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. With a new line-up Chicken Shack was formed as a trio in 1965, 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, 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.
They made their first UK appearance at the 1967 National Jazz and Blues Festival, Windsor and signed to Mike Vernon's Blue Horizon record label in the same year; releasing Forty Blue Fingers, Freshly Packed and Ready to Serve in early 1968. A mainstay of the British blues boom, and a regular at UK festivals (Stan Webb's wandering through the crowd with a 200ft extension to his guitar lead during the band's set was a regular occurrence[citation needed]), Chicken Shack enjoyed some commercial success, with Christine Perfect voted Best Female Vocalist in the Melody Maker polls two years running. They had two minor hits with "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "Tears In The Wind", after which Perfect left the band in 1969 when she married John McVie of Fleetwood Mac. She was replaced by Paul Raymond from Plastic Penny. (by wikiepedia)
This is a very rare live perfomance of Chicken Shack, after Christine Perfect left the band. It´s not a perfect sound, but for 1969 a real good quality ... and if you want to know how the Britisch Blues scene sounds in the late Sixities ... listen and you will hear the special magic of this period.
Recorded live at the Essen, Grugahalle, Essen/Germany, November 21, 1969
Personnel:
Dave Bidwell (drums)
Paul Raymond (keyboards, vocals)
Andy Sylvester (bass)
Stan Webb (guitar, vocals)
Tracklist:
01. Midnight Hour (Brown) 5.31
02. My Mood (King) 2.55
03. The Things You Put Me Through (Webb) 4.42
04. Look Ma,I`m Crying (Toombs/Harris) 3.52
05. Tell Me (Burnett) 5.54
06. Telling Your Fortune (Webb) 4.34
07. Diary Of Your Life (Webb) 7.06
08. One Reason (cut) (unknown) 5.53
ARMU 2153
ARMU 2153 (shareplace)