Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were brought back together by the death of their dear friend and Fleetwood Mac bandmate, Christine McVie. Here’s what we know about McVie’s funeral, possibly the first time Nicks and Buckingham have been spotted together since the guitarist was fired from the classic rock band.
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham shared tributes after their Fleetwood Mac bandmate, Christine McVie, died in November 2022
Christine McVie, best known as the keyboardist, singer, and songwriter for Fleetwood Mac, died on Nov. 30, 2022. The musician’s family announced that the 79-year-old “passed away peacefully” following a brief illness.
Shortly after McVie’s death, Stevie Nicks shared an Instagram tribute to her bandmate. “A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975, had died,” 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. So, since Saturday, one song has been swirling around in my head, over and over and over. I thought I might possibly get to sing it to her, and so, I’m singing it to her now.” She shared the lyrics to the song “Hallelujah” by HAIM, written in her own handwriting.
Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham also posted an emotional tribute to his friend. “Christine McVie’s sudden passing is profoundly heartbreaking,” he tweeted in a photo of a handwritten note. “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, and 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.”
Christine McVie’s sudden passing is profoundly heartbreaking. 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… (1/2) pic.twitter.com/idyuBMqH1n
— Lindsey Buckingham (@LBuckingham) December 1, 2022Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks reunited to celebrate Christine McVie after her death
In his eulogy for Christine McVie, which he shared on Instagram, drummer Mick Fleetwood revealed that the Fleetwood Mac keyboardist’s illness brought the band back together.
“When we first learned that we might be losing Christine, there was an immediate coming together of everyone in the band and the Fleetwood Mac family with the hope and possibility that we would not lose Chris,” Fleetwood wrote. “And now, since the loss of Christine, we are all still trying to come to terms with the fact she has really flown away.”
On Jan. 10, TMZ shared photos of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham at McVie’s funeral service at Little Beach House Malibu. Fleetwood and the former couple were spotted outside the event as they honored McVie’s legacy.
The former couple and Fleetwood mac bandmates have a turbulent history
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s reunion at Christine McVie’s funeral was a momentous occasion because it may have marked the first time the former bandmates were in the same room since the guitarist’s firing from Fleetwood Mac.
Buckingham and Nicks have had a notoriously rocky relationship. They joined Fleetwood Mac as a couple, but broke up shortly after. Many of the band’s greatest hits are about their roller-coaster relationship and bitter breakup. They haven’t hesitated to call each other out in interviews, either: Nicks has called her ex-boyfriend a “very powerful, controlling man,” while Buckingham has said it was “stupid” of him to convince Fleetwood Mac to let Nicks join the band.
In January 2018, Fleetwood Mac fired Buckingham. The guitarist has expressed his belief that Nicks was responsible for his firing. “It would be like a scenario where Mick Jagger says, ‘Either Keith [Richards] goes or I go,’” Buckingham told the LA Times. “But I guess the singer has to stay. The figurehead has to stay.”
The “Dreams” singer has vehemently denied responsibility for Buckingham’s firing. In a September 2021 statement to Rolling Stone, Nicks wrote, “To be exceedingly clear, I did not have him fired, I did not ask for him to be fired, I did not demand he be fired. Frankly, I fired myself. I proactively removed myself from the band and a situation I considered to be toxic to my well-being. I was done. If the band went on without me, so be it.”
In 2019, Buckingham had triple bypass surgery following a heart attack. He said Nicks contacted him after the procedure, but he hadn’t heard much from her since. But the former couple was able to set aside their differences to celebrate the life of their beloved friend and former bandmate, Christine McVie.
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