Many famous people who spent a long time in the music world have revealed that they drank a lot, used drugs to excess, and generally pushed themselves past the limit. The late Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac was evidently one of them. (She died in 2022 at the age of 79.) According to a new book about her, Songbird: An Intimate Biography of Christine McVie by Lesley-Ann Jones, she was anything but happy-go-lucky. In fact, per an article for dailymail.co.uk by the author, the members of the legendary beloved band indulged in just about every kind of heady gratification you can imagine.
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The author states that Fleetwood Mac had their own plush jet to whisk them from place to place and owned lavish mansions. They allegedly used cocaine freely and slept with whomever they pleased. Their out-of-control habits "made even Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones look like the Salvation Army," per the outlet.
McVie was reportedly part of the hard-living hijinks. Writes Jones in the article, "In tribute to the woman whose lifestyle once almost destroyed her, I have written her life anyway in a new biography of rock's most reluctant superstar."
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According to Jones, "Cocaine was acquired in bulk. On the road, each evening ahead of the gig, both band and crew would queue for their rations. The time allowed for the apportioning of drugs was even listed on their daily tour schedule. During recording sessions, coke was dispensed in the studio like cups of tea."
She claims that, "On stage during a show, said Christine, 'the boys were served their doses in Heineken bottle tops. Stevie and I did the tiny little spoons, and I washed mine down with dainty glasses of champagne.'"
McVie added, "But...I got through bucketsful. We were all permanently intoxicated: addicted to booze and drugs, but ultimately to recklessness itself."
It sounds like she experienced some remorse for her unbridled, giddy ways. "We used to say that cocaine was our curse. But was the curse in fact the band itself?"
