Eponymous publisher John Blake, part of Bonnier Books UK, has acquired Songbird, an “intimate” biography of Christine McVie, co-founder of Fleetwood Mac.
The book, which will be published in November, has been written by biographer and novelist Lesley-Ann Jones, who was a friend of McVie’s. The singer died in 2002. World all language rights were acquired from Clare Hulton of Clare Hulton Literary Agency .
Senior editor Joe Hallsworth said: “Christine was the mother of Fleetwood Mac. She was also their secret weapon. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham dominated the headlines, but it was Chris who wrote the staple songs. It was she who held Fleetwood Mac together from her place behind the keyboard, and who addressed the audience. Her easy contralto, showcased on her signature “Songbird”, was balm for the histrionics of the other two vocalists. Every live show ended with this number.
“Without her, Fleetwood Mac ends too. It has been a genuine privilege to spend a year in her company, unravelling her story, as well as to revisit rock’n’roll through the eyes of one of our finest female artists. A first, for me.”