Christine & Stevie

[UndoingTheLaces]

Does anyone know what the nature of Christine and Stevie's relationship was? In recent years Stevie has talked very positively about their friendship and how it was nice to have another girl to hang out with and how different it is now without her in the band. But when you look at the unreleased footage of the Tusk documentary it always looks like Christine is just annoyed with Stevie. And some of the interviews I've read she always seems very dismissive and saying things like "we never knew what Stevie was singing about" (totally misquoted, I'm sure). I just wonder if anyone has any idea if they actually did get along really well or not.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by UndoingTheLaces

Does anyone know what the nature of Christine and Stevie's relationship was? In recent years Stevie has talked very positively about their friendship and how it was nice to have another girl to hang out with and how different it is now without her in the band. But when you look at the unreleased footage of the Tusk documentary it always looks like Christine is just annoyed with Stevie. And some of the interviews I've read she always seems very dismissive and saying things like "we never knew what Stevie was singing about" (totally misquoted, I'm sure). I just wonder if anyone has any idea if they actually did get along really well or not.

Well, she did say she never knew what Stevie was singing about, but she also said it sounded good even if the lyrics didn't make sense. So, it wasn't exactly dismissive.

They got along. I'm sure it was like sisters. Some squabbling, general affection and tolerance.

Michele

[Villavic]

I think they were like sisters during the 70s. Stevie said so in the Classic albums - Rumours special. But during the 80s I think they went different ways (but still friends).

Bob Brunning wrote also that Christine didn't socialise that much with Stevie during the 80s: "she seems to have developed her own fantasy world somehow, which i'm not part of". Can't remember when or where Christine said that but it's a quote from Bob's book.

[drzubritsky]

Originally Posted by Villavic

Bob Brunning wrote also that Christine didn't socialise that much with Stevie during the 80s: "she seems to have developed her own fantasy world somehow, which i'm not part of". Can't remember when or where Christine said that but it's a quote from Bob's book.

That quote came from a Rolling Stone article that came out at the time of Christine's solo album (June 7, 1984 issue). The complete quote from the article is as follows:

More recently, Christine admits that she found her cohort Stevie Nicks' marriage "very, very bizarre" as well. Nicks married Kim Anderson, the widower of her best friend, Robin Anderson, early in 1983; they are now divorced. "She thought it was what Robin would have wanted," says Christine. "But 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."

Indeed, a touch of sadness creeps into Christine's voice when she discusses the transformation of Nicks' personality over the last ten years. "Ten years ago, she really had her feet on the gound, along with a trememdous 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."

Undoubtedly a pretty accurate observation of the state of Stevie's life at that time.

[louielouie2000]

I think the main way they really related was as women in a famous band during a time when women didn't wield much power in the entertainment industry. They kind of had to be allies, because otherwise who was going to stand up for their interests?

Christine has always said she felt like one of the guys in the band... and indeed she was a very serious force in Fleetwood Mac. She was the only trained musician in the Rumours group, probably the only one in the whole band who could read music, and like the guys in the group, was a very active & key figure in shaping the sound of Fleetwood Mac. Christine was in the studio every day when albums were being recorded because she did play an instrument.

Stevie really wasn't a huge part of the creative process from all the sources we've heard from over the years. She didn't play an instrument, and basically hung around in the studio when it was her turn to lay down vocals (which is really a finishing touch). On stage, Christine preferred to be pushed into the background because she wanted to be a part of the rhythm section of the band; Stevie was out front because she wanted to be a star.

There is no doubt in my mind that Christine & Stevie weren't friends so much as they were allies. They probably did bond during their respective breakups while Rumours was being recorded; there are the stories of them hiding out in each others condos. But I think any depth of friendship they had was probably pretty fleeting. After Rumours hit it big, every single member in the band started charting their own paths. The individual limos going to individual hotels & the like started, and eventually everyone only communicated through their respective managers.

Stevie & Christine undoubtedly will always have some sort of bond due to the extraordinary situation they were both a part of for the better part of their adult lives. But do they still talk on the phone these days? I kinda doubt it.

[On Ice]

I agree with Louie, probably more allies than actual friends, I can't see them actually having all that much in common. I doubt they've spoken more than a handful of times since the Dance days.

[michelej1]

Really, I think Christine thought Stevie was kind of silly, which is not to say she didn't value Stevie's contributions to FM, but she was just a little too flighty for Christine to have a lot in common with her. And the cocaine made Stevie even sillier. Of course, Christine herself was always drunk, but she wasn't given to constant nattering.

I do think it's rather how you feel about a little sister that you feel affection for, but you think they're kind of immature, a bit pesky and you're always having to tell them to shush and settle down.

Michele

[michelej1]

One of my favorite memories from the Dance tour is when Christine would go to get her tamborine and Stevie had lots of them, so she would be there trying to hand three different ones to Christine and Christine didn't need any help getting one in the first place. She certainly wasn't looking for a selection of tambos and she'd kind of have to bat Stevie's hand away just to get a tamborine, because Stevie was just being officiously helpful.

You know, it's one of those tolerant relationships where you are constantly wishing the other person would calm down a bit. But you like them well enough.

Michele

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Really, I think Christine thought Stevie was kind of silly, which is not to say she didn't value Stevie's contributions to FM, but she was just a little too flighty for Christine to have a lot in common with her. And the cocaine made Stevie even sillier. Of course, Christine herself was always drunk, but she wasn't given to constant nattering.

I do think it's rather how you feel about a little sister that you feel affection for, but you think they're kind of immature, a bit pesky and you're always having to tell them to shush and settle down.

Michele

I agree, 100%. It's how I've always viewed their relationship. Sometimes, your friends are that, merely because you're in the same room together. But I don't think they have much in common, so once they're out of the same room, they go their separate ways.
Plus, Stevie's always had such an entourage, and I never thought of Christine enjoying that.

[MacShadowsBall]

I agree with what louie said.

[Fannymac]

Paul Fishkin once told me that a comment that Christine made (circa '81) that a lot of Stevie's songs were "rubbish" really hurt Stevie, but I think their relationship had highs and lows....I think they were close early on, say, the first year or three, just because it was a new adventure for both of them, then I think they went their own ways in the 80's, rebonding (albeit in a different way) in the 90's.
That said, I would bet they haven't talked in years now.

[UndoingTheLaces]

Originally Posted by michelej1

She certainly wasn't looking for a selection of tambos and she'd kind of have to bat Stevie's hand away just to get a tamborine, because Stevie was just being officiously helpful.

Michele, I have never heard the term officiously before and I know many people who are officiously helpful. I will use that term all the time now. Thank you for that.

Thanks for all the responses. This is really fascinating to me. I've never really thought about it before. I had a friend who is a lesbian and she always loved the photos of Christine and Stevie in the Tango book because they were being very close and intimate with each other and she thought they would have made a really nice couple had they been gay. I saw one of those pics recently and it got me to thinking about what their actual friendship must have been like. You hear stuff in interviews but you never know if they are expressing true feelings or just telling fans what they think they want to hear.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by Fannymac

Paul Fishkin once told me that a comment that Christine made (circa '81) that a lot of Stevie's songs were "rubbish" really hurt Stevie, but I think their relationship had highs and lows....I think they were close early on, say, the first year or three, just because it was a new adventure for both of them, then I think they went their own ways in the 80's, rebonding (albeit in a different way) in the 90's.
That said, I would bet they haven't talked in years now.

Yes, I guess when you start out and you are all traveling in one car and sleeping on instrument cases, that you're close one way or another, like it or not, especially if you're the only two women.

Then when you all experience success together, there's no one else in the world who knows what that feels like and can share the emotion with you and that creates a bond. It's like you have this joint foundation between you, even though your personalities are quite divergent.

Christine would say how in the studio they'd have to tell Stevie to stop singing. She couldn't play the instruments, so she did not take part in the song building musically. She wanted to sing right away, when the rest of them were still working through the sound. And they'd tell Stevie "not yet." Stevie said she'd be waiting in the sound booth and sometimes they would just forget about her. She'd be waiting for hours.

You're a part of the same family, but not really on the same mental wave length.

Michele

[Etisl]

Originally Posted by Villavic

I think they were like sisters during the 70s. Stevie said so in the Classic albums - Rumours special. But during the 80s I think they went different ways (but still friends).

Bob Brunning wrote also that Christine didn't socialise that much with Stevie during the 80s: "she seems to have developed her own fantasy world somehow, which i'm not part of". Can't remember when or where Christine said that but it's a quote from Bob's book.

I did see an interview, it might have been on behind the music...but not quite sure, where the band members talked about Stevie being hard to connect with during her drug years.........and how great it was to have Stevie back, now that she was sober.

[aleuzzi]

This has been talked about a lot before. Not sure where the threads are.

Perhaps in the 70s and early 80s the two were more allies than natural friends. But even then there appears to have been genuine warmth.

When Lindsey left, the two women seemed to have grown a lot closer as friends who had been through times together and apart. There is no doubt Stevie valued Christine as a friend and as a big sister throughout all of her years in the band. Stevie credits Christine with having a guiding hand over everything. If Christine comes off as sarcastic or ironic about Stevie in interviews one should remember she does that a lot about a lot of the band members. And she does it about herself too. It's part of her personality. Stevie demonstrates her affection for people far more readily than Christine.