Singer and keyboardist Christine McVie is rejoining Fleetwood Mac after a 16-year absence, as the veteran band plans to hit the road for a major North American tour starting in September.

"FLEETWOOD MAC IS BACK...IN FULL...'' the group said on its website.

McVie, 70, has not toured with the band since 1998.

"I honestly could never in my wildest dreams have thought I could return to the band. It's just a dream come true,'' she told People magazine.

"I go to bed going, 'This is so great. This is what I've been yearning for all these years and I didn't know it.' We're family. We're very lucky.''

The On With The Show tour will kick off September 30 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band will play 34 shows in 33 cities across the United States and Canada.

"We're thrilled,'' the band's co-founder and drummer, Mick Fleetwood, told People.

"She's just the dearest of friends and we've remained that way always. We've always missed Chris. To have a key, key member return to the fold is huge. It's really not happened, to my knowledge in any shape or form, on this level.''

Rolling Stone magazine reported that the group spent time working on new songs this month, but has no plans to release anything until after the tour.

Fleetwood formed the band in London in 1967 with McVie's ex-husband John McVie. Christine McVie joined a few years later. In 1975, they were joined by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

Fleetwood Mac cancelled three Auckland shows in December as John McVie was undergoing cancer treatment.

The Grammy-winning band's Rumours album, released in 1977, is considered to be one of the most successful in history with more than 40 million copies sold.

McVie's return means the band can perform classic hits such as Little Lies that it has not been able to do for years due to her absence.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

- AFP