Bassist
Andy Silvester was part of the second wave of British blues artists to find success in the 1960s and early 1970s. Born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire in 1947, he wasn't yet in his teens when rock & roll began sweeping across the Atlantic and seducing British youth. But he gravitated more toward blues than straight rock & roll, and made his professional recording debut as a founding member of
Chicken Shack in 1968, playing bass with the original lineup (which, of course, featured
Stan Webb and
Christine Perfect [nee
Christine McVie]). This career start placed him in the orbit of
Mike Vernon and his extended family of British bluesmen, and
Silvester has seldom strayed very far from those surroundings, at least on record. He was on all of
Chicken Shack's albums through 1970 and, along with
Webb, played as part of the near-all-star crew on
Martha Velez's 1969 debut album
Fiends and Angels. After
Chicken Shack's breakup, he worked with
Savoy Brown for a short time in the early '70s and participated in recordings by
Chris Youlden and ex-
Fleetwood Mac guitarist
Danny Kirwan (working alongside his one-time
Chicken Shack stablemate
Paul Raymond) -- the latter was also among the more unusual albums on which
Silvester has played, as a decidedly pop-oriented effort from an established group of blues-oriented players. His standing with
Mike Vernon was borne out by his participation on the latter's early-'70s solo LP Moments of Madness. In 1973,
Silvester passed through the lineup of the short-lived Hungry Heart, which also included
Raymond and
Kirwan, drummer Mac Poole, and singer
Dave Walker. His most visible post-
Savoy Brown gig was as part of
the Honeydrippers, of
Robert Plant fame, circa 1980. His early-'70s work with
Savoy Brown was expanded somewhat at the start of the 21st century with the release of live recordings on which he played, as part of the collection Jack the Toad. ~ Bruce Eder