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Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood wishes Christine McVie had written one of her songs for the rock group instead. McVie was one of the band’s best songwriters.

Bob Welch, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac in 1974.
Bob Welch, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie | Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Christine McVie joined Chicken Shack in her early career

In art college, McVie joined a band called Sounds of Blue with friends Stan Webb and Andy Silvester. After graduating in 1967, McVie discovered her former bandmates started a blues band called Chicken Shack. She asked if she could join. They agreed, remembering she’d been a good musician in Sounds of Blue.

McVie told Uncut that she’d been listening to blues music since she was a teenager. However, being in Chicken Shack heightened her love for the genre.

She explained, “I played classical piano so I could read music. I found a book of Fats Domino in the music stool in a living room. I started playing it, sight reading; I learned how to play the bass lines with the piano. It kicked off from there. I started to get really keen when I was at Chicken Shack.

“Andy Sylvester, who was our bass player, used to give me all kinds of records, African American blues artists and I got hooked. I ripped off a lot of licks from some of those records…

“It was quite punchy, back in those days. A lot of kick a** music. We were all very underground. People would get their pints and pay half a pound to watch these bands sweating it out in these big halls above pubs. It was an amazing time. Then we’d travel to places like Eel Pie Island.”

The blues band even did a residency at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany. During her time in Chicken Shack, McVie wrote a song that later made Fleetwood jealous.

Mick Fleetwood wished Christine McVie wrote a song with Fleetwood Mac instead of with Chicken Shack

During her interview with Uncut, the reporter mentioned two of McVie’s songs with Chicken Shack, “It’s OK With Me Baby” and “When The Train Comes Back.” McVie revealed that the latter made Fleetwood jealous.

She said, “Oh, ‘When The Train Comes Back.’ Mick loves that song. He used to say, ‘I wish you’d written that when you were with us.'”

Fleetwood can hardly be jealous of Chicken Shack when McVie wrote many great songs for Fleetwood Mac, including “Little Lies,” “Don’t Stop,” “Everywhere,” and “Songbird.”

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Mick Fleetwood wants McVie’s ‘Songbird’ played at his funeral

“When The Train Comes Back” isn’t the only song of McVie’s that Fleetwood loves. According to NME, Fleetwood wants McVie’s “Songbird” played at his funeral.

“The song at my funeral, which will be in five minutes! Wow, that is maudlin. I’d probably pick ‘Songbird’ by Christine McVie to send me off fluttering,” he said.

Shortly after McVie’s death, Fleetwood revealed he and the rest of Fleetwood Mac miss the singer-songwriter desperately. At the Art of John Douglas exhibit in Las Vegas, Fleetwood told The Music Universe, “I’m doing OK. Coming to Vegas…has been a really healthy distraction from a tragedy for us in Fleetwood Mac. We miss her already, desperately.”

Fleetwood and the rest of the world have McVie’s many great songs to remember her by.

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