Shakin' Stevens biography



The Sunsets

 

The 80's

 

 

 

present day .......
Born in Ely, Cardiff, South Wales, Shakin' Stevens, the Singer/Songwriter also known as Shaky, started his career as a rock 'n roll singer, covering all genres of music, eventually forming a band that became known as Shakin' Stevens And The Sunsets. In 1969 they turned professional, and Shaky continued to perform with the band until 1977. They played the London circuit and Colleges, Universities and venues throughout the UK and Europe, on the same bills as such artists as Ian Dury (then performing as Kilburn And The High Roads), Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup, Deep Purple, Chuck Berry, Georgie Fame, David Bowie and The Stones, to name but a few.

 

During 1970-76 they recorded albums and singles for labels which included EMI (the album 'A Legend' being produced by Dave Edmunds) and CBS in the UK, with Dureco and Dynamite in Holland (where the band had a large following). Despite being voted The Top Live Band of 1972 in a New Musical Express poll the band did not achieve major recording success, due to lack of marketing commitment. Finally, their last recording was in April 1976, a cover version of the formerly obscure track 'Jungle Rock', released by Hank Mizell in the same year, who took it into the charts.

 

Prior to the band breaking up in late '77, Stevens signed as a solo artist to Track Records in mid-'76 (Track Records were well known for such artists as Jimi Hendrix and The Who) and released the single 'Never' in March 1977, followed in September by 'Somebody Touched Me': both of which received good music reviews but failed to chart in the UK, although 'Somebody Touched Me' was a Top 40 hit in Australia.

In October 1977, Stevens was approached by Jack Good to co-star in his West End musical Elvis - a tribute to the artist - which ran for 19 months as a multi-award-winning musical; accolades included Evening Standard 'Best Musical' Award and the SWET Awards. In 1978, a single 'Justine', and then an album entitled 'Shakin' Stevens' were released by Track Records, featuring members of Sounds Incorporated (previously managed by Brian Epstein) which showed Stevens with a harder-edged vocal performance. The album was recorded in one day, at Island Studios. But at that time Track Records was experiencing difficulties and there was no commitment behind the album; Track Records subsequently going into liquidation in the same year.

 

In mid-'78 Shaky signed to CBS on the Epic label, on a long term, world-wide basis. The singles 'Treat Her Right' (1978), 'Endless Sleep' and 'Spooky' (1979), produced by Mike Hurst, were then released by Epic, which failed to dent the charts. Continuing in his role in the West End musical, 8 shows a week, Stevens then featured in Jack Good's live version of the revamped hit shows 'Oh Boy' at the Astoria, performing 2 shows on his 'day off' each Sunday; which later led to similar shows being televised in '79 and throughout the following year

 

After many years of touring and making records, the beginning of the 80's was to become a major turning point in Stevens' career, establishing him as a unique international artist - despite the trend out of the Punk era and into New Wave, Electronic and the New Romantics. He was to work with producers including Stuart Colman, Christopher Neil, Peter Collins, Pete Hammond, Dave Edmunds, and Rod Argent

 

His first album released on the Epic label, in 1980, was 'Take One', featuring the renowned lead guitarist, Albert Lee. From this album the long awaited hit single, 'Hot Dog', was released in the same year - reaching #24 in the charts. Six months later he had a top 20 hit with 'Marie, Marie'. The following year Stevens achieved his first, and long-awaited No. 1, when 'This Ole House' - a new arrangement of Stuart Hamblen's classic song - topped the UK chart and was also a major international hit.. This same year he was to have two number # 1 hit singles, one # 2, and his first ballad, 'It's Raining', which was a top 10 hit; and two hit albums - a # 1 ('Shaky') and a # 2 ('This Ole House'). The following year marked his first self-penned # 1 single, 'Oh Julie'. With many more hit singles and albums to follow, in the UK and internationally, Stevens was now firmly established on the trail to become the most successful UK singles chart performer of the decade

 

Throughout the 80's and early 90's Stevens had 38 hit singles, 36 of which were consecutive, and in the UK alone achieved four # 1s , three # 2s, 12 Top 5 hits, 15 Top 10s, 25 Top 20s, 30 Top 30s and 32 Top 40 hits. This unprecedented success was mirrored across Europe and in many territories world-wide. In the UK alone he accumulated 277 weeks in the singles chart and consolidated all that success with a run of a dozen hit albums. He has sold millions of albums and singles world-wide, earning him a multitude of Gold, Platinum and Double Platinum Discs, and a plethora of global honours and prestigious industry awards including Best Musical of 1977; thirty Top 30 hits in a decade (unsurpassed by any other artist); being named best Singer/Performer at Midem, the international music convention. In Germany he picked up the unique Chartmaker award to commemorate four singles in the German chart at the same time; in Sweden he became the first international artist ever to receive a double Platinum Disc

 

Many artists have covered his recordings; among them worldbeaters such as Barry Manilow (who had a US hit with 'Oh Julie'), Eddy Raven and Sylvia taking 'A Letter To You' and 'Cry Just A Little Bit' to # 1 and # 9 in the Nashville charts. Stevens has also collaborated musically with a number of world renowned musicians including Roger Taylor, Albert Lee, Hank Marvin and Bonnie Tyler.

In 1990 'I Might' and 'The Best Christmas Of Them All' were both Top 20 hits. In 1991 he released 'I'll Be Home This Christmas', which was a top 40 hit. In late 1992 Stevens' last official releases on the Epic label were the album 'The Epic Years' and the single 'Radio'. The album 'The Epic Years' (a selection of 25 of his hits) was a minor success, due to lack of appropriate commitment, but the single 'Radio', a new song produced by Rod Argent and featuring Roger Taylor of Queen, was a Top 40 hit.

The hits didn't stop for Stevens, he just stopped releasing records, although continuing to tour until 1995 when he took time out to review his career and business affairs. Nevertheless, marketing strategies with a strong commitment in other parts of Europe have proven that his compilation albums will continue to chart, achieving a # 1 in Denmark, and # 12 in Norway in 1999 .

Now on another phase of his career, in 1999 Shaky completed a successful tour of the UK, also performing in Europe. He was invited to perform at the historic launch of The Welsh Assembly in May, and in October delivered a one-off show at London's prestigious venue, the legendary The Shepherds Bush Empire. Entering the new Millennium, he headlined at an open-air concert in his home town of Cardiff, performing to a live audience in excess of 100,000. In Spring 2000 Stevens repeated his success with another UK Tour, performing rock and country blues as well as new arrangements of his hits. He has now gone back into the studio to record.

You can be sure that there will be more to come!