Stan Webb and Chicken Shack
Stan Webb is massively under-rated as a guitarist. In my view, he stands up there with Clapton and Peter Green as one the great British blues guitarists. He’s also a great showman, and a great character on stage. I’ve spent many happy nights in the company of Stan and various line-ups of Chicken Shack over the years. My first encounters were a couple of spots as support act for The Groundhogs, probably in 1971 or 1972. One gig was at the City Hall, and the Groundhogs didn’t appear for some reason, so Chicken Shack took on the headline spot. This was no mean feat, as the City Hall was sold out, and we were all waiting to see Tony McPhee and the guys, who were in the charts with Split at the time. However, we were assured that The Groundhogs would play in a couple of weeks, and that if we all held on to our tickets we would see the return gig for free (which we did!). 
Stan and the guys truly rose to the occasion that night and delivered a great set. This was around the time of the Imagination lady album, and Chicken Shack were a three piece at the time, featuring Stan on lead and vocals, John Glascock (soon to leave to join Jethro Tull) on bass guitar, and Paul Hancox on drums. I remember them playing “Crying Won’t Help You” and great versions of B B King’s “The Thrill is Gone” and Tim Hardin’s “If I were a Carpenter”, all of which sometimes feature in the set to this day. 
The other vivid memory I have is of Stan walking to the back of the City Hall through a crowd of people filling the aisles, still playing his guitar all the time. This was well before the days of radio connections, and it was all done with a massively long guitar lead. I saw Stan do the same thing many times over the years, including one night in a ram packed Newcastle Mayfair, where he had to work his way across a packed dancefloor (he was always accompanied by a roadie) and then stood in front of the bar playing a solo to the delight of all of us around him. I recall a couple of gigs in the Mayfair, one with The Groundhogs at the time of the “Who Will Save the World” album, and another supporting Vinegar Joe. 
I’ve always tried to catch Stan and Chicken Shack when they come to the North East, and have seen him in Whitley Bay Dome, Middlesbrough Ladle, Sunderland Kazbah, Newcastle Dingwalls, Newcastle Jewish Mother restaurant (over a pizza meal), Newcastle Tyne Theatre, Hexham Royal Hotel (Stan was very chatty on stage that night, and had probably had a few drinks), The Sage Gateshead with John Mayall, Newcastle City Hall (again with Mayall), Sunderland Ropery, and probably several other gigs that I’ve forgotten over the years. My mate Will has been with me at several of these gigs, and also agrees that Stan is a great guitar player. 
Every time Stan’s guitar playing has been superb; he never lets you down. If you want to check him out, go to Youtube and look for “Poor Boy” and “Daughter of the Hillside” and you’ll soon see what I mean. 
Chicken Shack are, of course, best remembered by many for their hit Single “I’d Rather Go Blind”, which they recored when Christine Perfect was in the band. Christine went on to mega-stardom with Fleetwood Mac, and is now retired. By the time I picked up on Chicken Shack in the early 70s, Christine had long left the band. Its been a few years since I last saw Chicken Shack, as Stan doesn’t seem to tour quite as extensively as he once did. However, I see that he is headlining a blues festival in York in September, which I may go along to if I can make it. Stan’s current line-up features Gary Davis on second guitar, Jim Rudge on bass and Chris Williams on drums (according to Wiki).
5 Aug
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