I'm betting we'll get another album from her at some point. It's anyone's guess how long that'll take. I'm quite certain we'll never see her perform live again, though.

if she does perform live, she will only do it in arena's in europe, i doubt that she will step foot in the states and perform, and even if she did that then probably maybe 2-5 shows. thoose shows will be booked really fast!

I think it's safe to accept, like Louie said, she'll never perform live again. She's had stage fright from day 1, she's too intelligent to put herself through that again and with no one (like Stevie) relying on her, there's no need for her to.

i was just saying if she did! i agree!

If she were ever to do any sort of live shows again, it'd have to be a short stint at a London theatre/hall/etc. I don't think she'd ever perform anywhere where she couldn't be in her bed the same night. But like Georgie said, I think she's done. She hated touring and performing since day 1. Don't believe me? Listen to the 1971 Fleetwood Mac song Homeward Bound. That's probably why she was perma-drunk for decades... to blunt that anxiety. She's nearly 70 now... it's safe to say she's done having to put up with that :).

Oh, undoubtedly. For a musician--whether by vocation or avocation--that never ends (except in extreme circumstances like decapitation). Her music is still as enjoyable to her as it ever was (the enjoyment of listening, the enjoyment of singing, & the tactile enjoyment of putting your fingers on a piano), but it's now wrapped up in her private life.

Maybe some old friend of hers--Steve Winwood or Eric Clapton--will convince her to put some piano or vocal on one of their future projects, but she isn't gonna lead the charge anymore.

She wont ever tour again.

I'd like to think she might add something to a future Fleetwood mac album but not full participation.

She's retired - good on her!

Gail

tour = never
perform live= never
guest on an album = probably
another solo record = slight chance
retire in England and live happily ever after = yes:lol:

And good for her! Of course I wish she was still in the band, but ultimately, I want her to be happy.

what band... they've toured twice and put out once album in the last decade...

oh and a rumours re-release that never came about

That's because a FM without CM, is like a day without sunshine. And I think they finally figured it out. They need at least someone, to balance it out. Of course I've said it before, but why not bring Bob Welch back, and let him be the backing guitarist, and do 4-5 songs!

RE-releasing it, again, would have been idiotic, IMO.

I wanted them to put out some demos in hi - fi...

but yeah put a fork in it..

This is so true. Both Stevie & Lindsey have pretty dark and intense songs but there was Chris who sang happily "I wanna be with you Everywhere" and that balanced out the darkness. Good point!!!

Yup, I never thought of it that way. That's probably why the whole band dynamic worked, actually.

Okay, so there's a lot of "She's retired and she's earned it, good for her" sentiments here. I can't disagree. But I CAN say, it's NOT ENOUGH.

In the Meantime was fantastic, in my opinion. Her voice is in great form. She's still writing really catchy songs. I know she has at least one more group of songs in her and I want to hear them. I won't stop hoping until she isn't around anymore...

I couldn't agree more with you... I really need my friend..

I just hope her health is good. She is in the second half of the 60s and smoked and drank for many years, and I don't suppose she ate very healthfully while on the road.

Hopefully the peaceful serenity of living in an English manor house surrounded by gardens and the love of her extended family has counteracted all that rock 'n' roll bad living.

It's not impossible for someone her age to be a vibrant force in a band, whether it be rock or some other type of music, but if she doesn't want to be that vibrant force, I wish her all the love in the world.

I imagine the food and wine she consumed on tours from 1978-the present was far better than anything we ever eat! Mick has often mentioned how at tour rehearsals and backstage during show times there was always a ridiculous amount of expensive food and drink. Plus Chris is an amazing cook.

During the first half of the 70s, however, things were quite different. Bob Welch said (in one of his Q and As) that she practically lived on Duncan Doughnuts.

Expensive doesn't necessarily mean good for you, but I expect you're right and that during those years she probably did eat good food most of the time. She certainly kept her girlish figure. (insert smiley of your choice)

In general, I only wish good things for the band members if they don't conflict with my own needs. So, I've never been one of the "Christine dserves it" people.

Christine, I deserve it. I want you back. Dog with a bone.

Michele

Christine, I love you. You have been the soundtrack, to my life. More so, than ANYone. And I sincerely thank you. I wish, more than anything, that you would come back into the FM fray, but I know that you're at a peaceful place in your life now. And while I WISH that you'd change your mind, I'm extremely happy for you now, as you are.
I sincerely thank you, for changing my life, with your music.

I have a feeling she's sleeping late, walking about town, and swilling lots of wine. ;)

I can imagine her first day off after FM.. she must have been relieved..

"Wow, I'll never have to deal with that ditz, that asshole, that terrible business decision maker, or my ex!":lol:

I would still like to meet her, more than any person on this planet.
But if she was a bitch to me, it would break my heart.
Although she could tell me that I was wearing a stupid fukcing shirt(I'd wear a stupid, fukcing shirt, on purpose!:lol:).

I think (I hope for her sake) she's given up alcohol. There were pictures of her with a water bottle around the time 'In the Meantime' came out. It's pretty obvious she drank too much during the FM glory years.

I also read around that time that she had given up cigarettes, but had taken them up again when her marriage to Eddy ended. Hopefully by now she's given them up again, too.

Like others in this thread, it pleases me to think of her at her piano coming up with riffs and musical ideas, and maybe, once in a while, she plays an old tune just to keep it rattling around in her conscious mind.

When she released 'In the Meantime' it's a pity she didn't promote it with a short run of intimate acoustic shows, with a stripped down band, no traveling required.

Yes, it would be lovely to have video of something like that to return to every now and again. I'd love to have simple arrangements like that for choice In the Meantime selections such as Calumny, as well as oldies that we never heard live enough like Got a Hold On Me.

Michele

She spends her time drinking vodka tonics and surfing The Ledge.

In her bathrobe

What's her user name?

Someone once suggested she should use Perky Ditty Writer :lol: :lol:

Gail

Even though there are supposedly reliable sources, it's hard to me to believe in the "day 1" hate/fright issue. If that is true, I'd disagree with ButterCookie about Christine being intelligent. She would be the N.1 Idiot in the planet. Because after Rumours she was millonaire, she could have left the band and do whatever she wants.

Besides, I have not seen her "perma-drunk" state. At Tango tour video, she was the leader of the show (while Stevie was "comfortably" numb), she looked happy (not like in the Dance video), gorgeous and sober. I can't believe she was scared or unhappy. At Mirage video she looked beautiful and secure too. Probably the 70s were the excess phase for the whole band, including Christine, but can't remember news about Christine falling drunk, passing out, or involved in scandal, etc. during the 80s. Can't say the same about Stevie or Mick.

I do believe she hated the 1997 Reunion tour, and didn't want to go on the road since then. But about the past, I can't find a reason why she would be forced to go on, specially after Rumours when, as a single wealthy woman, could take any decision she wants.

I would assume that some of the reason she had to keep touring/recording early on is that she still had to fulfill her contract. I don't know why she chose to continue after that. Maybe she felt she 'owed' it to the other members of FM.

Yes, I thought about a contract issue too. Maybe it included Tusk, but for Mirage and Tango they were on their own, got their own lawyers, copyrights, etc. Hard to believe she felt forced.
Besides, when you have money, you have the power to change/disolve any contract. Remember Farrah Fawcett. She wanted to leave Charlie's Angels after season 1, and that was really harmful for her career, but she wanted to do it and she did it. And I guess she had less money than Christine.

My point is.. when you hate to do something, when something really makes you unhappy (and if you have the power to change your situation), you just don't do it, unless you are masochistic.

I want also to correct my previous post. According to Mick, she left touring not in 1997, but during Behind the Mask:

(1990)That summer's series of Euro shows also saw both Chris and Stevie announce in midtour that they would be leaving the band. Both women were weatlthy and famous, and neither felt like continuing the pressure and the pace that went along with life in Fleetwood Mac. The two ladies reached this decision together, although both indicated they would continue to record with the band in the future.

I still think Chris was wealthy since Rumours phenomenom. (I read at other sources that the actual reason was S/C were upset with Mick because he wrote his autobio and included personal Chris and Stevie facts they didn't want to share).

Maybe yes, she felt she owed to the band (after all the Mirage tour was short, and Tango tour was within the turmoil of Lindsey leaving the band). But then I'd think that she started not to enjoy touring during late 80s, but that's far of a fright/hate feeling since day n.1

Or maybe, just maybe, you care too much about another band member who needs you to more or less survive and don't want to leave them on their own with the band members who broke her heart. :wavey:

In my opinion I believe Christine McVie did appreciate touring and the lifestyle for a very long time. Yes, it takes it toll on everyone.. Look at Lindsey, he had to stop for a while. I believe as 2000 approached 30 years of doing it was just the end of the line for her.

As for Homeward Bound, for me that song is about being homesick. She had 2 lives... One of domestication, and the other of this rock n roll star. I would die to do a world tour.. but at the same time I'd miss my cat and my bed. Most of us would... HB is a great tune by the way.

In one interview during BTM tour she stated something along the lines of.. going out to promote Behind the Mask and play it live is really what it's all about for me.

If you ask me, I think that Christine felt there wasn't much left in FM after The Dance. It became sort of a cash machine with little magic and a lot of noise. I think she felt she had enough money and she wanted to live back in England in the rural peace. Retirement is awesome for people that worked hard for it. And I believe she worked hard. What I do not believe is that she hating touring and being in FM in general.

I've always figured that Chris loved the actual performing, but found all the travel and the logistics to be drudgery. Of course during the wealthy years she had all the arrangements made for her all the time, so it became tolerable. I also think she loved being a star. People always say that she was the quiet one, letting Stevie dominate the limelight, but everybody in that band got their share of attention from fans and media.

Weren't her neighbors mad at her for building a fence on some land she bought a few years ago? Or something. Whatever happened with that?