Peter Green, a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, originally wanted "When You Say" to be released as the first single from their 1969 album Then Play, but his song "Oh Well" was selected instead.
[2] In September 1969, the song was recorded as the debut solo single by former Chicken Shack keyboardist/vocalist Christine Perfect, then wife of Fleetwood Mac bass guitarist John McVie.
[4] The single was announced in the 29 September 1969 edition of Melody Maker and the publication also provided an expected release date of 17 October 1969 under the Blue Horizon label.
[3] Writing for Melody Maker, Chris Welch found the string arrangement on Perfect's "When You Say" to be dated but thought that McVie sang the song "in fetching fashion".
[6] The single was a commercial failure, partly due to Perfect's refusal to appear on the BBC TV music show Top of the Pops in favor of a holiday with John McVie in Greece.