The strongest friendship

[SteveMacD]

This may actually become a discussion that gets at the heart of all the weird little factions of Fleetwood Mac fans...

Mick and the McVies, to me, are more like siblings than bandmates. A few others have been able to hang out with them, but nobody, not even Stevie, has really been able integrate into that particular bond. Friends come and go, and sometimes come back again. These three have always been there for each other. Even though Christine has retired, she is still obviously regarded by Mick and John as still being a part of that particular entity. It was Christine's instinct to offer to help the band on SYW, and probably Mick's to say yes, though he had to work within band/label politics.

But, John and Chris were married, and the three of them lived together in the same house for nearly four years. They were all stars of the British Blues boom, went through countless guitar players, and took a huge risk together that paid off dearly. They litterally grew up, got rich, and grew old together.

I think Bob Welch was very much a part of their family (in their minds), but he broke that bond when he quit. He became just a friend. When Stevie and Lindsey joined, there were many more people in the background. Thus, the intimacy of Fleetwood/McVies and Buckingham Nicks was never, and really could never, be what it was amongst themselves. In the case of Stevie, she perhaps came the closest, with Billy coming in a close second, to becoming as close to that bond as anybody could. Their relationship with Lindsey was mostly just a professional, business relationship (and a damn good one).