Chicken Shack featuring Stan Webb

Chicken Shack - Goodbye Chicken Shack - 1974 - Deram

Chicken Shack were formed in April 1965 in Birmingham, England. In the band's early days they had a long residency at the Star Club in Hamburg. Their first break came when Mike Vernon signed them to his Blue Horizon label along with Fleetwood Mac. Their second break came when Christine Perfect, considered to be one of the Britain's best blues vocalists, joined them in April 1967. Along with Fleetwood Mac for the next couple of years they were at the forefront of the British blues boom, and released some great albums including "40 Blue Fingers", and "O.K. Ken" and had a couple of big hits with their cover of Elta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "Tears In The Wind". Many people maintain that Christine Perfect's departure in August 1969 to join her husband John McVie in Fleetwood Mac, weakened Chicken Shack's dynamics. They still had a good reputation as a live band, based around Stan Webb's theatrics, and great guitar playing. Stan’s blistering guitar style matched with a huge stage presence have made Chicken Shack a firm favourite of rock and blues fans everywhere. He was really one of the unsung guitar heros of the British blues boom. Chicken Shack's first three albums are essential for blues fans. Stan Webb kept the band together through many personnel changes. They developed quite a strong club following in the early seventies but split at the end of 1973 after a German tour which was full of strife and conflict. Stan Webb later reformed them in the late seventies. Throughout a distinguished career Stan Webb has played and recorded with the very best, including, STEVIE WONDER, HOWLING WOLF, TAJ MAHAL, PETER GREEN and CANNED HEAT. As the ‘60’s have given way to the ‘70’s; ‘80’s and ‘90’s, Stan Webb and Chicken Shack show no sign of slowing down, continually touring the U.K. and Europe to packed houses and rave reviews. In 1997 Stan received the prestigious BLUE HEART AWARD for services to blues in Germany, a fitting tribute to Stan Webb and his love of the blues. In 2006, Stan embarked on an extension UK tour with John Mayall. Thankfully, this great British bluesman is still playing the blues. "Goodbye Chicken Shack" was recorded live at Brunel University, Uxbridge, West London, England on October 26th 1973. At times the sound gets a bit "muggy". The album could have been mixed better, especially the guitar, as sometimes Stan's playing is not prominent enough, being lost in the background, and the volume could have been "upped". However, it's a great example of early to mid '70's British blues rock live music, and the album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Search this blog for more Chicken Shack / Stan Webb /Christine Perfect albums

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

01. Spoken Intro / Everyday I Have The Blues - Chapman
02. Thrill Is Gone - King
03. Going Down - Don Nix
04. You Take Me Down - Stan Webb
05. Webb's Boogie - Stan Webb
06. You're Mean - Harris/Jemmot/King/Lovelle/McCracklin
07. Poor Boy - Stan Webb
08. Webb's Guitar (Boogie) Shuffle - Stan Webb
09. Tutti Frutti - La Bostrie, Penniman, Lubin

BAND

Stan Webb - Guitar, Vocals
Rob Hull - Bass
Dave Wilkinson - Piano, Keyboards
Alan Powell - Drums

BIO (Wikipedia)

Chicken Shack was a British blues band, primarily of the late 1960s, consisting of Christine Perfect (vocals and keyboards), Stan Webb (guitar and vocals), Andy Sylvester (bass guitar), and Alan Morley (drums). The band was formed in 1967 and reputedly named themselves after the chicken coop in Kidderminster where they rehearsed. Their first concert was at the 1967 National Blues and Jazz Festival at Windsor and they were signed by the Blue Horizon record label in the same year. Chicken Shack enjoyed modest commercial success, with Christine Perfect being voted Best Female Vocalist in the Melody Maker polls, two years running. Christine Perfect left the band in 1969 when she married John McVie of Fleetwood Mac. Pianist Paul Raymond, bassist Andy Sylvester, and drummer Dave Bidwell all left in 1971 to join Savoy Brown. Although the band went through several subsequent incarnations, it never equalled its earlier successes. However, Webb remains as its only constant band member.

ABOUT THE BAND

Along with late 60's early 70's blues based bands such as Savoy Brown, Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall's Bluebreakers, Chicken Shack was a big part of the genre. Originally formed in 1965, Chicken Shack started out as, more or less, a house band at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany. They signed a recording contract with the newly formed Blue Horizon label in '67. That same year, former Sound Of Blue vocalist/keyboardist Christine Perfect, who was at one time considered one of the U.K.'s finest blues vocalist, joined. With the release of their debut album, 1968's Forty Blue Fingers Freshly Packed And Ready To Serve, and their 1969 follow up, O.K. Ken, Chicken Shack was in the forefront of the British Blues boom of the late 60's. Although Perfect would leave the group in the summer of '69 to join Fleetwood Mac (she would marry bassist John McVie), Chicken Shack would continue with a good live reputation as at this point their shows were mostly based around the guitar and soulful theatrics of Stan Webb who would keep the group together through many personel changes but by 1973, Chicken Shack had run it's course as Webb would join Savoy Brown. After staying with Savoy Brown for one album, Webb formed Broken Glass which at one time included guitarist Robbie Blunt (later with Robert Plant) and drummer Keef Hartley. Webb would reform Chicken Shack under his own name in '77. Like John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Savoy Brown, many musicians would pass through the various formations of Stan Webb's Chicken Shack through out the 80's. Through the 90's, Webb's Chicken Shack line up has remained pretty much intact as his devoted fans and fans of traditional British blues remain faithful.

ABOUT STAN WEBB

In 1968 Chicken Shack were a major signing to MIKE VERNON’S now legendary BLUE HORIZON label. Led by the mercurial Stan Webb on guitar and vocals, Chicken Shack were a band brimming full of talent, far outweighing the bands, groups and solo performers purveying the BLUES – a musical tradition in many forms, taken from the ‘Folk Roots Of Black America’. Probably the bands most well known member was CHRISTINE PERFECT (later McVie) who went on at a later date to even greater fame and fortune with FLEETWOOD MAC. The late sixties were a prolific time for Chicken Shack with their first two albums “40 Blue Fingers Freshly Packed And Ready To Go” and “O.K. Ken” storming into the U.K. top twenty, whilst the singles “When The Train Comes Back” and “Tears In The Wind” also scored heavily in the charts. Stan’s blistering guitar style matched with a huge stage presence have made Chicken Shack a firm favourite of rock and blues fans everywhere. Since those heady days of the late sixties a further fifteen albums have been released together with numerous compilations proving that Stan, really is “The Man”.Throughout a distinguished career Stan Webb has played and recorded with the very best, including, STEVIE WONDER, HOWLING WOLF, TAJ MAHAL, PETER GREEN and CANNED HEAT, whom he joined on guitar for a U.K, tour following the departure of the bands guitarist. As the ‘60’s have given way to the ‘70’s; ‘80’s and ‘90’s, Stan Webb and Chicken Shack show no sign of slowing down, continually touring the U.K. and Europe to packed houses and rave reviews. In 1997 Stan received the BLUE HEART AWARD for services to blues in Germany, in 1996 that went to BB KING, a glowing testament to Stan Webb and his ongoing love of playing the blues. 2006 saw Stan embarked on an extension UK tour with John Mayall. “Stan The Man” shows no sign of slowing down.