Chicken Shack are a Britishblues band, founded in the mid-1960s byStan Webb (guitar and vocals),Andy Silvester (bass guitar), and Alan Morley (drums), who were later joined byChristine Perfect (later McVie) (vocals and keyboards) in 1967. Chicken Shack has performed with various line-ups, Stan Webb being the only constant member.
David "Rowdy" Yeats and Andy Silvester had formed Sounds of Blue in March 1964 as aStourbridge-based rhythm and blues band. They invited Stan Webb, who was leaving local band The Shades 5, to join them in August 1964. The band also includedChristine Perfect andChris Wood (later to join Traffic) amongst others in their line up.[1] With a new line-up Chicken Shack was formed as a trio in April 1965,[2] naming themselves afterJimmy Smith'sBack at the Chicken Shack album. Chicken shacks (open-air roadside chicken stands) had also been frequently mentioned inblues and R&B songs, as inAmos Milburn's hit, "Chicken Shack Boogie". Over the next few years the band had a residency at theStar-Club,[1]Hamburg with Morley, then Al Sykes, Hughie Flint (who wasJohn Mayall's drummer whenEric Clapton was in the band) and later Dave Bidwell on drums.
On Monday, August 29, 1966 at The Woodhall Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire Chicken Shack played their first recorded gig along with Cream.
On Saturday, December 31, 1966 Chicken Shack played at The Ritz in York Road, Small Heath, Birmingham their second gig?
On Sunday, January 22, 1967 at The Chateau, The Mews, Moseley, Birmingham the band was asked to turn the volume down as it was far too loud. This happened because the group had just used their newly acquiredMarshall Stacks for the first time.
40 Blue Fingers, Freshly Packed and Ready to Serve
Chicken Shack made their first UK appearance at the 1967 National Jazz and Blues Festival,Windsor and signed toMike Vernon'sBlue Horizon record label in the same year.[1] Their first single “It's Okay With Me Baby / When My Left Eye Jumps” (BH 57-3135), was released in 1968, shortly before their first LP release40 Blue Fingers, Freshly Packed and Ready to Serve was released later that year. Christine Perfect composed and sang on side A of the first single and Stan Webb composed and sang the flip side. Both sides of the first single were not included in the first LP release.[3] The first single and the debut LP attracted a lot of attention and40 Blue Fingers… ended up having considerable chart success (No. 12 on theUK Albums Chart).[4] While waiting to finish their second LP, the band released a second single, "Worried About My Woman" / "Six Nights In Seven" (BH 57-3143) in late 1968 with little fanfare. Both songs were composed and sung by Stan Webb.[4]
Their second LP,O.K. Ken? was released in February 1969 and also garnered chart success.[5] While it did surpass the first album by reaching No. 9, unlike the initial LP, it quickly dropped out of the chart due to the lack of an album single to support it.[6] The band then decided to release a song from the first album (40 Blue Fingers...), "When The Train Comes Back” (BH 57-3146) after overdubbing a horn section to the original track. The flipside “Hey Baby” was an outtake of theO.K. Ken? album. Christine Perfect composed and provided piano and lead vocals on both tracks, but the single was only mildly successful.[6]
Chicken Shack had become a mainstay of the white blues boom in the late 1960s, and they enjoyed some commercial success with their two first albums reaching the Top 20 in UK Albums Chart.[7] Worried that the band's popularity would fade without a successful radio single, they decided to record a song that had been successful forEtta James in the US. The single "I'd Rather Go Blind" (c/w "Night Life") ended up becoming successful with Perfect singing lead vocals.[8] The single was successful enough that it garnered Perfect the 'Top Female Singer' on theMelody Maker's Reader's Poll in 1969.[9]
The single "I'd Rather Go Blind" had been recorded after the release of the first two LPs and Perfect had already decided to leave the band and retire from the music business before the single had become successful. By this time, she had already quietly married bass playerJohn McVie from the blues bandFleetwood Mac and did not wish to be touring in a separate band.[6] Because of the success of the single, the band's record label, Blue Horizon, convinced her to release a solo album before considering retirement. The exact single recording by Chicken Shack of "I'd Rather Go Blind" was included on Perfect’s eponymous album,Christine Perfect, released on Blue Horizon.[10] After Perfect’s departure from the band in 1969, she was quickly replaced by Paul Raymond fromPlastic Penny. Chicken Shack continued recording and performing live, releasing a few more albums and having some success with the single "Tears in the Wind" (c/w "The Things You Put Me Through").[citation needed]
After being dropped by Blue Horizon, pianistPaul Raymond, bassistAndy Silvester, and drummer Dave Bidwell all left in 1971 to joinSavoy Brown.[1] At this point Webb reformed the band as a trio withJohn Glascock on bass and Paul Hancox on drums, and they recordedImagination Lady.[1] The line-up did not last; Glascock left to joinCarmen, while Webb was recruited for Savoy Brown in 1974 and recorded the albumBoogie Brothers with them.[1]
Since 1977, Webb has revived the Chicken Shack name on a number of occasions, with a rotating membership of British blues musicians including, at various times, Paul Butler (ex-Jellybread, Keef Hartley Band) (guitar),Keef Hartley, ex-Ten Years After drummer Ric Lee andMiller Anderson, some of whom came and went several times. The band has remained popular as a live attraction in Europe throughout.