Is that how you could stay on in Fleetwood Mac with John after your marriage broke up?
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

Does John still know you the best, of your friends?
Chris: No. Not anymore. We're very good friends, but...he lives in the Virgin Islands now so we spend a lot of time on the phone. I have closer friends, I would say.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

Do you think you're an easy person to get to know?
Chris: Well. I have this mask of aloofness, which really isn't aloofness, but shyness. Once you get over that, I'm easy to know. I have a reputation as the easiest member of Fleetwood Mac to know. But people have told me they thought I was stuck up. It's a kind of protective shell I have--English reserve or whatever. I was in Tower Records in San Francisco a few weeks ago, buying some cassettes, and a couple of people recognized me and ran up with albums and I just wanted to cover my face and have a seizure or something. I want people to just go away.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

Fleetwood Mac doesn't get much credits as musicians or arrangers, it seems John and Mick are one of the greatest rhythm sections ever, but they don't pop up on lists like Jack Bruce, Paul McCartney or Keith Moon do.
Chris: John is a classic bass player. He says everyone thinks they can play bass, cause you can pick it up and do something. But the selection of notes, and when not to play, is very important. Lead guitarists pick up bass and are busy busy busy. But to pick the right note to go with a kick drum is difficult. Mick was interviewed for the MTV special about the recording of my album, and he said he can't play with any other keyboard player--"Chris presents something of a problem," he said. I'm not a virtuoso, but I have a style which is rooted through the bass and drums. I leave room for the guitarists. I like that, it's solid. I don't solo much, and I don't do those twiddly bits with my right hand. I'm back there with the rhythm, part of a rich foundation. You need that foundation. If I was to take more solos, stick knives between the keys or something, I'd get more credit, but I'm just not that type of player.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

You've said you co-wrote material for your solo album, and did other people's songs, because you felt an album entirely of Christine McVie songs might be boring. I'm not sure what you mean.
Chris: Self-indulgent is more correct. A solo album...it was more important to me that the content be exciting and innovative than it just be...mine. There was an injection of freshness because I did allow other songwriters in. I wanted exciting songs.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

This isn't just another way of hiding?
Chris: It's not a question of hiding. I wanted to sing, and I've never sung better. I didn't care who wrote the songs.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

When I met Todd Sharp years ago, while he was playing with Bob Welch, he's struck me as an incredible perfectionist, doing solos over and over. Is he like that to write with too?
Chris: He's better now than he used to be. He and George Hawkins, my bass player, went to Ghana with Mick, and Mick said, "Todd great, but he takes a bloody long time to do anything!" But I found it quite the contrary. We did all the demos and zipped right through. We did a lot of preliminary work before going to Montreux. This album only took three months of studio time to record.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

That still seems like an awfully long time.
Chris: Not compared to Fleetwood Mac taking a year. We would go in the studio on Tusk five days a week. Sometimes we'd just sit around and chat, waste studio time and lots of money. But there's a lot that goes into the making of even one cut on one record. You spend days getting the right drum sound. And vocals take a long time--you can't just do one take and it's perfect. I sang well on this album, so we didn't have to combine various takes as much, like Russ Titelman is know to do.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

When did you become a good singer, then?
Chris: Well, Mick always believed in my voice and encouraged me to write more, more, and I just got better over the years. My weak point used to be harmony singing-I just couldn't keep in tune if someone else was singing. But Lindsey and Stevie really helped me and I find it relatively easy now. I love singing with Lindsey, we get such an interesting tone together.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

Did you record anything for this album that didn't get in?
Chris: There was a song that began as a studio jam, called "Too much is Not Enough," a really good and raunchy rock and roll track, but I wasn't satisfied with the vocal. If I do it over maybe it'll be released as a B-side. That was the only thing we recorded and didn't use. We didn't over-record like some bands do--we were very compact.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

I have heard that Stevie Nicks sometimes saves songs for her solo albums and won't let them appear on Fleetwood Mac albums. Have you ever done that?
Chris: No. I write for projects when they come up. I have a thick book of unused lyrics, unfinished melodies. When a project arrives, I begin to work. I don't seperate my work with the band from this solo project--I'm sure the group could have recorded any of these, and they would have if the Fleetwood Mac project had come up at this time. I don't have any finshed songs lying around.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

Tusk is one of your favorite Mac albums, isn't it?
Chris: Yes. Lindsey really dominates that one. He wanted to do something different, although we all enjoyed the success of Rumours obviously. Lindsey recorded a lot of it at his home studio, without any of us at all on certain tracks. I think if he hadn't worked on Tusk so hard he would have left the group and gone solo then, the way he was feeling. We kept Lindsey in the band by letting him do his album within ours. He brought a lot to my songs, like the guitar in "Never Make Me Cry," He enjoys working on other people's songs---He's a tremendous arranger, got a great imagnation. Danny Kirwan was great arranger too, even if he was King Neurotic. He was crazy for most of the time he was in Fleetwood Mac in the 70's. He was really difficult to work with, so paranoid. You constantly felt you had to accommodate him.
Chris: Yeah. At the time, the band was at the pinnacle of their career, and we had a certain responsibilty not to break that up for "anything as trivial as a divorce." For a year or so it was tricky, but we worked it out. Now we're really good friends. I'm glad we salvaged the friendship instead of letting seven years of marriage just go down. John and I just spent too much time in each other's pockets. It's pressure, being in the public eye. When people get married they can live in a house with more than one room. But on tour, you're in a hotel room together, you drive together, you leave the hotel together, sit on the plan next to each other--you're like Siamese twins.

Now that you've got you own band, will you be touring?
Chris: We'll go on the road with the addition of Billy Burnette and Eddy Qunitela. Mick Fleetwood really put this band together, and it's a good one. I don't know if Fleetwood Mac's going to tour again. We'll make another record, but we'll have to see how the five personalities are going on. The other night Mick and Linsey were over and we realized that was the highest Mac count in some time. We've always done long tours, and personalities clash after such a long time. The Tusk tour was one year long. And it doesn't matter if you go to exotic places, because Thailand is just like Chicago if the only thing you see is the hotel and the hall. These long tours are like being married to four people at once. I think we're getting a little old for that. They will be carrying us off the planes on stretchers if we're not careful!