Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie has died following a short illness at the age of 79, her family have confirmed.The band, founded in London in 1967, sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the most successful groups ever.
By leading British rock music biographer Lesley-Ann Jones, author ofHunched over a glass of cider, staring into a candle flame night after night, nothing much about her later days said multi-millionaire rock star.
That Chris was there at all, however lonely, was no small triumph. Fleetwood Mac had lived so recklessly, it was a miracle any of them survived. It was said that Fleetwood Mac made even Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones look like the Salvation Army. A war baby born in England's Lake District, Chris's childhood was unusual. Her music teacher father, Cyril Perfect's, unrequited dream was to play first violin in a symphony orchestra. Her mother, Beatrice, a faith healer, psychic and medium, had a spirit guide and danced with ghosts.
Band members slept in specially redecorated hotel suites and indulged relentlessly in sex with friends and strangers, often in limousines the size of small yachts. Cocaine was acquired in bulk. On the road, each evening ahead of the gig, both band and crew would queue for their rations. The time allowed for the apportioning of drugs was even listed on their daily tour schedule.White powder 'peeled off the walls in every room of the studio,' confided Mick Fleetwood.
McVie found her dream home, spent eight years renovating it, learned to cook, read a thousand books, watched TV, and drowned her sorrows and loneliness in wine and pillsNicks later claimed that she spent more than $1 million on coke during the ten years of her addiction. To this day, she has a coin-sized hole in her septum, the result of snorting the drug.
'That was a bit of role play on her part,' Chris laughed. 'Part of Stevie saw herself as an accomplished pianist, whereas I never saw myself as a twirling chiffon-clad dervish up at the mic center-stage, commanding the audience from behind all that hair.Devoid of inhibitions, the band became a sexual free-for-all.'We used to say that cocaine was our curse,' commented McVie .
Christine stayed with the band because she didn't know how to get out of it – but with a growing sense of unease. ' reducing. Becoming … less. Less confident. I needed – I thought I needed – a man to validate me. I need coke and booze to fortify me to go on . When she fell down the stairs one night, injuring her back, she realized that no one could hear her scream.
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