Christine McVie said Stevie Nicks sang to her on stage 'every night' in a never-before-published 2015 interview
- Rolling Stone shared a never-before-published interview with Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie on Thursday.
- The singer-songwriter died "peacefully" at the age of 79 on Wednesday, her family said.
Rolling Stone shared a never-before-published interview with Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie on Thursday following the singer-songwriter's Wednesday death earlier this week.
McVie died "peacefully" in the hospital after a "short illness," her family said in a Wednesday statement. She was 79.
The musician's former bandmates shared touching tributes about McVie following news of her death this week, including Stevie Nicks, who memorialized "best friend" McVie with a handwritten note and song lyrics on social media.
But in 2015, as Fleetwood Mac was in the throes of touring, it was McVie singing Nicks' praises in an interview with Rolling Stone for a profile on the latter.
McVie recalled meeting Nicks for the first time in the 1970s after original Fleetwood Mac members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie recruited guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and his then-girlfriend Nicks to join the group.
"We met and I instantly liked her," McVie said of Nicks. "She and I are not competitive in any way at all. We're totally different but totally sympathetic with each other."
The two female band members both wrote and sang songs for the group, and McVie also played the keyboard. She described Nicks as more of a "girly-girl," while identifying herself as a tomboy who loves "hanging out with the guys."
"We are dear, dear friends," McVie said of Nicks. "She is who she is. I am who I am. Easy, easy, easy."
McVie said she didn't always understand Nicks' musical process; she initially dismissed Nicks' "Dreams," the only Number One single the band every had.
"She played it to me when we were doing the 'Rumours' album, and I said to her, 'This is boring, this is really boring,'" McVie recalled.
It was Buckingham who helped "translate" Nicks' songs for the rest of the band, McVie said.
"Then he comes to me, and he and I would work together," McVie said of the guitarist. "'Cause he and I have a fantastical music connection."
McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac in 2014 after a years-long hiatus. She described to Rolling Stone the joy she felt being back onstage with her bandmates at the time.
"It's the most amazing thing for me. Just fantastic," she said. "It's almost like being in the middle of a soap opera again. It's phenomenal."
Nicks was especially happy to have her female friend back in the band, McVie said.
"She sings to me! She sings to me on stage every night," McVie said. "She looks at me and sings, 'I still see your bright eyes' in 'Gypsy,' and she's looking at me directly."
"And we're happy to be back together. It's good," she added. "Another girl to hang out with. So it's all good."