Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks has penned a heartfelt note to her bandmate and “best friend”, the late Christine McVie, who died aged 79 on Wednesday.

“A few hours ago, I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975 had passed away. I didn’t even know she was ill until late Saturday night,” Ms Nicks said in a handwritten note shared on social media.

Ms McVie was Fleetwood Mac’s co-lead vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter who was responsible for some of the band’s most loved songs, including Little Lies, You Make Loving Fun, Everywhere and Don’t Stop.