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Chicken Shack
Photo: Brian Minkoff - London Pixels, Stan Webb, 2019 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
British

Chicken Shack

Also known as: Stan Webb's Chicken Shack

Born: February 3, 1946, Fulham, London, England (Stan Webb)• United Kingdom• Active: 1965–present
British Blues BoomElectric Blues

Stan Webb's blues band, founded 1965, whose early keyboardist Christine Perfect left in 1969 to marry Fleetwood Mac's John McVie and became Christine McVie — while Webb kept Chicken Shack running as a genuine, unbroken blues band for six decades.

Chicken Shack never had the fame of the bands its members went on to join, but for a few years in the late 1960s it ran two parallel legends at once: a guitarist so devoted to wandering into the crowd mid-solo that he needed increasingly long guitar leads to do it, and a keyboardist who would go on to become one-third of the best-selling version of Fleetwood Mac (Kilde: Wikipedia). The band grew out of an earlier group called Sounds of Blue in April 1965, formed as a trio by guitarist and singer Stan Webb — born Stanley Frederick Webb on 3 February 1946 in Fulham, southwest London — with bassist Andy Silvester and drummer Alan Morley. Their name came from Jimmy Smith's 1960 album "Back at the Chicken Shack," itself a nod to the Southern American roadside chicken stands tied to the blues and R&B tradition. Webb has remained the band's only constant member across six decades (Kilde: Wikipedia). Christine Perfect joined as keyboardist and vocalist in 1967, and her songwriting and singing quickly became central to the band's identity — she sang lead on their signature single, a cover of Etta James's "I'd Rather Go Blind," which reached UK No. 14 in 1969 and earned Perfect the title of "Top Female Singer" in Melody Maker's reader's poll that year. The band's debut album, "40 Blue Fingers, Freshly Packed and Ready to Serve" (1968, Blue Horizon), reached UK No. 12; the follow-up, "O.K. Ken?" (1969), climbed even higher to No. 9 (Kilde: Wikipedia). Perfect had quietly married Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie and, unwilling to keep touring in a separate band from her husband, left Chicken Shack in 1969 — initially planning to retire from music altogether before eventually joining Fleetwood Mac herself as Christine McVie, becoming one of that band's most important songwriters through the 1970s and beyond. Chicken Shack carried on without her, releasing "100 Ton Chicken" (1969) and "Accept" (1970), but the band split in January 1974 (Kilde: Wikipedia). Webb spent 1974–75 as a member of Savoy Brown, playing on their album "Boogie Brothers," before reforming Chicken Shack in 1976. Since 1978 the band has performed and recorded as "Stan Webb's Chicken Shack," with Webb as its sole constant presence, keeping a genuinely unbroken blues band running on the European club and festival circuit for six decades — a much quieter kind of longevity than his former bandmate's, but longevity all the same (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Musical Influence

Chicken Shack's real historical footprint runs through Christine McVie, whose songwriting became central to Fleetwood Mac's biggest era, while Stan Webb's decades-long, unbroken commitment to the band kept a genuine British blues act touring long after the boom that produced it had ended (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Influences

Etta JamesFreddie KingJimmy Smith

Formative experiences

  • •April 1965: Stan Webb forms the band out of the earlier group Sounds of Blue. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1967: Christine Perfect joins as keyboardist and vocalist. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1969: "I'd Rather Go Blind" reaches UK No. 14; Perfect leaves after marrying John McVie of Fleetwood Mac. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •January 1974: The band splits; Webb joins Savoy Brown. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1976: Webb reforms Chicken Shack. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1978: The band begins recording and touring as "Stan Webb's Chicken Shack." (Kilde: Wikipedia)

Instruments & Equipment

Stories & Anecdotes

"Stan Webb's signature stage move was to wander directly into the audience mid-solo, requiring increasingly long guitar cables to make it possible. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"The band's name was a tribute to Jimmy Smith's 1960 jazz album "Back at the Chicken Shack," itself named after Southern roadside chicken stands tied to the R&B tradition. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Christine Perfect married Fleetwood Mac's John McVie quietly while still a member of Chicken Shack, and left the band specifically because she didn't want to keep touring separately from her husband. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Perfect briefly planned to retire from music entirely after leaving Chicken Shack, before instead joining Fleetwood Mac as Christine McVie. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Stan Webb has remained Chicken Shack's only constant member across six decades, longer than almost any other band to emerge from the British blues boom. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Chicken Shack performed at Norway's Dark Season Blues festival in Longyearbyen, Svalbard — the world's northernmost blues festival — with organisers marking 50 years since the British Blues Boom that produced the band. (Source: Svalbard Blues / Longyearbyen Bluesklubb)"

Collaborators

Christine Perfect (later McVie)

Keyboardist/vocalist 1967–69; sang lead on "I'd Rather Go Blind" before leaving to join Fleetwood Mac.

Andy Silvester

Founding bassist.

Alan Morley

Founding drummer.

Gary Davies

Second guitarist in the current lineup.

Jim Rudge

Five-string bassist in the current lineup.

Mick Jones

Drummer documented in the mid-2000s lineup.

Watch & Listen

Featured

Stan Webb's Chicken Shack — live Niederwürzbach 1994

Jonas Münster

Stan Webb's Chicken Shack (UK) live @ Chelsea, Vienna, 2015/04/13

Stan Webb's Chicken Shack (UK) live @ Chelsea, Vienna, 2015/04/13

Stan Webb's Chicken Shack - Poor Boy (Long version, HQ)

Stan Webb's Chicken Shack - Poor Boy (Long version, HQ)

Chicken Shack featuring Stan Webb 'The Thrill Has Gone' 2004

Chicken Shack featuring Stan Webb 'The Thrill Has Gone' 2004

Stan Webb's Chicken Shack / Saarbrücken 1996

Stan Webb's Chicken Shack / Saarbrücken 1996

Stan Webb's Chicken Shack - Broken Hearted Melody [Live]

Stan Webb's Chicken Shack - Broken Hearted Melody [Live]

Blues-Rock vom Feinsten mit Stan Webb und Chicken Shack

Blues-Rock vom Feinsten mit Stan Webb und Chicken Shack

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Press & quotes

"Loud, abrasive, uncompromising blues-rock played with a ragged bravado."

Discography

YearTitleProducerStudioLabelChartSalesMusiciansYouTubeNotes
196840 Blue Fingers, Freshly Packed and Ready to ServeMike Vernon—Blue Horizon——Christine Perfect (Keyboards, vocals), Andy Silvester (Bass), Alan Morley (Drums)Debut album, reached UK No. 12.
1969O.K. Ken?Mike Vernon—Blue Horizon——Christine Perfect (Keyboards, vocals)Second album, reached UK No. 9, the band's highest chart placement. Includes "I'd Rather Go Blind," UK No. 14.
1969100 Ton ChickenMike Vernon—Blue Horizon———First album after Christine Perfect's departure.
1970Accept——Blue Horizon———Final album of the band's original run before splitting in January 1974.

Famous songs

01I'd Rather Go Blind
02Tears in the Wind
03Poor Boy

External links

facebook YouTube Music Wikipedia Discogs

Booking / Contact

Booking agency
Not publicly available
Agent/management
Not publicly available
Booking email
Not publicly available
Booking phone
Not publicly available
Booking URL
Not publicly available

No verified official booking agency or direct contact found; the band is tracked on ticketing aggregators (Songkick, Ents24, Bandsintown) but no confirmed direct contact could be established. Stan Webb remains alive and active as of 2026 (Source: Wikipedia).

Source

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Sources

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