Born in Bury, Lancashire, Savill did not grow up in a musical family, but influenced by The Smiths (and specifically by Johnny Marr) decided to play guitar when he was around fourteen years old.

This band became Eternal and the line-up consisted of Stuart Wilkinson (bass guitar) and Michael Warner (drums) and Christian Savill (voice/guitar).

By the time Slowdive released their third album, Pygmalion, (1995) things in the band were tense and Savill's input was minimum.

Prior to that he spent a few years working in a software company and also running a Finnish football website.

[8][9] In 2020, Savill formed a new band, Beachy Head, with Ryan Graveface (Dreamend, The Casket Girls), Steve Clarke (The Soft Cavalry), Matt Duckworth (The Flaming Lips) and Slowdive bandmate Rachel Goswell.