I remember meeting Christine Perfect when she was playing piano with blues band,
Chicken Shack, at the famous Star Club Hamburg, in the sixties. Late at night, or
during the early morning sessions, she loved to play my Hammond organ and
excelled on it.
Christine Anne Perfect was born in the village of Bouth in the Lake District in July
1943. Her father was a musician, lecturing at various schools and music colleges.
Her mother was a psychic, medium and faith healer.
Christine’s interest in music began at the age of four when she was introduced to the
piano but it was another seven years before she took a real interest in music,
learning and playing every song in the Fats Domino song book.
She studied sculpture at Moseley School of Art, in Birmingham, and it was there that she met Stan Webb and Andy Silvester, who at that time were playing in Sounds of Blue. They heard her singing with Spencer Davis in a small club in Birmingham and asked her to join them. The band was short-lived and she moved to London where she worked in a department store. She briefly performed in clubs under her own name but when she heard that Webb and Silverster were forming a new band, Chicken Shack, she contacted them and joined playing piano and backing vocals.
Their debut single, ‘It’s Okay with me Baby,’ was written by Christine. They also had a hit with a cover of Ellington Jordan’s, ‘I’d Rather Go Blind,’ which featured Christine on lead vocals. She remained with the band touring continually and recording two studio albums. Her vocal performance on their singles led to an award in 1969 from the Melody Maker for the best UK female vocalist, which was repeated the following year.
Both Fleetwood Mac and Chicken Shack were signed to the Golden Horizon record label so she frequently met John McVie, the bass player of Fleetwood Mac, when the two bands toured or played at the same venues. That led to her playing on some of their early sessions. The following year, she married McVie and decided to leave Chicken Shack and join Fleetwood Mac. And, in 1970 that she was officially named as a member of the band.
She moved to California in 1974 with the rest of the band but it was not until their fifth album, Future Games that they recorded any of her songs. She went on to write or co-write some of their biggest hits, which included: Don’t Stop, Everywhere and Little Lies.
She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and retired the same year. However, she played on the band’s last studio album, Say You Will, credited as a session musician.
She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and retired the same year. However, she played on the band’s last studio album, Say You Will, credited as a session musician.
During her career, Christine has received a plethora of awards including: in 2004, a Gold Badge of Merit Award from BASCA, and in 2014, a lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Songwriter, Composer and Authors along with two Grammy Awards.
Christine Anne McVie died in November 2022 but like so many musicians of that era she has left behind a legacy of wonderful music that will be played for years to come. Not a day goes by when a Fleetwood Mac track is not heard on the radio somewhere across the world.
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Christine (Perfect) McVie
BY-------Graham Sclater
TABITHA BOOKS