Chicken Shack are a British
blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by
Stan Webb (guitar and vocals),
Andy Silvester (bass guitar), and Alan Morley (drums), who were later joined by
Christine Perfect (later McVie) (vocals and keyboards) in 1967. Chicken Shack has performed with various line-ups, Stan Webb being the only constant member.
Career
David "Rowdy" Yeats and Andy Silvester had formed Sounds of Blue in 1964 as a
Stourbridge-based rhythm and blues band. They invited Stan Webb, who was leaving local band The Shades 5, to join them. The band also included
Christine Perfect and
Chris 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 1965,[2] naming themselves after
Jimmy Smith's Back at the Chicken Shack album. Chicken shacks (open-air roadside chicken stands) had also been frequently mentioned in
blues and R&B songs, as in
Amos Milburn's hit, "
Chicken Shack Boogie". Over the next few years the band had a residency at the
Star-Club,[1]Hamburg with Morley, then Al Sykes, Hughie Flint (who was John Mayall's drummer when Eric Clapton was in the band) and later Dave Bidwell on drums.
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 to
Mike 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 release 40 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 and 40 Blue Fingers… ended up having considerable chart success (No. 12 on the
UK 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]
O.K. Ken?
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 the O.K. Ken? album. Christine Perfect composed and provided piano and lead vocals on both tracks, but the single was only mildly successful.[6]
"I'd Rather Go Blind" single
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 for
Etta 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 the Melody Maker's Reader's Poll in 1969.[9]
Christine Perfect's departure
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 player
John McVie from the blues band
Fleetwood 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 from
Plastic 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, pianist
Paul Raymond, bassist
Andy Silvester, and drummer Dave Bidwell all left in 1971 to join
Savoy Brown.[1] At this point Webb reformed the band as a trio with
John Glascock on bass and Paul Hancox on drums, and they recorded Imagination Lady.[1] The line-up did not last; Glascock left to join
Carmen, while Webb was recruited for Savoy Brown in 1974 and recorded the album Boogie 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 and
Miller Anderson, some of whom came and went several times. The band has remained popular as a live attraction in Europe throughout.