Fleetwood Mac: Christine McVie Wrote Some of Her Songs About ‘Fantasies’ Instead of the ‘Truth’
Fleetwood Mac‘s most popular lineup includes Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks. A majority of the band’s songs were written by Nicks, Buckingham, and Christine McVie. During a 2022 interview with The Guardian, Christine McVie disclosed that some of her songs were based on “fantasies.”
Some of Christine McVie’s songs were inspired by ‘fantasies’
In June 2022, just a few months before her death in November 2022, Christine McVie was interviewed by The Guardian about her career and life as a member of Fleetwood Mac.
When asked about the inspiration behind Fleetwood Mac’s song “Sugar Daddy,” Christine McVie admitted the song was not about a real person.
“I don’t recall it being about anybody. I just dreamed it up. Most of my songs are based on truth, and real people, but a lot of them are just fantasies, really,” she said.
“Sugar Daddy” was released on Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 album Fleetwood Mac. The song was primarily written by Christine McVie. Compared to other popular songs by the band, “Sugar Daddy” is more playful in nature.
The song opens with, “Well, I need a sugar daddy/ He could be my friend/ And if I needed a little money/ I know he would lend me, lend me a hand/ But when it comes to love/ He’d better leave me alone/ ‘Cause I’ve got you, baby/ And you give me all the love I need/ Yes, you give me all the love I need.”
Christine McVie has a favorite ‘era’ of Fleetwood Mac
In the interview with The Guardian, Christine McVie was asked about her favorite time in Fleetwood Mac. She answered that the “era” around Nicks and Buckingham joining the band stands out the most.
“I would be silly not to say the Stevie [Nicks] and Lindsey [Buckingham] era, because that was pretty sensational. We had our fights here and there, but there was nothing like the music or the intensity onstage,” said McVie. “We weren’t doing anything in Britain, so just decamped to America and fell into this huge musical odyssey.”
She continued, “Stevie and Lindsey had been playing as a duo, made a great record [Buckingham Nicks], which to this day I really love, but hadn’t got very far. I think it was Mick [Fleetwood] who invited them to meet us. We all met in this Mexican restaurant, drank a few margaritas and decided to give it a go. We all got into this little rehearsal room and it just shot off like firecrackers.”
Fleetwood Mac’s music is considered to be quite personal
Outside of releasing their popular music, the members of Fleetwood Mac were known for their complex personal relationships.
Christine McVie and John McVie were married at one point, Nicks and Buckingham broke up while in the band, and Nicks and Fleetwood had a brief affair.
With Nicks and Buckingham being the other two main songwriters in the band, a great deal of Fleetwood Mac’s music was based on real-life relationships. Christine McVie basing some of her music on “fantasies” differs from the general interpretation that surrounds Fleetwood Mac’s music.
