Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie dead at 79

Christine McVie said she was in “quite bad health” and would never be able to tour again in an interview just months before her death.

Fleetwood Mac singer Christine McVie has died, the band have announced in a statement released today.

British-born McVie, 79, was the singer – and songwriter – responsible for some of the band’s most enduring hits, including Everywhere, Songbird, Say You Love Me and Little Lies.

And McVie’s bandmate Stevie Nicks lamented the loss of her “best friend”, revealing that she had wanted to rush to McVie’s bedside to be with her but had been “told to wait.”

“We were so lucky to have a life with her,” the band’s statement read.

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McVie circa 2014. Picture: Getty

“Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed.”

A separate statement from McVie’s family revealed that she died in hospital, surrounded by her loved ones. No cause of death has yet been given, but the family confirmed she had died following a short illness.

“We would like everyone to keep Christine in their hearts and remember the life of an incredible human being, and revered musician who was loved universally,” the family statement read.

In one of her final interviews, published by Rolling Stone in June this year, McVie described herself as in “quite bad health” and said it was unlikely she’d ever be able to tour again.

“I don’t feel physically up for it... I’ve got a chronic back problem which debilitates me. I stand up to play the piano, so I don’t know if I could actually physically do it. What’s that saying? The mind is willing, but the flesh is weak,” she told the outlet.

Suprisingly, given Nicks’ assertion below that McVie was her “best friend in the whole world,” McVie also told Rolling Stone she’d had little contact with Nicks since Fleetwood Mac’s last tour ended three years ago.

“I don’t communicate with Stevie [Nicks] very much either,” she said. “When we were on the last tour, we did a lot. We always sat next to each other on the plane and we got on really well. But since the band broke up, I’ve not been speaking to her at all.”

Nicks today released a handwritten statement of her own, posted to Instagram, mourning the loss of her friend of many decades.

“A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975, had passed away,” Nicks wrote.

“I didn’t even know she was ill... until late Saturday night. I wanted to be in London; I wanted to get to London - but we were told to wait,” she continued.

Nicks said that as she waited, a song swirled around and around in her head - Hallelujah, by the band Haim, about the death of a best friend.

“I thought I might possibly get to sing it to her, and so, I’m singing it to her now.”

McVie onstage in Australia in 2019. Picture: AAP/David Clark

McVie joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970, and was a core member for the band’s biggest period, throughout the 70s and 80s with hit albums like Rumours, Mirage and Tango in the Night.

She left the group in 1999, insisting she was done with Fleetwood Mac and had entered retirement – but was lured back in 2014, touring extensively with the group once more.

Outside of Fleetwood Mac, McVie was also an accomplished solo performer, releasing several solo albums and, in 2017, a collaboration album with longtime Fleetwood Mac bandmate Lindsey Buckingham.

L-R: John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mike Campbell, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and Neil Finn of Fleetwood Mac in 2018. Picture: JB Lacroix/WireImage

McVie married twice: First to Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie in 1969, splitting in 1976. Ten years later she wed Portuguese keyboardist and songwriter Eddy Quintela, who collaborated with her on several songs, including the enduring Fleetwood Mac hit Little Lies.

McVie “was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life,” Fleetwood Mac said in the band’s joint statement.

Australian Fleetwood Mac fans got to see McVie in action most recently in 2019, when the group performed a national arena tour.