Chick began playing piano at the age of six and continued classical
studies until the age of fifteen. At this point he became more interested in
blues and rock and joined his first band, a Nottingham outfit called
Sons of Adam.
At a local gig, Chick met Alvin Lee of
The Jaybirds, in whose line-up were bassist, Leo Lyons and drummer,
Ric Lee.
At
first, Chick joined as road manager but soon became keyboard player when The
Jaybirds became the backing group for a chart vocal act The Ivy League.
In 1968, after Chick secured an audition for the band at London’s
Marquee Club under the name The Bluesyard (the only gig the group ever performed
under using this name), the quartet became the highly successful rock group, Ten Years
After. They toured the world extensively, including 28 tours of the
USA in 8 years. August 1969 saw them play the unique Woodstock Festival and
appear in the Woodstock Film, released the following year 1970. Ten
Years After also appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival and in the film,
which was finally released in 1995!
When Alvin left Ten Years After in 1976 to go solo for the first
time, Chick became Professional Manager at Chrysalis Music, the company was owned
by his then manager, Chris Wright.
A
year later, Chick left Chrysalis Music and founded a partnership with Tim
Whitsett as Whitsett Churchill Music Publishing. They specialized in publishing
and promoting American artists from the Southern States, where Tim had his roots.
Following on from this, Chick furthered the career of
The News, a group he managed
and signed to a lucrative deal with Polydor Records.
Ten Years After re-formed again in
1983 for the Marquee Club’s 25th Anniversary, and also performed two
large European festivals in Belgium and Switzerland and were special guests at
The Reading Festival, the year of headliner Thin Lizzy's final concert.
In
between management duties and publishing, Chick also found time to create
arrangements for various recording artists including Bridgette St John and French
superstar, Johnny Halliday.
Once
again Ten Years After re-formed in 1988 and recorded a new album called About
Time in Memphis, Tennessee, and spent the next four years touring Europe, the
USA, and selected dates in the UK performing to sell-out crowds, until Alvin once
again left the band to go solo once more in 1991.
Ric Lee formed
The Breakers with his old friend, Ian Ellis (Savoy
Brown) in 1994 and Chick, Ric and Ian wrote several tracks together for the
bands album called Milan, which was released in July of 1995.
Between 1995 and 2000, Chick again worked with
Ten Years After,
touring and performing at Festivals in America, Brazil and Europe.
Chick currently lives in the Costa del Sol
(Spain), and when not working
with the new line-up of Ten Years After, he plays with guitarist Mama Paula in
The Chick Churchill Band.
