Rare (and cool) Christine Interview: 1985

[Villavic]

It is supposed that the first motivation for doing Tango was Mick’s bankruptcy. In his book he said this happened in June 1984. But I would think the idea was born in 1985.

As it happened, it was really Christine McVie who reunited Fleetwood Mac. It started when she called John Courage out of his Hawaiian exile to help her make an album in Switzerland, and eventually to manage her career. Christine had been asked to record Elvis's "Can't Help Falling in Love" for the soundtrack of the film A Fine Mess. She called in Richard Dashut to produce, who in turn said that Lindsey was a real Elvis fan and might like to get involved. Then John Courage called me and John McVie, and in August 1985 four-fifths of Fleetwood Mac found themselves in the studio, cutting this record. This was fun, and the seed that eventually grew into Tango in the Night.

But it was far from easy. Our natural group chemistry was still pretty weak at that point, and it was really the lawyers and managers the Gang of Four who tried to work out a structure in which we could create together. I have to say that from the outset, Stevie's people were great. Mick's in a jam, they said. How can we help him? John McVie said he would be there. Christine said she was in. Lindsey Buckingham alone was fairly reticent about Fleetwood Mac. He was enjoying his hard-won independence and deep into his own album with Richard Dashut.

Eventually we worked to build enough momentum that we were able to convince Lindsey that it might go off without him. When Lindsey said he was in, things went forward.


So if this is true and accurate, when in 1984 Christine announced a Mac reunion to record an album, probably it was based just in conversations with Mick, and probably John. I don't think she was sure they would count on Lindsey. And on Stevie. Nor when would this happen.