McQueen Street

McQueen Street
McQueen Street
	McQueen Street's original lineup, 1991.
Background information
Origin	Montgomery, Alabama
Genres	Hard rock, Arena Rock, Heavy Metal
Years active	1987–1993, 2002-2004, 2018-Present
Labels	SBK, EMI, Ring of Four
Associated acts	The Rat Race
Website	mcqueenstreet.com
Members	Derek Welsh
Past members	Chris Welsh; Richard Hatcher; Michael Powers

McQueen Street is a hard rock band from Montgomery, Alabama, consisting of Derek Welsh on lead vocals, Richard Hatcher on bass, Michael Powers on guitar, and Derek's brother Chris Welsh on drums.

Background

Formed in 1987, McQueen Street, originally known as "Klass", was very successful on the southeast rock music club circuit. The idea for the name "McQueen Street" came from the street of which Derek's recording studio was located. In 1990, after the name was changed to McQueen Street, the band was signed to a record deal with SBK Records.

The band's debut album, titled McQueen Street, was produced by Tom Werman with additional production from Steve Stevens of Billy Idol. Steve and Derek wrote and performed on "Two Worlds". Two songs, "Money" and "My Religion" had music videos that were played on MTV's Headbangers Ball. "In Heaven" reached #32 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Chart in early 1992.

McQueen Street played live shows in quite a few different cities across the US and performed with bands such as Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Bang Tango, Mr. Big, and many more. The band was one of the featured live acts at Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, owned by Sammy Hagar, a well known musician and former lead singer for Van Halen. This particular show was a joint effort between KNAC out of Los Angeles and MTV.

With the grunge movement of the early 1990s, most bands whose music was based on 1980s-style rock were no longer popular. Radio stations and MTV ceased to play most mainstream rock, causing the second album not to be released. The group disbanded shortly thereafter.

Driven by the cause that he wanted to go in a different musical direction, singer Derek Welsh then formed the band The Rat Race, a group edging towards psychedelic rock. The band released 2 studio albums Alice (1993) and Uncle Jim's Secret Garden (1995). In 1997, The Rat Race released Live Unelectrified, a live recording from Columbus, GA. The band toured the US as a support act for numerous headliners including The Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveller & Widespread Panic for the remainder of the 1990s before breaking up in 2000.

After struggling with drug addiction and the long and taxing process of recovery, Derek's brother and former drummer Chris Welsh passed away in 1994 due to a viral illness.

The second McQueen Street album, McQueen Street 2, was released in 2003 with Ring of Four Records after singer and lead songwriter Derek Welsh began to edge more towards his earlier days of rock and roll. Ring of Four Records is owned by Derek Welsh & his affiliates.

As of 2020, McQueen Street has released two new songs, "Outside In" and "One Way Ticket". The latter of which reached #1 on the underground rock charts.

Members

Current members

Derek Welsh - lead vocals, guitar (1986-1993, 2002-2004, 2018-Present)

Past members

Michael Powers - guitar, backing vocals (1986-1993)
Richard Hatcher - bass guitar, backing vocals (1986-1993)
Chris Welsh - drums (1986-1993: died 1994)

Discography

Studio Albums

McQueen Street - 1991
McQueen Street 2 - 2003

Singles & EPs

Time - 1991
In Heaven - 1991
My Religion (Radio Edit) - 1991
McQueen Street Sampler - 1991
Outside In - 2020
One Way Ticket - 2020

References

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