Christine McVie Did a Residency at a Famous German Club in Her Early Career: ‘I Was Pissed All the Time’
Years before she joined Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie did a residency at a famous German club in her early career. She and her band, Chicken Shack, learned many things during their time at Hamburg’s Star Club, but they mostly just had fun.
Christine McVie joined Chicken Shack in her early career
In art college, McVie played in a band called Sounds of Blue with friends Stan Webb and Andy Silvester. However, the group eventually split up. After graduating in 1967, McVie discovered her former bandmates were starting a blues band called Chicken Shack. She wrote to them and asked if she could join. They agreed, remembering she’d been a good musician in Sounds of Blue.
McVie told Uncut that she’d been listening to blues music since she was a teenager. However, being in Chicken Shack heightened her love for the genre.
She explained, “I played classical piano so I could read music. I found a book of Fats Domino in the music stool in a living room. I started playing it, sight reading; I learned how to play the bass lines with the piano. It kicked off from there. I started to get really keen when I was at Chicken Shack.
“Andy Sylvester, who was our bass player, used to give me all kinds of records, African American blues artists and I got hooked. I ripped off a lot of licks from some of those records…
“It was quite punchy, back in those days. A lot of kick a** music. We were all very underground. People would get their pints and pay half a pound to watch these bands sweating it out in these big halls above pubs. It was an amazing time. Then we’d travel to places like Eel Pie Island.”
McVie and Chicken Shack did a residency at The Star Club in Hamburg
Like many famous acts, McVie and Chicken Shack did a residency at The Star Club in Hamburg, Germany. McVie told Uncut she didn’t remember much of the period, but it was fun.
She explained, “Not very much! [laughs] The Star Club, Hamburg. I was 19 or 20. I was pissed all the time. It was a rave! The nightlife was amazing, but to be honest, we had to do three or four sets a day on rotation, so the music got a bit stale after a while. It was an experience, though.”
In the early 1960s, The Beatles did their residency in Hamburg. They, too, had long sets. However, they used their residency to hone their performing skills, which McVie and Chicken Shack likely did too.
The singer-songwriter joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970
McVie and Chicken Shack often crossed paths with Fleetwood Mac outside their Hamburg residency.
In 1968 McVie married Fleetwood Mac’s bassist, John McVie. McVie left Chicken Shack a year later because she felt she’d hardly see her husband if they worked in separate bands. After releasing her debut solo album, Christine Perfect, she joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970 and didn’t look back.
