Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham Shares Solemn Tribute To Late Christine McVie

“Not only were she and I part of the magical family of Fleetwood Mac, to me Christine was a musical comrade, a friend, a soul mate, a sister," he wrote.
Buckingham (left) said he and McVie (right) left "a beautiful body of work and a lasting legacy."
Buckingham (left) said he and McVie (right) left "a beautiful body of work and a lasting legacy."
Cindy Ord via Getty Images

Christine McVie’s death on Wednesday at 79 years old resulted in an outpouring of online tributes to the musician. Lindsey Buckingham has now joined their former Fleetwood Mac bandmates Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood in expressing some personal reflection.

“Christine McVie’s sudden passing is profoundly heartbreaking,” wrote Buckingham on Instagram. “Not only were she and I part of the magical family of Fleetwood Mac, to me, Christine was a musical comrade, a friend, a soul mate, a sister.”

“For over four decades, we helped each other create a beautiful body of work and a lasting legacy that continues to resonate today,” he added. “I feel very lucky to have known her. Though she will be deeply missed, her spirit will live on through that body of work and that legacy.”

McVie’s passing was first announced Tuesday on Twitter in a joint statement from the band. The singer’s family confirmed her death on Wednesday with an Instagram post explaining McVie was surrounded by relatives when she “peacefully” died “following a short illness.”

“We kindly ask that you respect the family’s privacy at this extremely painful time, and 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 statement continued.

Buckingham and then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks joined the band in 1974 as respective guitarists and vocalists, per NME. With Fleetwood drumming, Christine McVie as a singer, and her husband John McVie on the bass, they produced lasting albums like 1977’s “Rumours.”

While the band’s interpersonal love affairs spurred iconic songs like “Dreams” and “Go Your Own Way,” they also led Buckingham and Nicks and the McVies to end their relationships during the production of their Grammy Award-winning album, per The Los Angeles Times.

“In Lindsey’s mind, all the other women that came after me were all going after rich rock-and-roll star Lindsey,” Nicks told Rolling Stone. “Nobody was looking into the heart I had looked into. Nobody was seeing the guy before he was famous. We knew each other before.”

Buckingham was fired from the group in 2018 and underwent open-heart surgery the following year, per People. He and his wife Kristen Messner, with whom he has three kids, nearly divorced during the COVID-pandemic lockdowns — but have since decided to reconsider.

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