When the “classic” line-up of Fleetwood Mac that had produced the wildly successful album Rumours reunited on stage for the first time in over a decade to play President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993, it marked the triumph of a particular kind of musical trans-Atlanticism. While much was made of the return of American guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was Christine McVie, the British keyboard player and singer, who was at the heart of the performance. She penned the one song they played that night, Don’t Stop, Clinton’s campaign song, which had been ubiquitous during the election period.
McVie, who died aged 79, exemplified how blues, then rock, became an international musical currency. Born in the Lake District and raised near Birmingham, McVie was classically trained on piano – her father was a concert violinist and music lecturer – before switching her focus aged 15 to the boogie-influenced rock and roll of Fats Domino.
While studying at art college, she became known on Britain’s blues scene, playing in a band called Sounds of Blue and singing with Welsh blues-rock luminary Spencer Davies, who would later enjoy a string of hits with Steve Winwood in the eponymous Spencer Davis Group.
